Tuesday, December 2, 2008

What Makes A Good Online Business Directory?

By Russell M. Stewart

Take a glance at the number of web directories in today's online networks - you'll find there are many and some have a specialisation, while others are general. Web directories cover various subjects such as business, web hosting, articles and ebooks. The majority of these web directories provide services by having a link base in one location as various listings, which allow the readers to find exactly what they want.

A business directory provides a comprehensive list of businesses, which generally includes both online and offline businesses with hosted websites. Business directories are mostly useful for other businesses, when they are looking for services and products not available through their own business. But, even direct consumers find business directories to be useful, especially when they prefer to make direct online purchases from the most suitable seller.

For a business directory to be effective and useful for the information seeker, it needs to follow certain standards and guidelines. These are not specifically mentioned by any standards organisation, but they are generally expected from a relevant, high-quality business directory.

Organisation - A good online business directory must be well-organised. Relevant categories and sub-categories must be carefully thought out and implemented. The navigation must be basic and user-friendly, with all the interconnected links in one area. A clean, concise layout is very important.

Content Updates - Of course, organisation is not all - the content which is easy to find because the directory is well-organised must be up to date and worth finding. There are new businesses and their websites popping up on the net every day, so the directory must be constantly updated.

PageRank - Google and other search engines provide web pages with ranks. These ranks are based on how popular a page is. While it's different from the search engine's organic results, having a high PageRank boosts the site's ability drive traffic through its links.

Keyword Selection - Choosing the right keywords is crucial. After all, you want to direct people to specific businesses that they are looking for, and for this, if the keywords selected are not just right, the directory will fail in its purpose. Just a list of links is not what the user wants, the user wants relevant links.

So if you want your site on a business directory, or if you just want to find a particular business, these guidelines will tell you whether you are using the right business directory to get what you want or not. - 15478

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