With the Australian Dollar hovering just below parity with the US$, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the vest exchange rate for many years, and look at expanding your link profile by spending your valuable Aussie dollars on some of the quality directory listings.
As you are probably aware, Link Building is a very important part of optimising your site. Having quality backlinks from authoritative third party websites is almost as important as having good quality unique content on your own site.
There are plenty of business directories around where you can get free listings, but most of these are of limited “link value”. There are also plenty of paid directories, although many of these are a complete waste of money. However, there are a relatively small number of paid directories which are well recognised as authority directories, and are known to pass on valuable “link juice” and will help with your rankings.
For larger businesses, getting listings on these important directories is a standard part of their marketing strategy, but for small business, with limited budgets, the cost can be an issue. Many of the best paid directories are based in the United States – with listings being charged in US$, so right now with the high AU$, these listings are more affordable than they ever have been.
Hint : You can identify other potentially useful directories to list in by examining the backlinks of you main online competitors (the sites that are already achieving top 10 rankings for your primary keywords) and looking for patterns.
Don’t be concerned that these directories are US based, and your clients are in Australia – you are not listing on these directories for the direct traffic they generate (although you may be surprised how much you get), you are listing because of the “link love” that they will pass onto you. Listings in quality directories can have a direct impact on your organic rankings – and are also likely to improve your Google Places Page rankings in the “7 pack”.
Best Paid Directories
I have listed below some of the best paid directories currently available. Each of these directories works on a “review” fee rather than a “listing” fee basis and offer no guarantee that your site will be listed. However, as long as you follow their guidelines you should not have any problems with having your site listed.
Best of the Web – US$149.95
BOTW provides listings for an annual recurring review fee of US$149,95 (this can be cancelled whenever you wish).
Currently (during October 2010) BOTW are offering a 20% discount on this – Just US$119.96 if you use the promo code “save20“.
If you are interested in receiving additional exposure and want to customise your advertising message, you can get a Free 30 day trial of sponsoring a category on BOTW at (hint: this can be cancelled at any time).
Yahoo Directory – US$299
Yahoo Directory is probably one of the most important directories. Your single listing will appear in more than a dozen international directories. You need to register your listig via Yahoo Express on the US site
Business.com – US$299 per year
You can find out more and Register Here (and get $50 Off)
Joe Ant – US$39.99
Directory World – US$24.95
Hint: many directories require you to specify which category you think is the most appropriate for your listing – and you may need to submit your site from the category that you think is best. Spend some time looking through the directory – there are often several categories where your site could belong. Take a note of where your competitors are listed.
Submitting your listing should be reasonable straightforward, but be careful about how you describe your business, what keywords you target, and what category you choose. If you’d like some assistance, please feel free to contact us at WebConsulting for advice.