The pros and cons of free business directories

Business directories or web directories are lists of classified businesses. When internet consumers need to search for a particular business, they simply have to visit such directories. These directories are ideal for small business and local business advertising as they provide relevant information which will be helpful to consumers. However, there are some pros and cons involved in a free business directory.

Free directories – Pros and cons

The internet is a market where competition is tight. In order to draw traffic to your business, you need to be upfront and visible in the popular search engines. One good way to gaining the upper hand is to submit your business website to business directories. These directories give an overview of your website, including details such as contact information, blog and social network page. In this way, consumers can find you much faster. These directories are optimised search engines which will enable traffic to view your company without delay. When it comes to free directories, the main obvious advantage is that it is free. This enables free business promotion for local and small business services which might be just starting off. As there are millions of internet users, online advertising for a small business is made simple and affordable by these free directories. However, if you are rely too much on online advertising to build your company, free web directories may come as a disappointment. The services provided by these free directories are, unsurprisingly, minimal. One major disadvantage is that the time taken to process your website submission can be very lengthy, since thousands of websites are submitted at once. These online directories are handled by people, which mean that they take time to review each website, prior to adding it to the advertising directory. Another huge drawback is that your business will be devalued since it will be listed among low-ranking companies. It is usually the smaller businesses which apply for free advertising on the web. Since free directories need to make money, they do so through advertisement and to compensate advertising space. This is a setback as consumers lose focus of your business when they see other businesses being advertised. This can decrease consumer traffic from approaching your company.

Opting for paid directories

The best way to SEO business is to opt for a paid web directory. These are much more reputable and higher up on popular search engines. Paid directory offer more features on advertising, more articles and other good resources. If you are unsure of how to go about advertising your business, get in touch with an online marketing expert or a SEO professional.