Believe it or not, your address can be hurting your organic rankings.
Now, many of you will ask, “How in the world can my address hurt my rankings?”
Your address is what the online directories use to distribute info about you online. When set up properly, these directories create backlinks for you, and that’s a huge help in your SEO efforts.
At its core, SEO is dependent on 3 things:
- The technical structure of your site
- Well written content
- Backlinks
As competitive as the Internet has gotten for contractors, all 3 of these factors must be done perfectly if you want to rank well and increase the amount of new business you get from the Internet.
We all hear about backlinks and how important they are to SEO and your online success, but what are directory submissions? And, are they actually important?
YES!
Directory submissions create links to your site, so they are “backlinks”. This makes them very valuable. They are also the easiest backlinks you’re ever going to get.
The Impact of Links on Organic Rankings
I can’t tell you how many times I see a perfectly optimized site from a technical viewpoint, has great content but just isn’t ranking. Usually, it’s because the site has no, or very few, backlinks. Google views links as votes of confidence in your site from another authoritative site. These votes of confidence improve your domain authority and help increase your rankings.
Here’s a kicker for some very small businesses. You must have an address to get links. If you don’t have a physical address for your business, you are behind the 8-ball. It’s better, in this case, to use your home address than not have links to your site. Using your home address isn’t perfect for multiple reasons, but you’re not going to rank well without links.
What are the Common Problems Businesses Have with Directories?
Very often, businesses will have inconsistent and/or incomplete information spread throughout the hundreds of directories online. If your info isn’t exactly the same in all directories, you lose valuable “link juice” and hurt your rankings.
It’s easy to accidentally put bad info on the Internet by abbreviated your suite number to STE #, use Boulevard on some directories and BLVD on others, or maybe have an old address hanging out there in cyberspace long after you’ve moved your company. These are just a few of the many ways businesses lose out on good solid backlinks and improved rankings.
Many directories are inconsistent or incomplete, and it's hard work to get these things right on hundreds of directories.
Here’s a Tip to Getting Your Backlink Strategy Underway
Start with Google My Business and get that set up right. Then set up your company Facebook profile to match the Google listing exactly. Next, make a list of all the directories that you are in or want to be in and create unique usernames and passwords for each one. Then go one by one and set up your info to match your Google my business exactly.
This takes time and effort, but it will be well worth the investment in improved rankings and increased lead flow. We all know that increased lead flow becomes increased jobs and profit.
If this seems like a hassle, hire a pro and let them do all the work.