How to Optimise Your Business' Directory Listing

From gaining additional traffic and enquiries to reaching a wider audience and gaining SEO friendly backlinks, listing in a business directory provides multiple benefits. While just adding your business name and contact details is a good start, we've got optimisation suggestions to help you reap even better results!

Guide to Optimising Your Directory Listing

Improving your business directory listing helps to:

• make your business products or services more appealing 
• increase the frequency your listing is visited, which increases your website visits and enquiries
• grow your online presence

We know that many of the businesses who are listed in the Business Networking NZ directory have created well optimised listings. But we want all New Zealand businesses to be able to take full advantage of their listing with us, so have developed this guide to help you get started.

• Updated contact details - if your email and web address are incorrect, your customer isn't going to be able to contact you. Along with contact details, remember to include your hours of operation, plus links to your social media accounts.
• Logo and images - adding a high res version of your logo is very useful for helping build brand loyalty and improving the professionalism of your listing. The Business Networking NZ directory also allows you the opportunity to add additional images, such of products or your workplace within the Longer Description area too.
• Headings - an accurate and catchy heading is important at not only getting a visitor's attention, but also building trust (in that you deliver what you say you will) and for SEO purposes. Our Longer Description area also allows you to choose the type of SEO heading you would like within your content too.
• Testimonials and reviews - adding social proof helps to build credibility and trust with customers. Choosing a few to add to your listing helps with this, and you can also add links specifically back to those reviews and testimonials on your website too.
• External links - one of the key features of our business directory is that you can add individual links back to your website within your listing. Not only will you receive a link to your home page (or other main link), but you can add external hyperlinks to other pages or products within your listing too.
• Categories - when adding your directory listing, you are given the opportunity to choose the most suitable category for your listing to be placed in. Placing your listing in the best possible category ensures that it has the opportunity to be viewed by those looking for your specific products or services, plus help with your SEO. An incorrect category can lead to a reduction in benefits from your listing, including enquiries and website visits. If there is more than one category you would like your business in, please feel free to send details of this to the Business Networking NZ team of directory moderators. 
• Products or services - even adding the names of specific products or services you offer helps to improve your directory listing. As mentioned above, you can also add external links and photos of these within your listing too.

Improving Your Written Listing Content

When adding or editing your business listing, you have the opportunity to enter details into the Long Description box. This area functions a bit like a Word document when editing, in that you can use headings, bold or italic text, bullet points, add images and change text colours. By clicking on the individual tabs such as Edit, Insert or Format, you are presented with additional options to help you edit your listing. Below is a video which quickly demonstrates some of these features:

Our popular New Zealand directory has the added advantage of being moderated by our team, rather than being automatically approved like many others. This ensures we remain one of the best options for businesses who want a human moderated listing within a highly regarded directory. 

To edit your existing listing, you will need to login using one of two ways:

• Use the link you were sent via email when registering your business within our directory.
• Visit the Login page, which also has an option for you to reset your password if forgotten.

To add your business to our directory, head to the Registration page.