A Review By The Manchester SEO Blog
Well, Christmas has come and gone and already I find myself imagining what 2010 has in store for us! Tomorrow I will be cashing in some more of my predictions from last year, and also making some fresh ones for 2010. Today, however, I wanted to write an update of a prediction made six months ago when I reported the launch of the new Your First Search business directory. At the time I described it as a “business connection tool that would rise above other directories and offer a genuine alternative for business related searches”.
Over the last six months, I have watched in awe as this directory has soared in popularity to obtain a Google Page Rank of 5, boasting almost 350,000 pages (according to Google) and ranking very well for a range of search terms.
Optimising Your Business Directory Link Building
I often talk about the importance of link building, and despite the recent overhaul of Google, link building still forms the essential core of all SEO activities. However, the art of effective link building depends on you being able to identify the directories that will benefit your website the most. For every popular business directory there will be a hundred unpopular tumble-weed baiting ones that a person might waste time submitting their site to. In this respect YFS is definitely a feather to keep under your cap that will give significant clout to your SEO and website’s rank.
Why Is YFS Better Than Most Other Business Directories?
There are actually several answers to this. The first is that the authors themselves are Search Engine Consultants. These wizards know exactly how to craft every architectural detail of the directory to ensure it can be easily indexed by search engines, maximising the benefit of each business listing and outbound link. Despite the history that yell.com, Thomson Local and other well established directories may have, none have such a rich background in search, and will therefore be left playing catch-up in this area of expertise.
Each entry in YFS is carefully hand edited to ensure consistency, quality of data and usability. Most other directories rely on site owners to choose a category they feel is most appropriate with only minimal moderation – usually a simple approve / disapprove choice by moderators – leading to all kinds of interestingly disorganised inconsistencies.
Unlike many other directories, YFS also allows each entry to include a brief company description along with contact details and a map, allowing companies more freedom on how their listing appears, and also providing a great deal of quality information to users.
Conclusion
At the time of writing, YFS has grown to become one of the more popular business directories on the web. There are quite a number of others of equal popularity around, but this is definitely one I would recommend being featured in. However, it is the speed at which this site has grown that has been truly astonishing and perhaps a telling indication that it has not yet reached the apex of it’s popularity.
Tags: business directories, business directory, Google, link building, manchester seo, SEO, yfs, your first search
