Importance of business listing sites for Local SEO in 2022
Have you wondered how local businesses dominate the search results when you simply type “the best pizza restaurant near me” on the internet browsers? This is just because of the local SEO! But local SEO is not the only reason such as brands, products, or services show up on the SERP, the business listing sites worldwide also play a vital role as well. The importance of Business Listing Sites are incredible in business.
As a matter of fact, if you are running a small business and want to get discovered by all the potential customers in your general vicinity, local SEO is the most critical for you. And yes, getting listed on a free business directory in the USA is also imperative.
Keep in mind that local SEO is considered to be one of the most powerful tools for small and medium-scale businesses. And if you’re business’s website is not listed on any online directory or is not optimized for local searches; you are missing out on a lot of potential customers! Local Rank Mapper is the perfect solution for small businesses for local SEO.
By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you will be able to comprehend what is the true importance of local business listings sites worldwide, the importance of local SEO, Google My business, different online listing directories, and of course, the reason why you need to get listed on such a platform right away. So, grab a cup of your favorite coffee and keep reading.
The Importance Of Business Listing Sites Worldwide
A business listing directory is an online platform where you will be able to find companies of different business niches. In simple words, a business listing directory is the contact details of a business that is listed online.
For a lot of people, a business listing platform is just like an automated version of the traditional yellow pages or the telephone directories. Whereas, on a free business listing directory in USA, each of the listed businesses has an index that is sorted alphabetically and also industry-wise. Because of the listing, you – as a buyer- will be able to reach out to the right company that is able to fulfill your needs and requirements in the best possible way.
Business listing directories not only benefit the consumers, but they also help the business owners. How? Well, when they get listed on business listing sites worldwide, they showcase their company, product, and services out. This implies that local and international customers will now be able to reach out to you as your business is listed and ranked on the SERP. Your business will be easy to find and there are high chances that you will also get improved sales and leads.
The Importance of Local SEO
Let’s suppose that you’ve moved to a new town or a city, and the moment you step inside the house, you come to know that the locks of the main door has started to malfunction. Although the neighborhood is safe, but still you need to be safe, right? You’ll just pick up your phone and search for the most reliable and nearest locksmith in the area. The results you get after typing the query on the internet is because of the local SEO.
So, if you are a business owner and want to find and target your audience online, then you need to have a complete understanding of local SEO. Don’t worry if you do not know much about it, we’ll be discussing it briefly down below!
As the name implies, local SEO is also a branch of SEO. Whereas, local SEO focuses on optimizing a webpage or a website for local searches. Basically, it entertains queries that mostly have “near me” at the end. So, you can say that local SEO is a tactic that only focuses on the optimization of local businesses.
Note: E-commerce shops and other businesses that do not want to get listed on business listing sites worldwide and do not like to share the basic business information, are the ones who will not benefit from local SEO.
Some of the factors that need to be considered when building a local SEO plan is the content, on-page SEO, links, and localized intent. What more? You also need to make sure that your basic business information such as name, number, and physical address is accurate and consistent. If not, then you can expect no customers at all.
Top 5 Business Listings Sites
In order to help the business owners, we’ve managed to compile a list of the best free business listing directory in the USA below. Just keep in mind that the more you choose, the greater are your chances of getting discovered by the target audience. Research shows that businesses who claim their free business listings on various sites have earned more 80% more money than those who did not. So, what are you waiting for?
#1: Yelp
#2: Google My Business
#3: CityLocal Pro
#4: Foursquare
#5: HighFive Listings
Once you’ve managed to get listed on many free business listings site worldwide, you need to make sure that the information to upload on them are accurate and also informative. To be honest, the more your listings look alive, your business brand becomes appealing to the customers.
The Impactful Reasons Of Getting Listed On Business Directories
Now that you’ve learned about the importance of business listing directories, local SEO, and also know about the top business listing directories in the USA, it’s time for you to get some insight into the reasons as well. That’s right! What is the reason for getting listed on such a platform for a small or a medium scaled business brand such as yours’.
· Business Listings Builds Trust
A lot of people now consult the search engine results when it comes to searching for brands, products, and services. What happens when a person is not able to find your business brand on the internet?
By claiming your business listings, you will be able to make sure that customers have easy access to your website.
· Additional Marketing
Your business is listed on business directories, whether you know it or not. And one thing more, business listings are a form of free marketing as well. This is because listings give your customers easy access to your website. You just need to add more descriptions, images, and information.
· Increases Brand Visibility
When you choose to claim your free listings on business listings sites worldwide, you are just allowing your brand to become more and more visible. Not only will it improve the visibility of your brand but it will also result in lead generation and increased conversions.
· Creates More Opportunity
Each time you list your business on the internet, you open a door of opportunity for your business. A lot of customers will also leave your business brand reviews and ratings. Consider them as a vote of confidence that customers give your business.
· Boosts Local SEO
Getting listed on high authoritative business listings sites such as yelp,HighFive Listings etc will also benefit your website by their SEO ratings. That’s true. When you get listed on a legitimate business directory, you’ll also benefit from their SEO strategies and tactics.
Final Words
If you have not yet listed on your business on free business listing directories in the USA, then don’t ignore it anymore. Just set aside a bit of time and start claiming them right away. Hopefully this content may help you better to understand the Importance of Business Listing Sites for your business
Top 8 Free VPN Chrome Extensions to Build Quality Backlinks in 2021
With the passage of time and high competition in the SEO industry, it is becoming challenging to obtain quality backlinks. Though many things matter to build quality backlinks but the use of different IPs is also significant. Yes, it is considered a big SEO mistake to submit backlinks through the same IP address. In these cases, usually, networks assign a red flag to your link and don’t pass them to search engines.
Similarly, link builders prefer to use fast browsers like Chrome. That’s why in this article, Backlink Express is going to share one of the best VPN extensions for Chrome like this DigitalCruch list to make quality backlinks for its readers.
Zenmate VPN
Zenmate is a German VPN company which is known because of its quality services. Though it offers few locations with a free account, it connects you to a remote location via safe servers and encrypts data with military-level technology.
You just need to create your account there, and after enabling it to your Chrome, it needs one click. After using a remote location, you can create backlinks with Zenmate without any problem. However, we would recommend our readers to download this extension from chrome web store only.
ExpressVPN
Are you willing to use one of the best virtual private networks for your chrome browser? And want to mask your IP with a highly authoritative extension? If yes, then ExpressVPN should be your first choice. We know many of our readers would say, ‘Ah! It’s paid man’ but we would like to tell you one trick. Probably, you can go with the 30 days free trial offer of ExpressVPN, especially when you are working on small SEO projects and cancel the subscription after 28 days.
Isn’t an exciting way to make your links with one of the best VPN companies? Hopefully, you would love the browsing speed and other features of ExpressVPN.
Setup VPN Chrome Extension
If you are looking to use numerous remote locations with 100% free chrome VPN extension, then Setup VPN is the right answer. With more than 100 servers, it allows you to use 18+ remote locations with unique IPs.
Similarly, it works with military-grade 4096-bit encryption and protects your data. Especially if you are a beginner in the Search Engine Optimization world and using public Wi-Fi, then Setup VPN will give complete safety against the misuse of data and malware. Withal, to improve your experience with Setup VPN, we would suggest our readers must turn on the WebRTC Leaks Shield. It is also free and easy to use with Chrome.
Urban VPN Free Chrome Extension
Urban VPN is another excellent extension that link builders can use for their Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox browsers without any worry. This VPN doesn’t only help you to make backlinks with different IPs but also protects your data and stays you away from side effects of different online ads and malware.
This US-based company allows the users to browse with this proxy into about 11 languages. In the same token, one of the best features of this VPN is a no-log policy. It doesn’t collect the data of users which is an edge over competitors. So, with this extension, you can do your work and see all sensitive information without any issue.
Hotspot Shield VPN
Many of us have used HotSpot Shield to unblock sites or are aware of its trusted services. However, there is also good news for link builders because now, it is available for Chrome. Yes, you can use HotSpot Shield VPN to mask your IP address while creating web 2.0, profile and citation links. Its use would give you a perfect link juice with red flags.
Moreover, if it makes you angry that the use of a VPN makes your browsing speed slow, then you should only prefer HotSpot Shield. It recently won the first position in the AV and Speedtest VPN. Ookla conducted these speed tests.
CyberGhost VPN
With more than 15 million satisfied users around the globe, CyberGhost VPN is also a trusted name among Chrome VPN extensions. It is not only 100% free but also allows users to browse unlimited data. With secure Wi-Fi connections and military-grade encryption, it could be a great option for SEO experts who want to work on the Chrome browser.
Withal, we would like to suggest SEO experts use WebRTC Leaks Shield to increase protection while using this VPN because it is not safe enough for flash content. Hopefully, you would consider our pieces of advice.
ProtonVPN
If you are looking for a VPN extension that completely supports no-log and no-ads policy, the ProtonVPN should be your first choice. This Swiss-based VPN company runs a very stern zero-log and no ads policy with its 100% free services. With a straightforward interface, it is also convenient for newbies to use this extension without having any experience or technical knowledge.
Even you can use this VPN for sites which blacklist your IP because of the use of VPN. In short, this is one of the best VPN chrome extensions to build links on forums and web 2.0 blogs.
RusVPN Free Chrome Extension
RusVPN is an excellent option for link builders who want to go with a straightforward extension. It needs a few clicks to enable remote location on your Chrome browser and get access to blocked sites. Unluckily, its features make it fast to browse with complete online security.
It takes a few seconds to bypass censorships and geo-restricted sites. You can use them to create new profiles and can access the website portal, which is not accessible with your standard IP.
All in all, the primary purpose of sharing this article with our readers to make them aware of the free VPN chrome extensions which they can use to build high-quality backlinks. Hopefully, you guys would use our suggestions and create spam-free backlinks to improve online ranking and ratings of your or your clients’ sites.
You can also share your experiences about the use of different VPN services by commenting below.
Risks to take and avoid in SEO
Risks to take and avoid in SEO for your business
With the business booming up, there come the risks that are inevitable. No businessmen need to be taught about the relevance of risks behind their success. There are two potential sides to any fair coin and only careful decisive powers and the will to pursue one’s gut take you to higher positions in the business. We are going to discuss the Risks to take and avoid in SEO
The same happens in SEO. Certain risk factors involved in the field of SEO. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they might be a backlash on the company. This is why they are basically called RISKS. The thing with search engine optimization is, the ultimate result that you want- clicks, leads, traffic etc are so public dependent and certain factors that make your page likable are to be found on an experimental basis.
And hence, you will have to take risks, and also, there are risks that you must avoid.
When you are not sure of the repercussions that might follow your deeds. It is always wise to seek advice from rather than getting tangled in unwanted troubles.
Before you do anything, it is always important that you compare the risks. The rewards you would get upon taking the risks.
Risks that you MUST take
Risks are those factors which can affect your rankings and might take you a bit down in the ranks even if it is for a while.
What you must keep in mind it is TEMPORARY. You can always go back to your original rankings and above that. Once you know the factors that can help you in that once you take the risks.
There are tools that can help you estimate your risk factor to know the remedial action required to avoid Google penalising your website. Google analytics, ready-made tools to know if your website is penalised etc are available.
On testing, if it appears to be 70-100%, it shows high risk and the site needs immediate attention not to be penalised by Google.
1. Website revamp
A website revamp is something that people might think is a risk. You will know what pleases people and if the new design does not, you are stuck at times.
Revamping your site can improve the linking, restructure and attract people who didn’t reach you out in the first place. Search engines would take time to rank your new site. This might reduce your inflow of click and traffic for a short while, but this is a risk worth taking.
Here is a case study of Moz how website revamps increased the traffic by 515%.
2. The A/B testing
This is more like general addressing of the risk that can be taken for different elements.
For example, if you are a page that stands on comparatively lower ranks, like from 6-10, taking a risk might affect you in ways that you might not expect. It might take you down from SERP too if things could go wrong.
While being on relatively higher ranks, but not the highest. You have the room to experiment and to see for yourself the changes that you can take. Which can either take you to the highest rankings or lower you franks, but still would keep you on the SERP.
You can experiment with the meta description, URL etc and see which one gives you more traffic. See which one does a good job for you, one page at a time, and use the same tactic to all the other pages if it works for you.
3. Hiring newbies in the field
Although everyone needs experts and the best people out there. You can always take the risk of hiring new talent. If he or she is able to cope up with the principles of the field and come up with original ideas.
A content writer might not be having the skills to be an SEO specialist writer, but when you think you can train them to the new skills, they can put in their ideas to match the needs of the company.
4. Backlinks
Why I think people are still scared of backlinks giving people a chance to exit your page. Redirecting them to some other page when you could have still made them stay on your page.
According to Neil Patel, the link popularity of a specific page contributes around 22.33% of the traffic and hence giving and getting backlinks is quite important for a page.
Building high-quality links in the most scalable way is something that you must learn to face the risk in the most effective way.
Backlinking gives you a more authoritative and trustworthy feel with your supporting backlinks. While you must avoid the risk of using bad links that are paid and from low-quality sources.
Risks to avoid
There are a lot of risks that you must be avoiding too in order to avoid the situation of the no-coming back.
1. Deleting pages
When you find that the pages you do not want anymore, or do not have any deliverables to the visitor, do not delete the page as a whole.
This is because you are messing with the structure of your website. To the already internally linked sites, it becomes a broken link and to the external links. You are missing a chance for a new visitor.
You can still have content that says that you are no longer available and can visit other pages like so and so within your site itself.
2. Making changes to the site at once
Sudden changes to the website on the site level can change a lot of things including ranking. This might force you to have to start from the beginning as the whole system is new to Google now.
incremental changes is always best for the site when it comes to making alterations.
3. Avoid doorway pages
Doorway pages are the pages are explicitly created just to send the visitors to those pages to your website when they click on them.
Google disliked this & remarked as a very bad risk you are not taking. It might send you some visitors, but will never help you get more concrete leads.
There are many risks that involve you being penalized by Google. If you do not look into the consequences that you will have to face later. Black hat methods are not always the best, even if they give you results for a short while. They do not tend to give you long-lasting results. Hope you enjoy our content Risks to take and avoid in SEO
Strategies for creating awesome backlinks
Building links to your page is important. It is important because the search engines STILL consider it as one of their ranking factors. With a bit of an artificial intelligence added, now, search engines value quality over quantity.
So, we need some, really working, innovative and smart methods to get external pages to make a link to our pages. You need strategies for creating awesome backlinks. People who still do not get the idea of external linking must understand that external linking will make your page trustworthy among the algorithm and the public.
While it is true that around 75% of the content on the Internet does not get linked by any pages. And, you do not want to be in that 75% of content sitting lonely and deserted in the corner of the Internet.
With this, you must have known the struggle to get your page linked by other pages who will trust yo & trust- that’s something hard to earn today.
There are no shortcut methods in doing this. The basic strategy behind getting links is to make content that is worthy of being linked. And once you have made this, there are different methods that will help you boost your content, urging others to give you enough and more backlinks.
Here are some of the best methods that we think are best in the present scenario.
1. Guest Post Blogging
Guest post blogging is one section most of the blogging businesses or any of the companies have where they invite guest bloggers. This is to get more worthy content, not being limited to the content creators of the company, and to expand their reach by blogging.
Now, what you must see is an OPPORTUNITY
Choose sites that give an opportunity for guest posts after evaluating their content quality, domain strength, and if they avail an option to keep author bio.
You can include links to your website within the content, but make sure it does not sound promotional. For example, If you search for write for us, you get SEO based companies who have guest post blogging opportunities.
I think you saw what we did there!
There are a lot of ways that you can find the sites that allow guests posts in your domain. Search in “keyword” + “write for us”/”guest post blog”/ become an author”/”submit an article” are all different search queries that you can try to find the websites that you will want.
Also, if you are able to create quality content and get authority over the page, you are sure to get natural backlinks.
2. Report broken links
Now, this is where you literally have to be an OPPORTUNIST
Keep an eye on the internet space and list out the websites that have been recently shifted to another domain, changed their name, closed their service, shut the shop etc.
Now, you have to find the articles or websites that still link to these broken links or changed domains. There are backlink checker tools provided by Ahrefs, smallseotools, seoreviewtools etc who will help you in this regard.
Find any such articles or blogs of those kinds. Try to see if you have already made content on these topics which were linked to the old pages. If yes, good. If no, try to create content on it.
When you create content, try to focus on the list, why posts, how-to posts, ultimate guide, etc as they get more acceptance and links.
With the content ready to be published. Reach out to the website that had backlinked to the old website that was taken down, telling about the same. Send in a very polite email telling them how good their article is? That you have found this broken link which they can easily replace with the content that you have published.
This can also be done by checking if there are broken links for each website. Dead Link Checker, Ahref, etc provide such tools.
This can also be done on your website. Check on the pages that already point to you, but with broken links. Use Link Reclamation to ask them to replace the same.
3. Answering and commenting
Plenty of bloggers are out there and being a blogger yourself. Can take privilege in building a community space around you, commenting and appreciating the work done by others expressing your genuine take on them.
You can take it as an opportunity where you can present your knowledge in the field. You can do it on multiple posts so as to build rapport with the blog owner creating content. Also, it will make you look smarter and genuine among other people. Who would read your comments, whereby you get chances for organic traffic.
When you would need a link you can ask for a backlink to the community space that you have created. You can use answering platforms like Quora, Yahoo answers etc to answer the questions related to your niche.
You can post answers linking to your pages and blogs with links, promising traffic to your pages.
4. Being a source for reporters and bloggers
If you are the first word of news to other bloggers and reports, you will be quoted.
Pitch yourselves to the bloggers and reporters ,Be a source of information to them. Conduct your own experiments and have your own results and conclusions that can be included in your blog posts.
This will give you opportunities for being identified in the news and other authoritative articles. Backlinks from news articles and allied pages are of high quality.
5. Convert mentions to links
Whenever you make progress in your field, there will be articles about your triumphs and about your products.
At times, some pages mention you, but do not link you. Without the link, it won’t call the audience to act. So, make sure that all the pages that mention you have also linked you. This happens a lot of time where you will be mentioned, but not linked with.
You can use guides of AHref, Moz etc who have come up with tools to convert mentions into links.
6. Backlinks from infographics
Infographics have a very special place among the media due to its very own features. Being easy to understand, visual, highly shareable etc. Infographics stand the greatest chance for backlinks.
Once you create infographics for specified topics, use them on your sites, upload them on different directories, submission platforms, etc. Search for the websites that you think can make use of your infographics.
Reach out to them and get your backlinks for the infographic that you provide them.
7. Directory submissions- yes!
There are a lot of free directory submission sites where you can submit your work.
Images, infographics, blogs and any media that can be used by different websites at the cost of a backlink. This can be successful if you try to submit your best creatives for quality links.
There are 3 types of submissions- Paid or Featured Web Listing, Free or Regular Web Listing, Reciprocal Regular Web Listing.
8. Keep an eye on your competitor
You might not feel it right enough when you see your competitors have organic traffic flowing in from sources unknown to you, which you are not abel to reach out.
Always have an eye over your competitor and see where their links come from. This can be done using backlink finder tools as said before. Try getting links from them as well with other techniques discussed. So far so that you do not have to put yourselves back in the race.
9. Reach out, Reach out, Reach out
Basically more than having different tips and tricks to get more backlinks. You can actually work out with a straight forward strategy of finding correct spots to pitch in your content and get a fair backlink. Reach out to your already existing clients. Whom you have a relationship and get backlinked.
You can search for articles that have a relevant topic as that of yours. Find the best articles on the SERP. Check each article and if you see an external link not doing a better job than yours. Try contacting them to get a replacement with your link.
Reach out to the pages that link to multiple competitors, but have not mentioned you. You could ask for a link. You might be making use of different services provided by different providers. Write testimonials for them. Mention the works that you used the services for .This will be helpful to both of you.
Backlinking is one important factor in ranking on Google and will remain the same for a few years too ahead.
Getting hundreds of backlinks won’t make any difference if you don’t know how to do it perfectly. You need strategies for creating the awesome backlinks you need. While all is fair in war and love, it is not so in SEO. Try to keep yourselves away from the hacks like link-for-link, self linking, link forging, etc. Which are basically black hat methods? These must be avoided, otherwise, it will lead to penalizing your article.
Get the best links, make the best relationships!
Pros and Cons of Guest Blogging in Digital Marketing?
What are Pros and Cons of Guest Blogging in Digital Marketing Services?
Blogging has taken the shape of the most powerful tool in the 21st century for attracting traffic towards your website. Everyone engaged in digital marketing service aims to promote their website within a short time span and guest blogging is a promising means of doing the same. Guest bloggers write content for the website of other companies with the sole means of garnering more engagement. We are going to talk about the Pros and Cons of Guest Blogging today
This form of blogging has attained massive popularity in the digital forum as marketers can promote their products and content through the same. If you are a website owner, then you need to be well aware of the inherent advantages and disadvantages of guest blogging for unleashing its fullest potential. So, read on to know more about the pros and cons of these digital marketing services in detail:
Advantages of Guest Blogging in Digital Marketing
Increased Web Traffic
If you can get a prominent blogger to write a guest post for your blog, then that is bound to lure in more web traffic. Apart from your existing readers, it will also bring in the audience who religiously follow all the posts published by your guest blogger. Chances are high that the guest blogger will also promote the new content on their own website and this will help you to acquire more traffic.
And once the fresh batch of readers finds other interesting content on your website, they are bound to subscribe to your newsletter and keep on browsing back for more content in the future. In the best-case scenario, they might even share your website links with friends and this will boost up your web traffic indirectly.
Relationship Building
Guest bloggers and webmasters usually share a mutually beneficial relationship. This can extend to various promotional strategies and marketing channels. Publishing contents produced by a recognized guest blogger can increase your brand’s authority ahead of the web audience. They will start taking your website more seriously in terms of information authenticity.
SEO Advantages
A directly proportional relationship exists between the quality and quantity of blog posts published by a website and the amount of visitor traffic acquired, leads generated and conversions made. High-quality content can help you rank in terms of keywords for a greater reach. The backlinks acquired from guest posts can also provide you with adequate exposure to a particular domain.
Expert Help
While webmasters have to deal with several things at once, guest bloggers hold expertise in particular niches. Congregation of both can open the floodgate of fresh new ideas which can definitely delight the end readers with the high informational quotient. The guest blogger might also provide a whole new perspective to your existing set of thoughts and practices. This can freshen up your blog and keeps the engagement meter rolling.
Disadvantages of Guest Blogging in Digital Marketing
Tends To Undermine Authority
In most cases, website owners do not go through the content submitted by guest bloggers. This happens as they tend to rely a lot on their previous quality of work. But errors are a basic characteristic of human nature and even the best bloggers can also make major mistakes in terms of grammar, spelling and even information authenticity. Low-quality content can bring down the organic ranking of a website and even damage your reputation amongst the existing followers.
Syndication of Content
Webmasters usually need exclusive publishing rights on the guest blog posts as they do not want competitor websites to publish the same thing and outrank them. At times the guest bloggers themselves spin their own content and publish it in different websites.
Although the wordings might be different, the ultimate summary of both the contents in two competitor websites can come off as a complete rip-off. In such cases, it becomes very difficult for search engines to find out the original content amongst a bevy of copies.
Difficulty in Integration
Guest posting is famous for providing a fresh perspective to your existing content. But at times, it becomes tasking to fit completely foreign content into your old blog. Guest bloggers might not be aware of the buyer personas in detail and their content might not be able to trigger your audience appropriately.
Time Taking
This particular digital marketing service is extremely time-taking when it comes to results. Both the guest blogger and webmaster have to spend a lot of time coordinating until they find the perfect fit for themselves. Publishing just one guest blog might not provide you with ready-made results. Webmasters need to keep on publishing guest blogs regularly until the first positive signs start appearing.
Conclusion
Guest blogging is slowly turning into the next big thing in the field of digital marketing. This congenial relationship can benefit both content creators and the website they are writing for through the means of backlinks.
Guest posting helps to expand your network, improve writing skills, boost up SEO, create a quality audience and even hike up your sales volume. While guest posting has both positive and negative sides, it can benefit both parties involved magnificently. So, go ahead and give it a try if you want to implement something new in your same old digital marketing plan.
If you are a website owner, then you should hire only professional guest bloggers for your onsite pages which can add value to your information architecture. You can also contact the guest bloggers who have previously written for competitor websites using high ranking keywords. The past portfolio of the guest blogger can also be requested for gaining insights on their writing skills and knowledge on a particular niche. If the blogger drops in an outreach letter, then you need to carefully analyze the same.
Presently Google is showing a red signal to black hat link building services. Thus, you need to analyze the number of outbound links which is hidden by the guest blogger in their content along with the quantum of links that point back towards the domain for a complete quality check. Hopefully, you enjoy our content about Pros and Cons of Guest Blogging, Have any question feel free to write us