30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 4
There are lots of free business search engines around. Many have been going for years. They often offer a basic free listing, which can offer improved visibility if you decide to pay for their service. How do you know if their paid-for service is any good and how can you make your free listing worth taking the time to do?
Adding yourself to free business search listings seems a no-brainer on the surface. You can usually put in contact details and a few details about what you do, for the the princely sum of time. The websites will usually try and upsell you to a paid listing, but it is up to you to decide whether it is worth it. Check out the paid listings – do they get enough for their money? Fill in as many details as you can and make sure that you include things such as a photo, your website and social media details.
Many of these websites bring new entries to the fore after paid-for accounts. It can therefore pay to go back every couple of weeks and amend the free listing, to see if it brings you back to the top of the list.
Here are a few that I have used: (Disclaimer – there are no affiliates in this post – just my opinions!)
Pros:
Able to search for keywords in an A-Z list.
You can set up an email alert when the website receives quote requests for something that is similar to your business
The website has a fresh, clean design with colour pictures and is easy to navigate.
You can search, using a number of terms
The website gives you an author image, key services for search terms and the chance to write a description of your business.
Customers can also leave reviews and the latest reviews are shown on the landing page
Premium or paid listing enables you to be listed above non-premium members with a super-highlighted listing, an extended search radius and more keyword tags. You also get alerts before non-premium members and the ability to upload more photos and videos and they also stop advertising nearby businesses which offer the same services on the same page.
Cons:
The free listing does advertise nearby businesses that offer the same service lower down the page
You really need reviews to keep the momentum going, but it does say when the page was last updated, so keep updating it.
My opinion:
I have had 1 client through this page – but he never left me a review, so my reviews are 0. I don’t get many leads from it either. At the moment I maintain the profile, but is it worth it?
Might be worth trying for a new business, or if you’re offering a popular business that people are looking for like leaflet drops.
Google My Business
Pros:
Works well with a Gmail account
Able to post blogs
You get statistics from the posting each month, which say how many visitors you had and the bounce rate
Google is a pretty big search engine
Cons:
Can’t think of any really, except I have not had clients through it yet.
UK Business Forums
More of a forum than a listing, but it is still very active. You are welcome to browse for free and even ask questions, but there are areas that are members-only for a fee.
Pros:
All kinds of businesses are covered here and whatever your question is, you are bound to find it answered.
Newbies can ask questions and have them answered
They have regional forums for different areas of the UK
They include social enterprise in the forums
It’s current and still well-used
Cons:
The Marketplace where jobs are posted is for paid members only
Have you found any free business listing websites that have been good for your business? Please share below.
