Category Archives: News

Creating a Digital Chamber of Commerce

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Creating a digital presence for your chamber of commerce is essential to propagate and disseminate the association’s activities, as well as attract new members and increase current participants’ online presence.

In addition to offering goods and services to the community, chambers of commerce play a crucial role in communities of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, providing ideas and solutions for improvement, based on the demands of the members themselves.

However, how can your chamber of commerce expand the reach of its services and solutions?

To stand out in the marketplace in today’s increasingly connected world, chambers of commerce must consider ways to attract new members, offer benefits that are aligned with members’ reality, and create a more integrated community by incorporating these factors into their operations.

Chambers of commerce benefit from these actions because they help municipalities maintain an up-to-date database of businesses, which contributes to creating new companies locally and moving the economy forward.

Building an online business directory website for your chamber of commerce is a great way to reach these goals, as we explain in this article.

Additionally, we have selected the best tools and resources to add to your website, how to make it even more valuable to current and potential members, and how to actually create a functional and interactive site.

Keep reading this detailed guide to learn more about how to digitize your chamber of commerce and all you need to know!

Why go digital with your chamber of commerce?

For businesses and chambers of commerce, having an online presence isn’t merely a recommendation anymore, it’s a necessity.

Having a digital presence increases your chances of being found and of enhancing your results significantly if you know how to position yourself online, and chambers of commerce are not any different.

Digitalization offers you the opportunity to enhance the solutions you provide and allow your association members to integrate more effectively.

So, creating an online business directory for your chamber of commerce is an opportunity to give your members a chance to showcase their businesses, reach new customers, and have a more optimized space for interactions, discussions, and product promotions. In addition, it’s a great offering for businesses and professionals who don’t yet have the resources to establish a strong online presence (like ranking well on Google).

Providing a digital platform benefits all parties involved: associations, companies, and society. An online directory is beneficial to chambers of commerce since it automatically collects monthly fees from advertisers. Members benefit from the exposure, search engine rankings, and interaction like messaging, offers, and lead registration and society benefits from a niche portal that is verified.

How to make your site more valuable to current and potential members?

It is equally relevant to consider what this change might mean to your community members or potential advertisers now that you know the benefits of digitization.

After all, they also need to weigh these benefits before they decide to join, right?

So, to make this space even more valuable to members and to attract more people, you need to offer solutions to the real demands of this group.

As an example, if a potential member seeks your chamber of commerce because they are experiencing specific difficulties in their business, offering support materials such as eBooks and training, valuable content, and a community that shows them they are not alone in their journey will help them feel more connected and make their decision to join your association easier.

So thinking strategically about tools to help your community is what you need to do to make your chamber of commerce website relevant.

9 must-have resources for chambers of commerce websites

In addition to adding value to users and potential members, using resources that facilitate navigation, content consumption, promotion of services, and interactions between the community on the site is essential.

1. Build a custom website for your audience

One of the most important aspects when building a trade guide for trade associations is to think about customizing it according to the needs of your audience.

This will be a community space. Therefore, feeling welcomed within the virtual environment is crucial to keeping members engaged and retaining them. Thus, thinking about a personalized identity aligned with the interests of your audience is fundamental.

Set the location of your business guide to facilitate searches for companies and services at different levels (city, region, neighborhood) and customize display information to satisfy users’ search interests.

Segment your trade association members for easy identification when launching promotions and marketing campaigns. Offer free and premium profiles for new members to sign up for your trade association’s ad portal, each with its own features.

2. Consider a responsive website

The responsiveness of a website determines how a user can interact with your chamber of commerce site on any device: mobile, tablet, or computer. Visitors and members are guaranteed to have the best visual and user experience when your site is responsive.

In order to increase conversions and retain users, your chamber of commerce website should be responsive and optimized. The eDirectory platform allows chambers of commerce and associations to create online directories and classified websites that are responsive to all devices. You can also build an iPhone and Android app for your website so users and members can access it anywhere.

3. Have an exclusive “members only” area for your users

A members-only area is another key feature of your chamber of commerce’s website. From there, members can edit and add information about their services, post photos, videos, blog articles, and interact with visitors and collect leads.

A “members only” area creates the feeling of belonging to the group, much like a club for selected companies. eDirectory provides businesses and service providers with a control panel that allows them to display information, offers, and services in a well-organized and optimized manner.

eDirectory Facebook Group

4. Have a “Join our chamber of commerce” sign-in button

Having a button that allows them to join a members-only area is also helpful. Placing these buttons strategically on the site will allow users to easily join the association when they browse the platform.

The ability to automate the entry of new members is essential to the growth of your chamber of commerce in a digital environment. It offers a “sign up” button to make it easy for new users to sign up, as well as payment automation, email reminders, tools, and call-to-actions.

5. Valuable content is key to attracting new members

By creating valuable content in a niche, you create authority, and relevance, create a sense of community and attract new users to your website organically. This is because people are truly interested in what you have to say, and this is no different for chamber of commerce’s websites.

For generating organic traffic to your portal, content marketing strategies remain relevant. Searches on Google are geared toward topics that people are interested in, and if your chamber website matches the keywords, it may appear in the first results.

Online business directories are excellent for search engine rankings. This is because the richer your association website is in ads, events, classifieds, and text articles, the more often it will appear in the top spots.

So, this is a helpful strategy to keep in mind when building your website, and remember: invest in quality and relevant content for your current and future members.

Featured webinar: generate more revenue with agency services

 

6. Create a welcoming environment for new members

It is easier to adapt to a new community if you feel welcome from the beginning. It might seem like a small detail, but it can have a tremendous impact on member retention.

When new members register on your chamber of commerce website, consider creating a welcome space for them in a featured area; the new member should receive an automatic welcome email that contains relevant information and content that can be of assistance during this first interaction.

Make sure to add welcome videos, and articles on the basics of “how to start”, and consider creating a knowledge base area in your chamber of commerce website with short articles and a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section.

7. Add a featured members section

It is possible to create a desire in new users to register on your website by taking advantage of certain mental triggers. Highlighting members on your portal ends up encouraging other companies and service providers to join so that they can also promote their activities.

Therefore, make sure to include a section on your chamber of commerce website to increase exposure to the most valuable members in different categories. Create contests in your community to determine people’s choices in every category and also, the editor’s choice with highly rated members from your city.

8. Create a FAQ page on your trade association’s website

Your page users will likely have some questions about membership before joining, right?

This can be easily remedied through an FAQ page, that is, a page with the most frequently asked questions related to the trade association, answered objectively and directly, and made available to the user easily.

9. Invest time in good design and a great user experience

In addition to all the elements mentioned above, having a beautifully designed website that aligns with the association’s goals, and high-quality images that value the city or region and the association’s work is crucial.

People are easily attracted to appealing visual elements, and having this notion is key to ensuring a successful website. Add images that show positive aspects of your city/region and value the work of the trade association, consider offering professional image production to your members as a way to increase the chamber of commerce revenue.

Create a legacy for your community

And finally, by digitizing your chamber of commerce, your earnings will go beyond new members and revenue generation but the legacy for your city will be enormous, as a great repository with the best services, restaurants, leisure options, and shops, all organized and updated, that is, a lively commercial guide full of new activities.

Creating an ad portal for your trade association

Now you know the main aspects of creating a website for your chamber of commerce in a functional, responsive, and truly member-oriented way.

So, finding a complete platform that offers you everything you need to create your website optimized, scalable, and monetizable is essential.

eDirectory offers you all this on a single platform. With our solution you can:

  • Create a scalable website, starting with a small space and becoming an advertiser for thousands of users and visitors.
  • Monetize in a variety of ways: add a periodic subscription session, members area, advertise, add a classifieds and events area, etc.
  • Develop a space to provide different types of content such as blogs, ads, classifieds, events, offers, and more.
  • Create an exclusive area for members, where they can access and manage their accounts completely autonomously, optimizing your time and theirs.
  • Moderate the content made available on the site, ensuring the quality of the information shared.
  • Add resources to member pages and edit them as you wish, customizing them in a variety of ways.

Wrapping up

Did you realize the importance of creating a website for your chamber of commerce?

Being digital is an increasingly urgent business need, and trade associations are included in that list.

Now you know how to best optimize your services with eDirectory and create a responsive, functional, monetizable, customizable, and fully thought-out website for your audience.

The time has come to think about offering more quality services and scaling your business once and for all.

To learn more about the eDirectory solution and get a free demo, click here to learn more!

Edirectory Free guided demo

How to Create a Buyer’s Guide Website?

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How to Create a Buyer's Guide Website

How to Create a Buyer’s Guide Website?

Buyers’ guide websites are essential for providing information plus reviews for customers to make informed decisions prior to the purchase. The objective of this category of online business directory is to provide detailed information about products, software, and services.

A good buyer’s guide should also include reviews from real customers who have purchased the product, providing a basis for other users to make an informed decision based on their experiences.

As a result, the added information will help users find the products they want and increase the conversions on your buyer’s guide website. 

When a customer searches for a specific product, they want to know why one product fits their needs better than another. Think about choosing software for web development. There are some tools you know you need. However, through a buyers’ guide, you might find that the software of interest requires even more features. The added information about the product will show how your product can solve your users’ problems.

Throughout this article, you will learn how to create a killer buyer’s guide website and the best platform to start your project. Let’s get started!

Topics covered in this article

  • What is a buyer’s guide website?
  • Why is creating a Buyer’s Guide website so Important?
  • Popular types of buyer’s guide websites
  • Create a Buyer’s Guide Website with eDirectory
  • Conclusion

What is a Buyer’s Guide Website?

You may be asking yourself what is a buyer’s guide. A buyer’s guide is designed to streamline purchasing by supplying all the necessary data about a determined product, service, or company. Customers should be able to access a clear message about a product with a simple click. 

The purpose of a buyer’s guide website should be to increase the user’s confidence before making a purchase. It doesn’t matter if you are simply showcasing products and services or if you are also promoting your own affiliate links. The most important thing here is to provide trustful content, especially through user reviews.

Why is creating a Buyer’s Guide website so Important?

In this topic, we will cover four points to explain the importance of creating a buyer’s guide website. As mentioned above, we learned that educated customers become well-reasoned customers. These users are not just browsers; they are people who want to get the best product facts. Buying guides are essential as they help consumers with valuable content and maximum sales potential. They should include product specifications, and customer reviews to help customers make an informed decision.

  • Keep your Audience Well Informed

Imagine you are looking to purchase a new smartphone, a laptop, or even a new marketing software for your company. Where do you start your search? Probably going to Google to find the reviews and opinions from people who actually have purchased and used the product you’re looking for. 

The same goes for everyone else searching for any kind of product on the web, and here’s where creating a buyer’s guide website can be very interesting. Focus on your area of activity and offer comprehensive reviews based on user-generated content. People tend to trust other people’s experiences.

Remember: social proof drives sales and well-informed customers and around 90% of online shoppers read at least one review before making a purchase.

  • It’s great for SEO

When shoppers decide what to buy, they will look at search engines like Google and Bing, or even Amazon. All of these websites index and rank content (products) differently. However, all algorithms value original content, and customer reviews feed the search engine website which can be translated to a better ranking of your buyer’s guide website to surface among the results on the SERP (search engine results page).

How reviews boost SEO

source: https://www.yotpo.com/blog/reviews-seo

Sixty-three percent of all shopping starts online. If your optimized guide’s visibility increases for particular search terms, you can drive more traffic to your site. For that to happen you will need to work on content first, be sure to go after sponsors that will advertise on your buying guide website, make sure to include all the products that are relevant to your niche, and take advantage of keyword tools such as SEMrush, Ubersuggest or Google Keyword Planner to understand what are the search terms used by shoppers when looking for product reviews and make sure to incorporate these keywords to the results page and product pages of your buyer’s guide website.

For example, Shopper Approved and G2 rank highly on search engines for gathering user-generated content in the form of reviews, demonstrating how reviews are a powerful form of customer content that boosts organic traffic.

  • Increase your conversions

Through SEO or paid ads, your buying guide website is likely to gain traffic as well as rank higher in search engine results. Once you’ve generated enough traffic, you need to convert that traffic into leads. This is what we’ll call conversions.

Your audience’s purchasing patterns can vary as new trends emerge. You may uncover new customer groups as you research your buyer’s guide. Remain flexible and acclimate to the facts you discover. It’ll help you create more compelling content that drives sales.

 Take Advantage of User-Generated Content (UGC)

One of the top benefits of user-generated content is that it serves as excellent social proof. Seeing content from real customers increases the advertiser’s credibility and brings their brand’s promises into perspective. In addition, people trust user-generated content over most other types of review content. Therefore, incorporating user-generated content will enhance the trustworthiness of your buyer’s guide website.

Consumers have different reasons for wanting to try a product, and UGC can play an important role in this decision. Numbers are very clear about the impact UGC has on them, more specifically, UGC increases conversion rates 85% better than other content types. 

A recent study from Harvard Business School found out that the more stars a brand or product has on Yelp, there is a boost of 5% to 9% in sales and lead generation. eDirectory is prepared to receive UGC in the form of reviews and stars that will be displayed for other users to read and make informed decisions.

eDirectory Reviews Boost Website

source: www.edirectory.com

Popular types of buyer’s guide websites

Here are a few buyer’s guide websites you could take as inspiration for your own project. 

  1. Capterra
    The Capterra online marketplace acts as an intermediary between technology buyers and suppliers within the software industry. Here, users can read other users’ opinions on a vast variety of software and online products to make an informed purchase decision. This is a classic buyer’s guide website that relies on UGC to take inspiration.
  2. Software Advice
    In more than 300 market categories, Software Advice provides consulting, research, and user analysis services on software applications. Similar to what we see on Capterra, but with  Business intelligence, marketing automation, CRM, HR, and construction are a few of them.
  3. Glass Door
    In addition to being a web-based review company for job boards, Glass Door is another kind of review website, where you don’t actually buy anything, but rather, get the opinions of actual employees about companies, jobs, salaries, and other work-related matters. Just to illustrate what types of buyer’s guide websites you can build with eDirectory.

Create a Buyer’s Guide Website with eDirectory

Now that you understand how effective a good buyer’s guide website can be, it’s time to choose the right platform to build your own. eDirectory is a software where you can easily build classified ads sites, online directories, events guides, and, of course, buyer’s guides and review websites. 

best classified website software tool

With eDirectory, you can take your idea from scratch to the finished product easily. With its intuitive drag-and-drop page editor, you can quickly create pages and insert widgets for anything you need. Your sponsors will benefit from eDirectory’s powerful categories and subcategories, as well as flexible listing templates that let you completely customize the layout and features of the listing for each level of subscribers. 

Quick steps to create a buyer’s guide website with eDirectory

  • Sign up and create your account in eDirectory

First things first, go to edirectory.com and sign up for a free guided demo. As your first contact with the platform, you will have access to the site manager back panel. For a complete understanding of what eDirectory can do for you to create a great buyer’s guide, we recommend you try the demo first!

edirectory site manager

Here you’ll manage your buyer’s guide, create listings, moderate reviews, create categories, design new and existing pages, etc.

  • Select your target location

You can set up your buyer’s guide websites in any location you’d like, no matter if they’re local, regional or national. When offering local deals or classifieds, as well as for SEO purposes, this is quite important. Make sure you select your time zone and the language in which you want your dashboard and website to be displayed.

edirectory language location

  • Adding categories and subcategories

Depending on the niche of your Buyer’s Guide website, you will have different categories. If your business is focused on food and restaurants, it is most likely that your website will have categories related to it. Creating categories in eDirectory is quick and easy, you will find the categories feature inside Content > Listings, and then click on categories. Create as many categories as you need with up to 9 subcategories.

edirectory create category

  • Import your first products or business

Now that you’ve created your categories, you can import your products or services. In the initial stages of your buyer’s guide website, you can either register all items individually (which can be a time-consuming task) or use bulk imports to expedite the process.

On the Content tab, click the Import option and then click Listings. You can upload your CSV or XLS spreadsheet file and follow the instructions. This will only take a few seconds, as you’ll be asked to match the fields on your spreadsheet and that’s it.

edirectory import tool

  • Connect your domain name and spread the word

Lastly, don’t forget to set up your new domain name using your favorite platform, and don’t worry about the SSL certificate and hosting, as it comes included in every eDirectory plan. If you want to self-host your buyer’s guide in another service, go ahead as this is also an option.

Don’t forget to set up the Google services like Maps, Analytics, and Tag Manager. 

Once your buyer’s guide is live, is time to promote it and spread the word about your service. Remember that Google loves good and unique content, and buyer’s guides are an excellent source of UGC, so leverage this strategy. Go after partnerships with local brands or suppliers, offer them exposure or free premium subscriptions for a couple of months, investing in paid advertising on social media and PPC (pay per click) campaigns. You’ll very likely drive way more traffic and attract new sponsors.

Wrapping up

The purpose of this article was to demonstrate what could be accomplished with a buyer’s guide website. Additionally, it allows users to generate content, making it a reliable source of information for people to make informed decisions. This makes it not only a great business model for recurring revenues but also one that encourages user-generated content. 

Your buyer’s guide website can cater to any niche, not only tech products and services. There are review-based websites for everything, like jobs, food and restaurants, cars, games, apps, events, lawyers, dentists, and doctors. It truly fits every industry.

If you want to create a powerful and easy-to-manage buyer’s guide website, Directory is your best choice. Don’t wait, sign up for a free eDirectory demo today. 

Edirectory Free guided demo

 

Meet the new eDirectory Marketplace Widget

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Meet the new eDirectory Marketplace WidgetWe are thrilled to announce a killer feature that changes the game for the online business directory community: the eDirectory Marketplace Widget. Publishers now have a perfect tool to showcase and sell their products or services directly from your directory with the click of a button, making your online directory a much more attractive option for new and existing sponsors.

This feature has been developed over several months by the eDirectory product team to be useful and easy to manage. You can maximize your online directory by offering more value to sponsors looking to sell online to a wider audience.

The Marketplace Widget is a brand new addition to eDirectory’s most recent release, and we’ll explore how to utilize it in detail in this article. Let’s get started.

Make it possible for your advertisers to sell products and services

Marketplaces have become some of the biggest and most valuable companies in the world. It is expected that B2B eCommerce site sales will reach nearly $1.77 trillion in 2022*¹, an increase of 12% over the past year as online business trends continue to influence everyday B2B operations.

Globally, 40% of all online spending post-pandemic*³ occurs on marketplaces, a number that is predicted to increase in 2022 as the world reopens. With the new eDirectory Marketplace Widget, your advertisers can offer their goods and services directly to their audience through your website.

Easily add a direct payment link (from any payment gateway) to the “Buy Now” button and that’s it! The sponsor can make sales and receive the payment instantly. They can also use the custom buttons to book services (book now, make an appointment, etc), which is something we will explore in more detail in the next topic.

We have a detailed article on how to use the eDirectory marketplace widget to its full potential.

edirectory marketplace widget

Offer services and book appointments from your online directory

If your advertisers aren’t selling physical or digital products, but are instead providing services like classes, consultations, or any activity that requires an appointment, they can use the products and services widget in conjunction with their favorite booking tool (such as Calendly or YouCanBookMe) to drive leads directly to their landing pages.

eDirectory Marketplace Widget

In niches such as Wellness & Health, where sponsors can offer services such as yoga classes, individual boxing lessons, nutritionist consultations per hour, and personal training sessions, this can be a very valuable feature for listing owners. 

For other consultancy or coaching-related niches, the “Book Now” button is also a differential that adds value to your online directory and could attract new clients, as these professionals work mostly on an appointment basis. Consider upgrading your eDirectory to v13.1 to take advantage of these and more features.

For Restaurant and Food Services

The eDirectory Marketplace Widget is also a killer feature for the restaurant and food niches because now your sponsors can create special offers that can be purchased or booked on the spot! 

edirectory marketplace widget - fajitas

For instance, the demand for personal chefs has grown significantly since June 2020, according to Fanny Suen Hiu-yan, founder of MobiChef, a Hong Kong startup that provides private chefs for hire*². Listing owners can then create unique offers combining products and services to uncover new revenue streams, such as adding a “Chef at home” service with a “Book Now” button linking your favorite booking app, letting the customer choose their own time and date.

eDirectory marketplace widget - Chef at home

In addition, a reservation service can be added so clients can book tables directly from a listing, thereby avoiding needless phone calls. Restaurants can also sell pre-cooked meals, wine bottles, condiments, and more.

Mix and match calls to actions

It is possible to redirect clients not only to shopping links (like PayPal or Stripe) and booking links (Calendly) but also to custom pages, messaging applications, CRM applications, and so forth.

Take this Golf club example, players can schedule 1 on 1 lessons via text message directly to the club’s reception by clicking the Golf Lessons button. The offer appears on the listing and can be visited by the audience.

eDiectory Marketplace widget - Golf lesson

And If your advertisers want to get serious about tracking their conversions through the Products and Services widget, they can use Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics to track any URL or form submission on your online directory in order to take full control of your KPIs.

What kind of buying links can be used with the eDirectory Marketplace Widget?

This widget allows the use of any type of external link! Whether from PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, or WePay among others. It’s also possible to link offers directly to a store on Shopify, Magento, Open Cart, and drive the lead to a sales funnel, hence using the listing owner inventory and shipping options.

Leads can also be sent to a landing page with a custom form, and thus have more control to drive the prospects to a CRM app such as Hubspot, Mailchimp, Pipedrive, GetResponse, and so on.

Start Your Online Directory

Wrapping up

The Products and Services Widget is a great tool that empowers listing owners that don’t have an online store to sell products and services directly to customers. If properly used, this can change the way your advertisers use your online directory.

As a great value offer, you can include this widget only in the top-level listings of your online directory to attract more sponsors.

In  this article we covered:

  • An introduction to the new eDirectory Marketplace Widget (products and services)
  • Selling physical and digital products
  • Offering services and booking appointments
  • Restaurant and Food usage
  • Mix different types of links
  • What types of links can be used

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13.1 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com has to offer, simply fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account executive.

For new clients looking to launch an online business with all you see here and much more, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

Join the eDirectory Facebook GroupReferences:

  1. *¹ https://internetretailing.net/marketplaces/marketplaces/marketplaces-clear-winner-as-51-of-post-pandemic-retail-set-to-take-place-online-23408
  2. *² https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3152874/how-personal-chefs-became-covid-19s-must-have-luxury
  3. *³ https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/ecommerce-industry-statistics/

It’s out: New eDirectory v13.1

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Meet the New eDirectory v13.1

New eDirectory v13.1We are proud to announce a major release: eDirectory v13.1. It is filled with new features and new technology. It reflects the constant evolution of the most complete directory software.

According to Arca Solutions’ CEO, James Chubb, this new eDirectory version comes from a new set of internal processes for faster release cycles. It means more product features are being added with even more quality.

This release gives more flexibility and functionality, making it easier to launch and monetize directory-based websites.

The new eDirectory Mobile App

The star of the new release is the new generation of the eDirectory Apps. Formerly built using two different platforms (one for Android and one for iOS), the new eDirectory app is created with Flutter, an open-source framework developed by Google in 2015. It delivers native performance and visual consistency on different platforms.

Fernando Nascimento, product manager of eDirectory, says that web and app formats are now closer and the plan is to get them even closer in terms of design, features, and functionalities.

Read more about the New eDirectory App here.

There’s no doubt the new eDirectory App brings more flexibility but it also brings more opportunities for customization, to meet specific needs. ”The new version is built on the open-source Flutter platform, where the single code base can generate native iPhone and Android apps. Going forward this will dramatically increase the velocity of the app development, as well as make app customization much more affordable”, says James.

What’s new on eDirectory v13.1

Besides the new eDirectory App, the web version brings improvements and new features across all modules. As we have a blog post dedicated to the new eDirectory App, let’s see here the highlights for the web version!

New Widgets for the Listing Detail Page

Marketplace Widget

This feature allows listing publishers to create lists of products and services that
will be shown as a catalog on the listing detail page, and an external purchase link can be added so the end-user can purchase the offered item. Learn how to add this feature to your eDirectory site.

Header Widgets

A total of 5 new header widgets for design enhancements and to create fine-tuned templates for each category.

  • Thin Header
  • Centralized Header (3 different versions)
  • Header with Gallery (up to 8 images)

Contact Us Widget

The contact information is displayed on the default header widget but now it can be displayed anywhere on the listing detail page. It includes address, phone, an additional phone, website, and email.

Badges Widget

Similar to the Contact Information, Badges were displayed only on the default header but now can be added anywhere on the listing detail page.

Browse by Category Widget

Site managers can now select from which module the categories will be selected on any
of the “Browse by category” widgets. It creates more options to highlight the best content of your project, improving user engagement.

Twitter Feed Widget

With the sunset of the Advanced Social Media Plugin, the Twitter feed is now available for all new installations. Available for Listings and Events modules. LinkedIn clickable URL can now be added to the listing page.

Deals Module

Advertisers are now able to upload their own QR code, which will be displayed on the redeemed coupon, making it easier the deal validation. Fixed prices are now optional, allowing advertisers to create generic coupons such as “All products with 50% off”. Advertisers will be able to define if redeem codes will be generated randomly for each deal redeem or define a unique, customized coupon code that will be presented for all visitors who redeem that deal. Lastly, the Site Manager will be able to disable the display of the time left to redeem and the deals left counter. See how to use QR Code on deals.

General Settings – Maps and Banner Ads by level

Site managers can now choose which levels will display Google maps and Banner Ads on the detail page. Available for listings, events, and classifieds It allows to create or highlight the benefits of the premium plans.

Theme Layout Updates

New layout for themes Doctors, Wedding, and Restaurant. Improved default color palette for contrast and usability.

Claimable Listings export

New option to export claimable listings on the Mailing list section. Claimable listing is a powerful built-in feature so you can reach out to your potential advertisers, starting a conversation to engage and sell. This new export feature creates a faster way to pull this data and feed your preferred email marketing platform.

Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13.1 here.

Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!

For active clients looking to take advantage of the latest and greatest eDirectory.com has to offer, simply fill out the Upgrade Request form or contact your account executive.

For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with all you see here and much more, please request a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.

Instant Messaging for Directory Websites

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eDirectory Instant Messaging Plugin

We released the Instant Messaging Plugin that allows site owners and advertisers to use Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger directly on the website.

Instant messaging provides real-time communication between visitors and listing owners, allowing them to make immediate sales contacts.

Site owners will be able to add a messenger floating button to the site, choosing one from the three options allowed. The other messaging platforms can be displayed on the header, footer and Contact Us page as clickable elements.

Instant Messaging Plugin for Directories

For advertisers, the messaging apps clickable items will be displayed below the phone number on the listing detail page.

Instant Messaging for Listings

Contact us today, add this Plugin to your directory, and get connected with your audience!

Benefits of using IM in your directory site

  • These apps provide instant communication. In addition to text messages, users can exchange multimedia messages, such as photos, videos, documents, or sound.
  • Instant Messaging is applicable to both B2B and B2C businesses. It is important to choose the right platform and explore what it has to offer.
  • Compared to digital marketing and social media, mobile messaging has much more engagement and return on investment in marketing.

Instant Messaging apps around the world

Different applications are popular in different countries, and so your choice of apps must take this into consideration:

  • WhatsApp is a world leader and is used in 104 countries. It is popular in Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia and in many countries of Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.
  • For US markets, the most used applications are Messenger and WhatsApp.
  • Facebook Messenger is used in 64 countries, notably Australia, Canada, and the United States.
  • Telegram and other messaging applications that are very popular in China, Japan, and Iran.
  • In Europe, however, the leaders are WhatsApp and Messenger. Asia and specifically in China, most users use WhatsApp and Telegram. In Africa, most people communicate via Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

Be sure to keep track of client preferences and their needs, which can change over time. Instant Messaging is a great development, satisfying the demands for speed, practicality, and real connectedness.

How to comply with the European General Data Protection Act (GDPR)

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The General Data Protection Act (GDPR) is considered to be the most significant piece of European data protection legislation to be introduced in the European Union (EU) in 20 years and will replace the 1995 Data Protection Directive. The GDPR enhances EU individuals’ privacy rights and places significantly enhanced obligations on organizations handling data.

The new regulation goes into effect on May 25, 2018.

The GDPR regulates the processing of a data subject’s personal data in the European Union including its collection, storage and transfer or use. The GDPR gives data subjects more rights and control over their data by regulating how you should handle and store any personal data they collect.

Every website that collects, stores and handle European citizen’s data will have to comply. But what does that mean?

Basically, you’ll have to update your privacy policy and place a cookie consent disclaimer in your website.

How to (re)write my Privacy Policy?

As every online directory is unique, there’s not a standard template to copy. Besides the information you already have there, the privacy notice should address the following to sufficiently inform the data subject:

  • Who is collecting the data?
  • What data is being collected?
  • What is the legal basis for processing the data?
  • Will the data be shared with any third parties?
  • How will the information be used?
  • How long will the data be stored for?
  • What rights does the data subject have?
  • How can the data subject raise a complaint?

The best tools we find to help our users are Terms Feed and Iubenda. The final text will depend on how many tools you have installed in your site like Google Analytics, CRMs, Facebook Pixels, Hotjar, LiveChat, etc.

 Data Controller and Data Processor

One thing that you have to highlight in your new Privacy Policy is who handles data.

A Data Controller represents the entity that determines the purposes, conditions and means of the processing of personal data: the Directory owner (you)

If you host your online directory with us so we are the Data Processor. If you host anywhere else, your or the hosting provider is your Data Processor.

Be sure to use the right Data Processor when updating your Privacy Policy.

 How to place a cookie consent disclaimer in my online directory?

One way is to use paid tools like OneTrust.com, Cookiebot.com and others. But there are open source options like Cookie Consent by Insites and Silktide. Just place their scripts using Google Tag Manager.

To learn how to install the Cookie Consent Disclaimer by Insites, read this article here.

Alternatively, you can embed one of the numerous 3rd party widgets, or if you have the owned license you can develop custom code.

Contact eDirectory support at support.edirectory.com if you have questions or problems.

Read more:

*We take great care in providing information to you, but please be aware of the fact that this blog post can not be considered a substitute for professional legal advice.

Launch your site with the best Business Directory Script

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Launch your site with the best Business Directory Script

What is the best business directory script to start a project?

When working on a new idea, it can be daunting to navigate the internet and find the best solution for your needs. Particularly when you enter WordPress territory, where there are so many plugins, and both free and paid themes to choose from, you are almost certain to waste time trying out options that are not professional.

Outside of that scenario, you will find other options that are not an all-in-one solution in terms of suiting any niche you may need. If you would like to build a new online business such as a restaurant guide or a fitness & wellness online directory, you could do both with a professional look with eDirectory.

Let’s show you what are the main strengths of eDirectory.

And what makes eDirectory the best business directory script?

In a few words, the complete package! 

eDirectory is the most complete directory script out there, fully-featured from top to bottom, beautifully designed, and ready to generate a recurring revenue stream.

Built using technology platforms that power many of the largest sites on the internet. In addition to the core technology, we have optimized our code and configurations for speed and reliability.

The eDirectory setup is fast and easy. You can import listing data from a spreadsheet, and click to edit navigation and other site layout items via the widget-based page editor. Launch your site in minutes and manage your content with ease.

edirectory widget page editor

All versions come with the following modules: Listings, Deals, Classifieds, Articles, Events, Blog, and Banners. It also comes with a User Profile, Advertiser Dashboard, and 10+ Payment Gateways to make it easier to monetize your online directory.

And to complete that full package, you still get the only online directory app builder in the market with native support for iOS and Android. Know more about the integrated app builder.

Built with SEO in mind, you can focus on content, and rest assured your site will rank well in the SERPs.

eDirectory Tech Stack

  • PHP
  • JQuery JavaScript
  • {Less} CSS
  • Bootstrap
  • Symphony
  • ElasticSearch
  • MySQL Database

The out-of-the-box features our clients love

  • Claimable Listings
  • Coupon Codes creator
  • Social Login
  • Email notifications
  • Bookmarking System
  • SEO Center
  • Photo Galeries
  • Video embedding
  • Page editor
  • See all Features!

Edirectory Free guided demo

Perfect for beginners. Fantastic for experienced developers!

eDirectory has an intuitive interface to help our customers to create and manage their directory websites with ease, taking advantage of our Cloud subscriptions: don’t worry about installation and hosting, we’ve got you covered.

Skilled developers can self-host our directory script accessing the source code to perform any modification in design and features.

What you can build with eDirectory in just a few clicks:

  • Lead-gen directory websites
  • Buyer’s Guides
  • Local, National, and International Business Directories
  • Membership sites
  • Yellow Pages sites
  • Classifieds Portals
  • Restaurant Guides
  • Review Sites
  • and many more, unleash your creativity!

edirectory restaurant theme

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eDirectory Facebook Group

eDirectory July Upgrade

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We recently released the eDirectory July Upgrade to the product to add new features, make some optimizations, and change the way a few things work, all for the better!

We added more widgets to the library to make sure clients have the site that works best for their specific online community with new options for personalization.

Here’s a rundown of the latest and greatest eDirectory has to offer in its newest release:

1. Header: 4 new header widgets, totaling 5 different header widgets available for all themes

  • Header with sticky menu
  • Header with contact phone
  • Header with social media links
  • Header with centralized logo
  • Available for all themes

2. Footer: 3 new footer widgets, totaling 5 different footer widgets

  • Footer with logo
  • Footer with newsletter widget
  • Footer with social media bar centralized
  • Available for all themes

3. Results: 2 new results list widgets, totaling 4 different results widgets

  • Results list with grid view with filters on the left
  • Results list with grid view with filters on the right
  • Available for all themes

4. New Events Calendar widget available for all themes
5. New Nearby results functionality
6. New console command to enable or disable the maintenance mode

Header Widgets

We made header widgets that were once exclusive to our Medical, Restaurant, and Wedding themes available to the default eDirectory theme so clients can take advantage of those features without having to utilize any one specific theme.

Footer Widgets

The footer has also received some TLC with some new display features with new personalization options with the logo centered, social media links, or a newsletter widget. Clients can now select the footer design that works best and toggle between them as needed.

Grid View

The latest results list now allows for a grid view, showing content in easy to scan “cards”. This widget also has variations to display the search filters on either the right or left side.

Events Calendar Widget

A new interactive events calendar widget has also been added to make it much easier for visitors to find events they interested in attending based on the monthly calendar view. A highly requested feature that we’re very happy to have released. Recurring events are an especially enhanced feature of this new widget to run events that keep visitors coming back to the site.

Nearby Results Functionality

We’re really excited about one key element of this new release, which is the nearby results functionality for an improved search experience for our online community users to better find what they are looking for. This updated functionality allows both local community site and international vendor directory owners to better tailor to what extent nearby results will be displayed. This feature can even be personalized for specific locations, so if you have certain metropolitan areas or small municipalities, you can edit the nearby search results radius for those geographies specifically, pretty cool!

New Maintenance Mode

The new maintenance mode functionality now makes it even easier to enable while simultaneously allowing the site to be locked publicly while the site owner can make edits to the site and see it all live while logged in. This makes setting up the site more intuitive for the site owner so they can see the changes they make live.

Take advantage of the eDirectory July Upgrade now!

If you’re looking to launch your online Enterprise with all the newest features available, feel free to pick the plan that works best for you and get started in just a few minutes. Have any questions or would like to get connected with your assigned account executive to make sure we’re the best solution for your project? We’d love to meet you, simply request an eDirectory demo here.

If you’re an active customer of eDirectory and would like to schedule your site for an upgrade, you can get started here by completing this short Upgrade Request form.

Thank you for being the best part of eDirectory and we look forward to growing with you!

New eDirectory Facebook Group for our users

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Join eDirectory Group on Facebook and get connected to people like you!

eDirectory.com Communities

The new eDirectory Facebook Group of users is proof that webinar events at eDirectory.com have been a relative success, both for eDirectory and its global community of directory software clients.  As we got started we had a  few interruptions with the new webinar software and getting familiar with how it all worked, yet we see the applications for our business and the benefits for our clients, so we will be moving forward with weekly webinars after a slight maintenance period to get the next series planned and executed.  We have learned a great deal about what we can do to continue our mission of building the best directory software on the planet and we thank everyone for their participation thus far.

Of the many pieces of actionable intelligence one we were able to roll out fairly quickly was the launch of our private partner strategy group on Facebook.  We’ve already seen some directory owners interacting with each other and can see the potential for this as we continue to grow our community.  We are committed to making ourselves accessible to all of our clients worldwide, no matter where they are, and these private groups are an excellent example of our goals here at eDirectory.com.  Clients today have a myriad of resources at eDirectory like a knowledge base we constantly update, chat support, customer success agents on call, our blog, webinars, a support ticket system, and now our new private groups on social media.

We hope to see both clients and those interested in launching an online directory website with eDirectory get all the information needed to have the best experience possible with our platform., and we are confident these new strategy groups will play a significant role in this goal.  We will strive to take every piece of feedback we receive and based on its ability to be adopted throughout the platform, have it added to the MOD Store, and to or enact a fundamental change in the logic of the directory software system. Nothing is off the table!

There are some exciting new optimizations and functionalities coming up on the next development cycle of the eDirectory.com directory software solution and some of those even came from our recent community events!  We believe this is only the beginning of bringing our powerful community participants closer together online to power more “meaningful communities” for all our members and users to be a part of, one site at a time!

We invite you to please join us in our Facebook group found here. Please feel free to get started with joining the groups, introducing yourself, inviting friends and family to get ready to learn more and earn more with other online entrepreneurs and community leaders!

Please keep the great ideas coming and we look forward to seeing our online communities grow, the same as we hope to see those of our clients’ online communities growing as well.  Thank you for being the best part of eDirectory.com and we look forward to seeing what you build with our powerful directory software, cheers!

 

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Webinar Wednesdays is BACK!

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Webinar Wednesdays is BACK!

webinar wednesdays

So we’re almost half-way through 2017 here (already, sheesh!) and the time certainly has gone by quickly at eDirectory.com. Looking a few years back we pioneered “Webinar Wednesdays” and it was a huge success since it allowed us to LEARN more from our online directory website clients. This was what we believed to be the most important benefit of conducting online directory software tutorials LIVE, so we could see in real-time any issues our clients were having, or what directory features they were most excited about, or what the newest upgrades entailed for their specific online communities.

As many things go in business, you tend to lose sight of what is important when you are given exciting new ventures to embark on. We’ve been busy making foundational upgrades to the entire directory software system, operational enhancements to provide better quality customer service, and we’ve also added loads of new videos to make sure clients have a better experience with this powerful (although easy to use) directory website solution. So now that we’ve spent the last year making waves with our development team with the last 3 upgrades, we are READY to re-release our weekly webinar program to our international community.

We are more than thrilled to be hosting our weekly FREE webinars for active customers as well as those looking to launch with eDirectory and wanting to see how it all works before getting started. In doing so, we’ll be alternating topics each week until we find a few our community would like to have recurring, so we’re open to any and all feedback as we kick things off here.

We curated 4 topics to begin our NEW weekly webinar series, you can see those here below:

Introducing the New Page Editor

We’ll cover the widget-based front-end and how easy it is to bring your unique vision to life on your online directory website. Drag, drop, save, and share!
Wednesday, May 24th
10am PDT – Pacific
1pm EDT – Eastern
6pm BST – Europe

The newest platform upgrade at eDirectory.com, and why clients LOVE it!

We’ll present all the powerful new features recently made available on the directory website platform and take questions from active customers and those looking to launch their online Enterprise with eDirectory.
Wednesday, May 31st
10am PDT – Pacific
1pm EDT – Eastern
6pm BST – Europe

Question and Answer Community Forum (+ Product Updates)

We’ll start with some recent product updates and then open up the floor for a learning session by taking live inquiries.
Wednesday, June 7th
10am PDT – Pacific
1pm EDT – Eastern
6pm BST – Europe

10 Tips to Creating Successful, Revenue-Generating Online Directories

We’ll cover tips and strategies to create the most opportunities for success with your online directory website.
Wednesday, June 14th
10am PDT – Pacific
1pm EDT – Eastern
6pm BST – Europe

All of our community webinars are held on first-come, first-served bases. Upon signing up, you’ll receive a calendar invitation and some reminders before the show begins.

If you have any recommendations about webinar topics,
we’d love to hear from you. Would you like more information about our community webinars or private training sessions? If so, please send an email to marketing@ eDirectory.com.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to meet the team and see if eDirectory.com is the right choice for your online directory business! Register now for your favorite topic(s) and be sure to stay in touch with eDirectory.com for company and product updates at FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN, and YOUTUBE.

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