In short, the answer is yes. To find out the reasons why, let’s start with a few statistics.
- 76% of UK consumers research or get inspiration online before they make a purchase
- 66% of people prefer to shop online, compared to 27% who prefer otherwise
- The number of online shoppers is expected to hit 2.14 billion by 2021, meaning 26.8% of the global population will be digital buyers
Online directories aren’t only great for promoting your business, but they’re one of the first places people look when starting their purchasing journey. The more you utilise them to advertise your services, the more customers you’ll drive to your website.
Here’s why you should use them and how they compare to other forms of online advertising.
Why directories are so successful
If you asked the person next to you how to find one of the best decorators in your area, you could almost guarantee they’d tell you to look online. Searching for services in printed journals and the likes of the Yellow Pages is no longer an option.
But, that isn’t because the concept of the Yellow Pages is dead. Being able to find every available company under a certain industry, with their contact details already listed, is a convenience shoppers loved. The physical books only became outdated when Google came around.
Now, directories have transformed into much more advanced, intuitive and updated versions of what they once were. If you aren’t listed on them, you could waste hours trying to optimise your business and get your services in front of the right people. They’re the be-all and end-all to getting more customers.
What’s more, you could strengthen your reputation just by having a listing, and gain access to exclusive partnership and marketing opportunities you won’t find anywhere else.
4 methods you could swap for a Marketplace listing
As advertising has moved more predominantly online, there are other ways to get eyes on your business. But are they more successful? Let’s take a look.
1. PPC
PPC can really level-up your lead generation online but it takes a little time to perfect. There are a lot of free tools out there to help, like the Adzooma platform, which are designed to improve your campaigns and make sure you’re getting the best return.
The main hurdle with ads is that you have to take the time to set them up and track their progress, and if you’re unsure of things like budgets and keywords, then you could potentially waste a lot of money. If this is you, our visual guide to PPC management might help.
On the other hand, how to make money using directories and marketplaces is clear. You pay one set price to create your listing and, once it’s gone live, you don’t need to worry about bidding or testing your ads. There isn’t much for you to learn – the smart algorithms of directories mean that you will rank higher based on the quality and relevance of your keywords.
2. SEO
SEO is an excellent tool for acquiring quality traffic. People can find you organically which means you don’t need to pay for clicks, and you can easily measure performance to try and get ahead of your competitors.
The only problem is, it doesn’t bring instant results. It’s more of a long-term plan that improves your rankings over time and relies on high-quality, targeted content. If you add this to all of the technical audits, it could potentially cost you a total of 28 hours per week to even make a dent.
In comparison, online directories bring immediate results.
They allow you to connect with customers in an instant, get them thinking about your brand and increase the amount of traffic to your site – all by promoting your listing. A high-quality directory will also increase your brand’s organic visibility and searchability, which would otherwise require endless optimisations.
3. Email marketing
If you want to strengthen customer relationships, target users with personalised content and increase brand awareness, email marketing is the way forward. For 59% of people, it’s this type of marketing that influences their purchase decisions. Even better, the average expected ROI is $42 for every $1 you spend, making it a highly-effective marketing channel.
You can also make PPC and email marketing work together with the right contacts, but creating a killer email list can be an incredibly time-consuming manual process.
The good news is: advertising your business on an online directory brings targeted customers to your doorstep. They’re designed for users to navigate and find the best services for them, so you’ll only ever interact with people who are considering your services to help them grow. The better your listing, the more interactions you’ll get.
4. PR
Getting coverage in the regional or national press and boosting your brand awareness is what makes PR so effective. It increases your credibility, helps to build your brand image and helps you leave a stamp on the industry. If you get links back to your website, even better.
But, you’ve got to have the contacts to get valuable reach. It’s no good queueing up your amazing campaigns if you have no idea who you’re going to send them to. You need a plan, a list, and a good idea of how you’re going to promote the story.
Luckily, this sort of reach is sorted by the people running online directories. All of the hard work is taken out of your hands as soon as you create a listing, so long as you’ve incorporated effective CRO techniques and make sure to follow up with quality leads.
Grow your business with a ‘set and forget’ directory
Designed to connect services, agencies and freelancers with high-quality leads, Adzooma Marketplace is one of the most powerful platforms to advertise your business.
It has all the qualities of an excellent directory, plus:
- Ratings and reviews to help you shine a light on your services and convince potential customers to choose your brand.
- Real-time analytics showing how often your listing has appeared in search results, how many times it’s been clicked and the number of clicks out to your website.
- A free inbox feature where customers can send you enquiries as they browse, making it easier than ever to get them on-side.
Better yet, our specialist team will do all the hard work for you. All you need to do is give us a few small details about your business and we’ll get in touch when your listing is ready.
