Old is always classic. Yes, I am talking sense. It might be anything our innovation starts with the reference taken from old scratch.
In a similar way, web directories used to be a thing for SEO in the early days. They used to help pretty much the websites to get top rankings on the search engine. The reason is plain, Google used to have more natural algorithms, and if your website is enlisted on the towering of web directories for sure, it must be a noteworthy thing.
It was a kind of five-finger exercise back those days. Nifty, huh!
Now, days were changed entirely. The evolution of the algorithms got better and finer with a modern touch making links from a web directory a lesser value. Google no longer prefer all links equally. The present-day Google’s algorithm is a lot more intricating. The links from a web directory listing became a lot less effective thing than a super relevant contextual link.
Looking at this context, there is no need for jumping into conclusions that web directories are insignificant. As per Moz research, web directories and local citations still into existence in the form of small ranking factor particularly for small business.
How a marketer benefit from web directories?
Instead of viewing web directories as a source for links, consider them as a source of traffic. The business with a local presence should maintain their local citations. This is the asset for your business to drive credibility and traffic.
Let’s glide into the 10 of many web directories that still have value and can count on in 2020.
1. AboutUs
AboutUs is a wiki Internet domain directory formed for businesses. It allows all categories of websites to submit and discuss. The site has about 150,000 monthly visitors.
2. Blogarama
Blogarama is the oldest blog directories that still used by some of the users. It features over 143,000 blog listings that are actively updated by the site admins. The site has over 230,000 visitors monthly.
3. Foursquare
Though Foursquare is no near to the Yelp or Yellow Pages, the web directory provides listings for all kinds of businesses established locally.
The site is visited over 50 million people, and 93 percent of local business represents nearly 2 million businesses which are in Foursquare.
4. B2B Yellow Pages
The web directory has established its reputation in 30 years and still going strong with 16 million businesses list. B2B Yellow Pages receives approx 500,000 visits per month.
5. Spoke.com
Spoke is an online directory where you can find and discuss news, business people, and more. This web directory receives more than 80,000 monthly users. The site allows adding a business web listing.
6. Yelp
Yelp is the popular online directories to date for the review site for local businesses. If you want to promote your business and gain traffic Yelp is a one-stop site. The site has nearly 171 million reviews and over 69 million monthly desktop users.
7. Local.com
Local.com claims about 100,000 local businesses with websites and contact information. The web directory receives approximately 1.9 million monthly visitors.
8. HotFrog
HotFrog receives nearly 1.6 million visitors who search the 120,000 listed businesses on the site. Any physical address businesses can add their listing for free to drive traffic.
9. Bing Places
Bing Places is considered as the second most popular search engine after Google My Business. It is the default search engine for Internet Explorer and Edge.
10. Best Of The Web (BOTW)
Since 1994, BOTW caters a trusted online directory to the customers used by more than 16 million businesses. The site receives nearly 90,000 visits per month with 43 percent traffic. BOTW also has blgs.botw.org for blogs and local.botw.org for local businesses.
