LocalVox Local Directory Optimization

Brian’s Blog

by Brian Pasch

I have been silent on this topic in the past but recent observations and the need for better education on digital marketing inspired this article to be penned.

Business owners and dealers are bombarded with offers to optimize their online presence.  My good friend JD Rucker, from KPA Digital Marketing, has also warned business owners  about questionable social media strategies that include claims of optimizing “hundreds or thousands” of online directories.

We all have seen the emails offering SEO services from off-shore companies.  I get about 10 of those emails a week!

Have you also seen the marketing around listing your business on hundreds of search engines and business directories?

Have you bought into that pitch?

Please take a moment to read on and share this article with all your business community contacts.  You must be aware that there are only a FINITE number of websites that warrant your advertising and marketing dollars.

Mobile And Local Directory Optimization?

I came across a product call Search Cast, which had some interesting claims, as you can see in the highlight blue boxes below:

This is just one of hundreds of companies offering business owners online “directory” optimization.    I am just about to explode on this topic.  I hate to see companies waste their money on websites that have no real purpose other than collecting business registrations from unknowing business owners.

I have one quick question…..

Can anyone name 100 relevant search engines and business directories?  Now let me reframe that question.

How many business directories appear on Google Pages 1, 2, or 3 when you search your business name or your type of business service?

How many search engines do the majority of consumers use?

Let’s Do The Math

Search Engines?  That’s easy: Google, Yahoo, Bing

Business Directories?  That’s a bit more challenging, but here is my top of mind list:

1. Google+
2. Yahoo
3. Bing
4. LinkedIn
5. Twitter
6. Facebook
7. Yelp
8. Yellowbook.com
9. MerchantCircle.com
10. Judysbook.com
11. Angieslist.com
12. YellowPages.com
13. AOL.com
14. SuperPages.com
15. Local.com
16. CitySearch.com
17. FourSquare.com

Here are some industry specific sites for car dealers:

1. Cars.com
2. DealerRater.com
3. AutoTrader.com
4. BizRater.com
5. DrivingSales.com
6. Edmunds.com
7. KBB.com

Is this total anywhere near 100?  No Way! You can look at Google Analytics all day long and you will never find 100 directories or search engines that refer any quantity of traffic to a business website.  So why make the claim?

Beware Of Outrageous Claims

Products that make exaggerated claims might be attempting to attract naive business owners that do not understand the fundamentals of how search marketing and social media works.  Is SearchCast one of those products?  You have to make that determination yourself.  This is just one of dozens of companies I have come across with similar claims.

I hope that readers of this post will not be lured into signing up for services that have outrageous claims.   Let’s invest our marketing dollars on digital marketing strategies that are “real world” and that deliver a strong ROI.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Consulting

732.672.2356

Google

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