The Benefits of Using a Business Directory

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The Benefits of Using a Business Directory

• Respect and trust can go a long way too. And
  furthermore, if in the future you have any other
  directories, your current clients will be the
  first to sign up. No spelling mistakes. You
  should never have any spelling mistakes,
  especially for the front page and the About Us
  page. It's just not professional to have spelling
  mistakes and makes your directory look sloppy.
  You will be surprised that a chance glance on a
  spelling mistake can be a very big turn-off and
  make your potential customer think twice about
  getting a listing on your directory. Complete
  your directory first. There should be no "Under
  Construction" sign in your directory after you
  launch your directory. Make sure everything works
  without problems, like your payment system or
  your featured listing placement thingy. You
  should have tested your entire directory and make
  sure it works perfectly.

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• Well, it cannot always be unique but how about
  useful features? Let's say, you allow your
  customers to deeplink? Or you allow them to place
  their logos on their information page? Or how
  about having a thumbnail of their site? Hey, how
  about letting them have keywords in their title?
  How about a little blog? Or some games or the
  latest news if you are planning your directory to
  be a portal? These features can help make your
  directory more of a value to your customers and
  to stand out. Even more so now that the
  competition in this arena is very stiff. Good
  quality "content". Make sure you add sites to
  your own directory and these sites should be
  "authorities" on their subjects. And when you
  approve sites for inclusion, make sure that those
  sites are not spammy ones. Nobody wants their
  sites to be placed among spam sites, it gives
  them a bad reputation.

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• It gives your directory a bad reputation as well.
  If you have to lose a few bucks, so be it. Oh,
  you should always re-write the site description
  and try to make it unique. If you have other
  content (like a blog or a article section), try
  to make them unique and useful to your visitors.
  Good content always win in the end. Never launch
  your paid directory empty! Don't do that because
  it doesn't look good to your clients. And it
  looks like you didn't even make any effort to get
  some sites into it first. Reputation is important
  to a directory owner. People respect hardwork and
  if you are lazy, your directory will show it. As
  mentioned before, you should add some quality
  sites into your directory and try to minimize the
  number of empty categories before the actual
  launch. Everyone hates empty categories,
  especially Search Engines - nothing for them to
  index. Have a decent PageRank first.

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• Make sure your directory gets a decent PageRank
  first. I know what you guys are thinking,
  PageRank means Chennai Business Directory Review
  nothing right? That may be true somewhat. But
  having a decent PageRank also tells your
  potential clientsthat you have backlinks, which
  means that there is a better chance of being
  spidered and more often. Having a decent PageRank
  also tells them that you have been spending some
  money and effort on promoting your directory and
  getting those costly links. This means that your
  directory surely won't be a fly-by-night
  directory. And better still, a lot of people
  still believe in PageRank and the benefits it
  gives. So why not make use of this perception?
  Furthermore, PageRank alone can sell, if you
  don't believe me, just look around you. Promote
  like crazy. Advertise your directory whenever and
  wherever possible.

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• Either through adsense, banner ads or just
  through your forum signature. Marketing and
  promoting your directory should be a priority for
  a paid directory owner. Why? Because there are a
  lot of other paid directories and they all want
  the same thing as you - paid customers. Without
  promotion, nobody will notice you. Without
  http//chennaibizbook.com/ promotion, no matter
  what you offer your customers, sadly they won't
  come. When you are doing the sell, make sure you
  highlight your directory's good points. Sell the
  good points (especially those unique features)
  and explain in detail the benefits of getting
  listed in your directory. But avoid looking like
  a crappy salesman. We all know how untrustworthy
  these people are. If you are ethical and honest,
  I am pretty sure your reputation among other
  directory owners and your customers will improve
  and soon they will become your very own
  promoters.