Why your business should be listed in an online directory

28 October 2019

Business directories have been around for more than a hundred years, traditionally offering companies an opportunity to market themselves by helping them promote their business by activity, location and size, ensuring directory users find the right companies to do business with.

However of course now we all have Google (amongst other search engines) at our fingertips! 68,000 searches every second and long since categorised as a verb …”to Google”…. is undoubtedly the default when you want to search for something online, whether it’s researching your next holiday or finding the perfect pair of new boots! But when it comes to finding new business prospects as a marketer or sales person, as a buyer or a supplier, is it always the best place to start?

With RankBrain Google uses artificial intelligence to understand context and return more targeted search results, however for the user sometimes the sheer number of those results can be overwhelming and not always exactly what they want. This maybe because we are reliant on the companies we are looking for, marketing their business, using SEO effectively and tools such as keywords to describe their business activities, all of which contribute to helping Google understand a business, answer real user queries and deliver more relevant search results.

So where do business directories fit in? What can they offer companies like yours?

• Say you already do business with a company, how would you go about finding companies who were similar? How would you define them…by size, by location, by contact, by their activity….how easy is this to do using Google?
• If you were looking to enter a new market….how easy is it to create a targeted list of companies, accurately defined by all these parameters?
• What about searching for the same product or service globally or across multiple countries or regions?

Well this can be where online business directories, such as Kompass come into their own, because the real benefit you should be seeking from an effective online directory can be described in two words…..relevance and traffic.

From another perspective what factors should you think about when it comes to marketing your business?

• Ask yourself how effective you are at making sure your company profile reaches the right target audience?

• What can you do to define your business activities accurately & in such a way that users can easily find them?

• How easy is it to build relevant online traffic to your website?

• Do you have a responsive website design that meets the needs of today’s multi-platform consumer?

This is what a listing on a responsive online business directory can do for you – help to engage your target audience, attract new business leads and build awareness of your brand.

What are some of the other benefits that come from being listed in an online directory?

Advertising Your Business

For many businesses, their website is their virtual shop window, but with over 1.5 billion websites out there, can anyone actually find yours? We have talked about the importance of Google of course, but you still need to take every opportunity to encourage not just the right sort of visitors, but those who are ready to do business and advertising through an online directory is one such tool that will help you do this.

An online listing is also a great way to help develop and share your brand image, but remember it’s important to keep your branding message consistent, be this on your website, your blog, on social platforms or on an online directory.

Driving More Relevant Enquiries

Your company profile will be visible to potential new customers searching for your products or services – putting you in front of new buyers at exactly the time they are looking to make a purchasing decision.

For example, it is a straightforward process to create and manage your free company profile on the global Kompass B2B directory. You can target specific market sectors by using the uniquely comprehensive activity classifications. With more than 57k product & services available, this means you can accurately define your company activities which will help to drive the most relevant enquiries through to your profile.

SEO Benefits

Effective SEO is obviously the goal of any good website but with a business listing on an online directory, your website will benefit from not just increased traffic but higher page rankings and greater relevancy as potential visitors search for your products or services.

As a global online B2B directory, Kompass has over 7.5m visitors every month, which will undoubtedly have a positive effect and boost your visitor traffic. As well as personalised content, if you want to promote your business internationally you can translate your business activities into 26 languages. This will help to ensure that your company is visible not only on the directory, but found more easily by search engines. As a result you will broaden the scope of potential and relevant prospects that are looking to do business both locally and overseas and help you remain competitive within your business market.

Affordable Company Promotion

It is the goal of any marketer to achieve a ROI and as a brand visibility tool online display advertising is an affordable choice which offers a place for your company to be seen and gives you the opportunity to convey the personality and values of your brand to your target audience. Whilst a straightforward company profile listing on the Kompass B2B directory is free, there are a range of different advertising formats available, such as squares and banners which can be flexibly located on our regional and activity pages.

Whether you are looking for partners, suppliers or prospects abroad, our Digital Marketing Solutions will broaden your online presence locally or help to target overseas markets, by displaying your advertising on our global network to buyers who are at the point of purchase.

To grow your business both locally and abroad, it is essential to make sure that your company can be found. By adding your company to the Kompass business directory, we can help you to do this and as a result your company will gain the benefit of being part of a truly global marketplace.

Disclaimer: Please note that this blog only contains general information and insights about legal matters. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. Kompass.com