We are thrilled to introduce you to the latest version of eDirectory, version 13.2. eDirectory is an essential tool for businesses and individuals alike who want to create and manage online directories, classifieds, and membership-based websites with ease. With version 13.2, we have introduced new features and enhancements that will elevate your online presence and give you a competitive edge.
One of the most significant new features is the widget for headers with image sliders. This feature allows you to add a dynamic visual element to your website’s header, making it more engaging and eye-catching. You can use this feature to showcase your best content, products, or services and attract more visitors to your site.
We have also introduced the featured items widget, which allows you to highlight specific items or services on your website. This feature can help increase sales and drive more traffic to your site by giving users an easy way to find and purchase what they are looking for.
But the most significant innovation in this version of eDirectory is the improved SEO center. Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for any website looking to attract organic traffic, and we have made it easier than ever to optimize your site for search engines.
By taking advantage of these new features, you can improve the user experience on your website and help your advertisers get more visibility and traffic to their businesses. Watch the webinar now and discover how eDirectory version 13.2 can take your online presence to the next level.
Webinar: Meet the new eDirectory 13.2
*We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected to the tools and sites mentioned in the webinar.
In today’s world, having an online presence has become crucial for any organization, including churches. An online church directory can be an excellent way to connect with members of your community, provide easy access to information, and promote transparency. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of an online church directory and how to create one.
Whether you are a parish leader or someone looking to bring people in your community together, we’ll cover the advantages of having a well-built, structured online member directory for your church. Keep reading to know more.
Offline vs Online Church Directory
An online church directory provides several advantages over its printed counterpart. It allows members to easily access updated information about the church community from anywhere and at any time. Additionally, an online directory enables administrators to efficiently manage the directory’s contents, making it easier to keep it current and accurate. Members can also interact with each other through an online directory by adding comments, sharing photos, and connecting through social media platforms.
This can help foster a stronger sense of community and connectedness among members. Overall, an online church directory can be a powerful tool for modern churches to build and maintain a thriving congregation.
image source: Unsplash
Unite your community
An online church directory can help unite your community by providing a centralized platform for members to access information. This can include contact information for pastors, staff, and other members, as well as information about upcoming events, service times, and other relevant details. This can help members feel more connected to the church, and make it easier to get involved and stay informed.
When creating an online church directory, it’s important to consider what information to include. Typically, you’ll want to include contact information for members, such as phone numbers and email addresses. You may also want to include other details, such as photos, social media links, and areas of expertise or interest.
This might be the most time-consuming part of the entire project, but filling in current, and detailed information about your parish, with photos, blog posts, articles, events, and others, will encourage the members to join and make their own profiles.
Be sure to include the member’s detailed information
When creating an online church directory, it’s important to consider what information to include. Typically, you’ll want to include contact information for members, such as phone numbers and email addresses. You may also want to include other details, such as photos, social media links, and areas of expertise or interest.
Encourage your members to create rich profiles and engage with the events of your community. This will create a sense of belonging among the users and goers of your church even when they are out of the church.
Once you have a clear plan in place, you can start building your online church directory website.
How to Create an Online Church Directory
One of the easiest ways to create an online church directory is by using eDirectory. This powerful directory software is designed to be user-friendly and easy to customize. With eDirectory, you can create a members-based website that is tailored to your church’s specific needs, with features like member profiles, event listings, and more.
Plus, eDirectory offers a robust in-house support team and ongoing updates, so you can be sure that your directory is always up-to-date and functioning smoothly.
1- choose a domain name related to your church
Select a domain name that mirrors your community’s identity, complete the registration process, and integrate it with your eDirectory account via the control panel. A customized domain name imparts a more professional and polished impression of your church’s online membership website, elevating the sense of belonging among members.
It communicates that your church is an ongoing project beyond the physical confines of the church and is committed to serving its members through the digital realm. Choosing the right domain name can be an essential step in establishing your church’s online presence and building a lasting relationship with your congregation.
2- Create the categories you need
Creating categories in eDirectory is a straightforward process that can help you organize your website’s content and make it easier for visitors to navigate. To create categories, start by logging into your eDirectory owner account and accessing the control panel. From there, select the “Categories” option and click on the “Add Category” button.
You will be prompted to fill out the information about the category, such as its name, description, and image. Try to create church-related categories, or others related to services offered by your community, like hair salons, lawyers, pastors, education, etc. You can also choose to assign subcategories to further organize your content around the needs of your community.
Once you have filled out the necessary information, save your changes, and your new category will be added to your website. You can repeat this process to create as many categories as you need, each with its unique name, description, and image. Categories can be edited or deleted at any time from the control panel, providing flexibility to adapt to changes in your website’s content.
By using categories, you can help visitors find the information they are looking for quickly, enhancing their user experience and promoting engagement with your online church directory website.
3- populate your church directory website
With eDirectory, creating an online members website for your church has never been easier. Utilizing the powerful listing template editor, site managers can create detailed profiles for both advertisers and members, allowing users to upload photos and videos, and create classifieds, events, deals and offers, blogs, and articles. This level of customization ensures that your online directory is tailored to meet the unique needs of your parish.
As your community grows, there are plenty of opportunities to monetize your online church directory using eDirectory. With the ability to charge for membership or dues and collect payments through the integrated payment system, you can easily create up to four plans for your members and monetize other aspects of your directory, such as selling, classifieds, events, articles, and banner ads. Simply connect eDirectory with your preferred payment gateway, sit back, and start collecting recurring payments. With eDirectory, you have all the tools you need to create a successful online directory that benefits both your church and its members.
4- Release your church online directory: spread the word!
Releasing your church’s online directory is an exciting moment that requires careful planning and promotion to ensure its success. To begin, start by sending an email blast to your members announcing the launch of the directory and explaining its features and benefits. You can also promote the directory on your church’s website, social media accounts, and in person during church services. Encourage members to register and update their information regularly, and provide incentives for doing so, such as access to exclusive content or discounts on church events.
Another effective strategy for promoting your church’s online directory is to partner with other churches or organizations in your community. Reach out to local community groups to see if they would be interested in featuring your directory on their website or social media accounts. Consider offering a reciprocal promotion in exchange for featuring their organization in your directory. Additionally, consider hosting an event to promote the directory, such as a launch party or training session. By leveraging your community’s network and hosting events, you can increase visibility and engagement with your online directory, ensuring that it becomes an essential resource for your members.
Conclusion
An online church directory can be a valuable tool for any church looking to improve communication, connect with members, and promote transparency. By creating an online directory, you can save time, money, and resources, while providing a valuable service to your community.
If you plan on creating an online members website for your parish, don’t hesitate and schedule a free guided demo of eDirectory and see what it can do for your community.
Online directories are a great way to bring together a community of users and create a comprehensive list of businesses or services in a specific area. However, to make your directory stand out and keep users engaged, you need to incorporate smart features that enhance the user experience. That’s where eDirectory plugins come in. In this webinar, we’ll explore how you can make your online directory smarter with the help of eDirectory plugins.
What are eDirectory Plugins?
eDirectory is a popular platform for creating and managing online directories. It offers a wide range of plugins that you can use to add functionality to your directory. These plugins are designed to enhance the user experience and improve many aspects of your online directory. This is a brief list of some of eDirectory’s most important plugins:
The new eDirectory 13.2 is now available. This release updates the SEO Center, brings some Plugins for the mobile apps, adds new widgets for Pages and Listing Pages, among general performance improvements.
Discover the highlights of the new eDirectory 13.2!
New Header Widget – Image Slider
If your project focuses on images on the Listing Details Page then this new widget is for you. The photos added to the image gallery can be used in the “slider” format, with action buttons for the user to navigate between them.
This widget is available through the Listing Template Editor.
New Additional Image Widget
Create so you can place even more images on the Listing Detail Page. Create as many widgets as you wish and position them on the page however you like. Configure the limits and availability of this additional feature through the Plans & Pricing manager.
New Highlight Cards Widgets
In version 13.2 we included 7 new Highlight Cards widgets with image and text elements. These highlights serve several purposes, such as creating sections such as About the Team, Meet the CEO, How It Works, Additional Services, and whatever else your creativity allows.
These widgets are available in the Page Editor and can be added to any page on your site.
Administrator Accounts
When creating administrator (site manager) accounts, it is now possible to define which subsections of each module this new administrator will have access to. This makes it easier for your team to manage the site. And for those who have more than one site associated with the main license, you can define the access level of this new administrator for one or more sites.
New SEO Center
The SEO Center has been completely revamped to receive the new features. eDirectory continues to allow full control of the title, friendly URL, keywords, and SEO description for all items (Listings, Classifieds, Events, etc.) and Categories for all modules and Main Pages of the system.
The main SEO news in version 13.2 are:
Integration with the new Google Analytics (GA4)
Robots.txt file editor (to fine-tune which pages can and cannot be crawled)
Page Redirect Editor (for more control of URLs/pages)
Uploading the ads.txt file (for those using Google Adsense and similar programs)
Facebook/Meta Business Manager verification code upload
Default image upload for social sharing (OG/Open Graph)
Plugins in Mobile Apps
eDirectory 13.2 also brings improvements to the Apple and Android Apps, which are now able to display the functionality of 8 Plugins:
Instant Messaging Plugin
Events Association
Articles Association
Multiple Videos for Articles
Multiple Videos for Listings
Advanced Reviews for Businesses
Geo-Targeted Banner Ads
Mailchimp Integration
In the App management section, we added a shortcut to Google Firebase, thus facilitating the sending of Push Notifications.
Upcoming system updates will bring more plugins to the apps.
Read the full list of enhancements of eDirectory v13.2here.
Upgrade to the latest version of eDirectory today!
For new clients looking to launch their online Enterprise with the most complete directory software, pleaserequest a demo here, call us directly at +1-800-630-4694, or send an email to sales@eDirectory.com.
For directories, conversion goals are crucial to track and measuring the success of your marketing efforts. These goals help you to identify the actions your users take on your website that ultimately lead to a conversion, such as a purchase, a subscription, or a lead submission. In this article, we will explore how to set up and track conversion goals in Google Analytics for directories and how to export the goals report for further analysis.
Setting up Conversion Goals in Google Analytics
Before setting up conversion goals in Google Analytics, you need to have a clear understanding of your business objectives and the actions you want your users to take on your website. Once you have identified your goals, follow these steps to set them up in Google Analytics:
Sign in to your Google Analytics account and select the website you want to set up conversion goals for.
Click on the Admin button in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Under the View column, click on Goals.
Click on the New Goal button and choose the type of goal you want to create, such as Destination, Duration, Pages/Screens per Session, or Event.
Fill in the details of your goal, such as the destination URL, the duration or pages/screens per session, or the event details.
Click on Create Goal to save your goal.
Exporting the Goals Report in Google Analytics
Once you have set up your conversion goals in Google Analytics, you can export the Goals report to track and analyze the performance of your goals over time. Follow these steps to export the Goals report:
Sign in to your Google Analytics account and select the website you want to export the Goals report for.
Click on the Reporting tab at the top of the screen.
Click on Conversions in the left-hand menu and then click on Goals.
Choose the goal you want to export the report for and click on it.
Click on the Export button in the top right corner of the screen and choose the format you want to export the report in, such as PDF, CSV, or Excel.
Save the exported report to your computer.
Wrapping up
Tracking and measuring your conversion goals is essential to the success of your directory website. By setting up conversion goals in Google Analytics and exporting the Goals report, you can gain valuable insights into the behavior of your users and optimize your website accordingly.
Webinar: Marketing Conversion Goals for Directories
If you’re in the process of launching an online business directory website, it’s important to create a “coming soon” page to collect email addresses for potential users and subscribers. In this webinar, we’ll walk you through the steps of creating a coming soon page for your online directory website.
Step 1: Choose a Platform
When starting an online directory website, one of the first things you’ll need to do is choose a platform on which to build your site. There are a variety of options available, each with its own pros and cons, but one of the most popular choices among directory website owners is eDirectory.
eDirectory is a powerful and versatile platform that offers a wide range of features and tools to help you create a professional and user-friendly online directory. With eDirectory, you’ll have access to a visual editor that makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your site, as well as a control panel that allows you to manage and organize your content with ease.
Step 2: Choose a Design
Once you’ve chosen a platform, it’s time to choose a design for your coming soon page. There are a variety of templates available, or you can create a custom design. Keep in mind that the design should be simple, clean, and easy to navigate. It’s also important to include a clear call to action (e.g., “Sign up for updates” or “Be the first to know when we launch”). We show in detail how to explore eDirectory’s Page Editor to create and publish a Coming Soon page.
Step 3: Add Content
The next step is to add content to your coming soon page. This should include a brief description of your online directory, what users can expect, and any features or benefits you plan to offer. It’s also important to include a form for users to sign up for updates or to be notified when the site launches.
This is not a mandatory step, but if you feel like your website will benefit from a further explanation of what people should expect, go for it.
Step 4: Test and Launch
Before launching your coming soon page, it’s important to test it to ensure that it is functioning properly and that there are no errors. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to launch your page and start promoting it.
Creating a coming soon page for your online directory website is an important step in the launch process. It’s a great way to generate excitement, build anticipation, and collect email addresses for potential users and subscribers. By following these steps, you’ll be able to create a coming soon page that is effective and generates results.
Webinar: Creating a Coming Soon Page for your Online Directory Website
If you are the owner of an online business directory or a classified ads portal and you still don’t use a lead generation strategy in your business, you may be missing out on sales opportunities. Lead generation is vital for any business looking to attract new users and consumers to their products and services.
There are ways to boost those results by driving more leads to your website and converting them into advertisers, but you must ensure your website is running smoothly and has all the tools you need to capture these visitors’ information, like forms and pop-ups (newsletters, discount offerings) and rich content marketing material in general.
This article delves into more detail about how to do this effectively. So, keep reading to learn how to generate leads through an online business directory!
First of all: what are leads?
It is crucial to understand what a lead is before discussing the strategy itself, in order to put the strategy into practice and achieve the desired results.
Leads are people who have shown genuine interest in a niche or business topic after searching online. Users provide some information about themselves in exchange for valuable content, information, or something else that adds value to their search.
This information can be the name, phone number, e-mail, or any other data required by the company in exchange for this rich material, which can be an e-book, access to an exclusive webinar, a free trial for some service, a video course, a spreadsheet, etc.
Having this exchange opens up a new business opportunity for the company, which puts them into its sales funnel. A sales funnel consists of a few steps that a user takes until actually purchasing a product or service.
Thus, alead management strategyis essential if you want to qualify users and convert them into customers in the future. This is because they represent the beginning of the journey that this customer must take to reach the goal of buying the product or service.
So why generate leads with an online business directory?
Developing a lead generation and management strategy through the creation of organic content requires a good understanding of the target audience andbuyer personaon the part of the company. This means that it is necessary to understand precisely who the ideal potential customer is and what the company can offer them to convert them into subscribers.
When you have an online business directory, lead generation is made easier since the companies listed on the website are already well segmented with crucial information like location, company size, niche, etc., and even more detailed information that is not easily achieved.
On the other hand, an advertiser that uses the right strategies to stand out in a classifieds portal can attract many more users and convert them into customers.
And remember that, as an online directory owner, you must, of course, generate leads for your business as well as for your sponsor’s businesses, as this is how you keep your user base engaged for as long as possible, while you earn the revenue on their ongoing subscriptions as well selling leads for them.
How to generate leads for your online directory
There are several ways of putting this strategy into practice. We’ve compiled a list of the most relevant ones for owners of online business directories.
Some of them are Digital Marketing strategies such as paid traffic (see Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Facebook Ads), and the production of organic content for blogs or local advertisements in your neighborhood or city.
OnPay Per Click campaigns (or PPC), be aware that you will need some familiarity with tools such as Google Ads, and that you need to invest money on these platforms in order to appear on sites like Google and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter.
In order to succeed and maximize your ROI (return on investment), it is crucial to understand who your target audience is so that your brand is seen by as many people as possible.
Another good strategy is to team up with local marketing and sales agencies to endorse your product, offer discounts on yearly plans, and special campaigns on social media. Take advantage of bigger portals or profiles that you believe you could benefit from and leverage their audience.
With eDirectory, you can create blog articles and produce strategic content or open a space for paid ads through banners. The more strategic and optimized your planning is, the more qualified leads you will generate.
Generating leads for your advertisers (sponsors)
The key to keeping your online business directory, membership website, or classified ads site financially healthy is via recurring revenue.This is a business modelthat benefits greatly from this type of monetization because it works on monthly or yearly subscription plans.
But your advertisers can benefit from it too since an online directory with great quantity and excellent quality traffic is a source of incoming leads to its sponsors. That means that the visitors of these kinds of websites are already far ahead in their buying journey since they are looking for suppliers or services to solve a specific need.
Be sure to offer the tools your sponsors need to collect these leads and they will see great value on your website. Keep them wanting more by investing in good content andtraffic campaignsfor your online directory.
Ways to generate leads for advertisers are:
When the advertiser creates a lead form on their listing and a visitor fills in their name and email, becoming a lead.
When the advertiser creates a direct contact button or another form of direct communication, such as a phone number in the ad, and the visitor clicks on it, a lead is generated.
These features allow the online business directory owner to collect leads and offer them to advertisers in the way that makes the most sense for the business guide owner’s strategy.
Generate additional revenue by selling leads to advertisers
With eDirectory, you can use theAdvanced Lead Distributionplugin to generate an additional revenue stream by selling qualified leads to your advertisers. With eDirectory, you can create different levels for your advertisers depending on the subscription level.
This way, you will be able to set the specific amount of free leads your customers will be able to receive and distribute them accordingly. So, to get more leads, advertisers will be able to buy extra leads and you will get additional income by offering this feature to your subscribers.
The Advanced Lead Distribution plugin helps streamline this process and qualify leads for advertisers, who can then convert more users into customers.
Reach leads targeted to your niche
Content Marketing is a powerful strategy when it comes to an online business guide. Sites of this type, combined with Content Marketing strategies, are essential for ranking in search engines such as Google and, consequently, for capturing leads targeted to your niche.
Through the production of strategic pieces in different content formats, it is possible to help search engines to find and target your commercial guide site more easily. Some ways to do this are through blog articles, keyword usage, videos, optimization plugins, etc.
Indexing and optimizing your page is one of the ways to reach targeted leads in your niche and turn them into advertisers in the future.
eDirectory provides the tools necessary to make this happen and maximize lead generation results.
Generate leads through good user reviews
Another way to improve this process is by getting good reviews. By gaining positive reviews, it is natural for advertisers to generate more qualified leads, as they build trust and credibility in the company’s work.
In addition, advertisers with good ratings may be better ranked in the online business guide, increasing reach and consequently generating more leads.
This strategy mainly provides for good content planning, which aims to rank relevant keywords that will attract potential customers to the company.
In addition to, of course, good services offered that bring social proof and credibility to companies. The page that details the advertiser (company) also has a resource to improve lead capture: lead generation resources.
This tool made available by the eDirectory software offers the option to add quick forms on the advertiser’s detail page, taking the user into direct contact with the business in which he has an interest. Moreover, you can offer the advertiser the option to be able to reply to reviews, creating more engagement with their audience.
Prepare your online business guide to generate leads
When using eDirectory, you will have an integrated platform that has lead generation and management tools such as:
Create custom lead forms directly from the site manager;
Use data analysis tools (such as Google Analytics);
Use plugins to generate additional revenue by selling leads to advertisers;
Develop a Content Marketing strategy to rank the commercial guide in search engines, among other resources.
It’s easy to use eDirectory for lead generation purposes, and you canrequest a free demo directly through our website.
Wrapping Up
Generating leads through an online business directory is a must to make your website profitable and attract new customers, and sell their products and services to customers more aligned with the business.
So, investing in dedicated software for creating online directories that offer the best of both worlds – a place that collects qualified leads and a selection of companies that want to advertise their quality services to potential customers – is critical.
Lead generation is one of the first steps in the user’s buying journey and, the more qualified that lead is, the more chances of conversion (and possibly sales) the business will have. Therefore, using the right resources is essential to provide satisfactory results and enhance online commercial guide management strategies.
eDirectory is that tool, a fully integrated platform that has the resources you need to leverage lead generation with an online business directory with ease.
If you are considering starting an internet business, but you are not sure if an online directory is a viable option for you, we’ve prepared a presentation to explain the do’s and don’ts of this tried and tested approach.
The purpose of online business directories is to assist people in making informed purchases. For example, a guide for restaurants in a certain region, or a wedding business-related online directory with suppliers, locations, service providers, or any other niche you could think of.
This type of website is in use since the nineties, if you think of well-known listings-based websites such as Craigslist or Yelp, you are talking about online business directories. These types of websites take their value propositions from two main factors: offering curated content in the form of listings of products or services, articles or events for their audience, while taking advantage of user generated content in the form of reviews.
As the online business directory website gains more and more traction in search engines like Google, it is likely that more sponsors will join the website and more users will consume products and services. This is a vital part of the monitazion methods where the online directory owner can offer banner ad spaces, membership levels and other ways of making the website profitable.
So stay tuned and join us for this week’s presentation and, also, don’t forget to check the related material listed below.
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.
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.
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 hereto learn more!
With the release of the new eDirectory version 13.1, the suite of eDirectory apps became even more powerful. The new App was built using a Google technology named Flutter which delivers improved performance and visual consistency on different platforms.
The new technology was combined with a new design to make the eDirectory App look fresh and current. It took the eDirectory team months of research and prototyping to get to the final product: an app that’s fast and looks great on any device.
We were joined by Fernando Nascimento, product manager for eDirectory. In this webinar, he will describe in detail the eDirectory App’s main features, to help you understand what it can do for your business.
These are the main new features of the eDirectory app:
