5 ways to Monetize your Online Directory Website in 2025

Here’s 5 ways to Monetize your Online Directory Website

This article was updated in May 2025

 

Creating an online directory presents extraordinary opportunities to build sustainable, recurring revenue streams. In 2025, successful directory owners can generate five-figure annual revenues by leveraging proven monetization strategies backed by data-driven insights.

This comprehensive guide reveals five ways to monetize your online directory, with real-world revenue data, psychological triggers that drive conversions used by industry leaders like Yelp (generating $1.3 billion annually), Crunchbase, OpenTable, and others.

1. Premium Listings Sponsors

Premium listings are a key component of monetization strategies for many directory-based websites, remaining a reliable method for generating revenue in 2025. Industry leaders showcase the effectiveness of this model: for instance, Yelp’s advertising services, which primarily focus on premium listings, generate over $337 million in revenue. Additionally, an average of 2.5 million people visit Yelp each day in search of businesses.

In eDirectory, site managers have the option to implement tiered plans. They can offer various levels, such as free tiers, basic packages, and premium packages, each of which may provide access to rich content and special fields for creating listings. Additionally, they can sell premium placement options on the directory’s homepage, category pages, and other locations, allowing sponsors to pay extra for enhanced visibility. This strategy can help businesses increase their exposure and drive more traffic.

Why premium listings work

Premium listings work because they tap into three core psychological triggers:

  1. Visibility Bias: Users view featured listings as more credible, indicating the business is active and has updated information. Additionally, these listings are positioned at the top of the page, which is a prestigious spot for visibility.
  2. Social Proof: Enhanced listings featuring reviews, photos, and detailed information foster user trust. Reviews significantly influence customers’ decisions during their journey.
  3. Convenience Factor: Having a presence on the home page significantly increases the chances of your business being the first one a user sees in your category. Other listings are several clicks away within the category page, while the premium listing is immediately visible.

eDirectory Featured Listings

 

 

Creating value-driven revenue plans

eDirectory’s new Package Builder in version 13.5 revolutionizes how directory owners create and manage monetization strategies by allowing unlimited customization of products and plans. The system enables owners to bundle listings, classifieds, and events into comprehensive packages while offering seven different billing cycles (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, yearly, and one-time payments) to accommodate diverse member preferences.

The Package Builder’s flexibility allows directory owners to create sophisticated bundled offerings that increase average sale values while simplifying the customer decision-making process. For example, a local business directory could offer a “Growth Package” combining 1 listing (with limited content), 1 event posting, and 5 classified ads with quarterly billing, or a “Startup Bundle” featuring 1 basic listing, 1 event, and access to gated business resources with monthly payments. Professional directories might create an “Enterprise Plan” bundling 1 or more premium listings loaded with every feature, featured placement on the home page, exclusive perks, and premium content areas, while offering flexible payment terms to match corporate budgeting cycles.

2. Strategic Banner Advertising

Banner advertising has evolved far beyond simple display ads. In 2025, successful directories are creating integrated sponsorship experiences that deliver measurable ROI for advertisers while maintaining user experience quality.

Banner ad space on a popular website can be sold as prime real estate at a premium rate.  eDirectory’s full-featured banner system allows site managers to easily offer self-service banner ad sales as well as fully managed accounts. Display banners on a home page are of high value for select categories, modules (events, articles…), or locations.

Enhance your banner advertising functionality with the Geo-Targeted Banner Ad modification tool from the Mod Store and which will add even more value and put location-specific advertisements in front of your site visitors.

Research from Nielsen Norman Group reveals that maintaining ad density below 30% prevents the 50% bounce rate increase typically seen with over-aggressive advertising. This creates a crucial balance point for revenue optimization.

Banner Home Page

High-Converting Banner Placement Strategy

Homepage Premium Positions:

  • Above-the-fold header banner: Premium rates
  • Sidebar premium rectangle: Standard rates
  • Footer banner strip: Basic rates

Category-Specific Targeting:

  • Industry vertical sponsorships: Premium pricing
  • Geo-targeted local business ads: Mid-tier pricing
  • Seasonal campaign placements: Variable pricing

Banner Category

3. Lead Generation & Sales Qualified Leads

Lead generation represents the highest-margin monetization opportunity for established directories. By capturing user intent and connecting it with service providers, directories can command premium pricing for qualified prospects.

Professional service directories (legal, medical, home improvement) achieve strong revenue per lead due to high customer lifetime values in these sectors. Real estate directories often command premium rates for qualified buyer leads.

Lead Quality Scoring System

Premium Leads

  • Contact information provided
  • Specific service request details
  • Preferred timeline indicated
  • Budget range specified

Standard Leads

  • Contact information provided
  • General service interest
  • Some timing indication

Basic Leads

  • Contact information only
  • General inquiry

4. Monetize your Online Directory with Google AdSense

To effectively monetize your online directory, you need to leverage Google AdSense. This powerful platform uses advanced search technology to deliver ads that align perfectly with your website’s keywords and content. By implementing Google AdSense, you can significantly increase your revenue, as it guarantees that the ads displayed will be highly relevant to your visitors. Furthermore, Google prioritizes showing the highest-paying ads, ensuring you optimize your earnings potential. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your bottom line!

Google makes the process quite simple – once you sign up for a free Google Adsense account, you will complete the forms and be supplied with some HTML code to add to your websites.

Advanced Implementation Tips

  1. Page Speed Optimization: Ensure ads don’t impact Core Web Vitals scores
  2. Ad Placement Testing: Use AdSense experiments to optimize positioning
  3. Content Quality Focus: Higher-quality content attracts premium advertisers
  4. User Experience Balance: Maintain user engagement to reduce bounce rates

Adsense Banners

 

5. Combining Affiliate Marketing & Social Media for Maximum Impact

Marketing with affiliate offers is a very effective way to monetize your online directory traffic. It allows you to present your visitors with relevant offers for products or services that they are likely to be interested in. For instance, if you have a niche directory website about skiing, find an affiliate offer that would be of interest to your visitors, such as air travel (think Expedia…), hotels and lodging, skis and snowboards, or skiwear.

While affiliate marketing (commission-based revenue) and social media monetization provide substantial opportunities individually, combining them creates compounding revenue effects.

Multi-Channel Implementation:

  • Use social media to promote affiliate products authentically
  • Create valuable content that naturally incorporates affiliate recommendations
  • Leverage your social following to drive directory traffic and premium upgrades
  • Develop sponsored content that provides genuine value while generating revenue

Here’s how it works: You would place a provided banner or text link on your website that includes your affiliate link, directing visitors to the offer. If they sign up for the offer, you will earn a referral payment or commission.

Success Blueprint to Monetize Affiliates with Social Media

  1. Content First: Create valuable, educational content on social platforms. Your content should be a mixture of informative and entertaining.
  2. Natural Integration: Incorporate affiliate recommendations within helpful posts, like tips, recommendations, user user-generated content (like reviews).
  3. Community Building: Utilize social media to enhance engagement with your directory. Your social profiles should focus on building a community around your niche. Consider this a space for testing how to connect with your audience. We recommend using TikTok and Instagram because they offer various tools for creating content, such as stories, question boxes, and the ability to share posts. Both platforms support short and long video formats, making them ideal for showcasing your products or services.
  4. Performance Tracking: Use eDirectory analytics tools to track lead conversions. Additionally, you can leverage other analytics to measure affiliate conversions and social media engagement metrics. As a site owner, these metrics are crucial for providing your sponsors with proof of the value of your efforts, helping to ensure they continue renewing their subscriptions.

Extra tip: Offer Sponsored Content and Guest Posting Opportunities

Providing businesses with the option to publish sponsored articles or guest posts on your directory’s blog can be a lucrative revenue stream. This approach not only generates income but also enriches your website with diverse content, enhancing its value to visitors. 

Use the Articles module on eDirectory as an opportunity for your sponsor to showcase blog posts that are relevant to your niche while also generating revenue through subscriptions.

Benefits:

  • Increased Visibility for Businesses: Companies gain exposure to your audience, promoting their products or services in a more engaging and informative manner.

  • Enhanced SEO for Your Site: Regularly updated content with relevant keywords can improve your site’s search engine rankings, attracting more organic traffic.

  • Establishing Authority: High-quality guest posts can position your directory as an authoritative source in your niche, fostering trust among users.

Implementation Tips:

  • Set Clear Guidelines: Define the criteria for sponsored content, including topics, word count, and quality standards, to maintain consistency and relevance.

  • Offer Tiered Pricing: Provide different packages based on content length, placement, and promotional efforts, catering to various business needs and budgets.

  • Promote Through Multiple Channels: Share sponsored articles across your social media platforms and newsletters to maximize reach and engagement.

Conclusion

Monetizing your online directory in 2025 is no longer limited to just paid listings or basic ads. With evolving digital tools and shifting user expectations, directory owners now have a wealth of opportunities to turn their platforms into powerful revenue-generating assets. From offering tiered paid listings and targeted banner ads to generating leads, leveraging Google AdSense, integrating affiliate marketing, and now adding sponsored content, each strategy brings a unique advantage and income potential.

The key to success lies in understanding your audience, providing real value to your listed businesses, and constantly optimizing your monetization mix. Whether you’re just launching your directory or looking to boost existing revenue streams, these strategies can help you build a sustainable, profitable business that grows year after year.

Ready to take action? Start by implementing one or two of these methods and scale as you learn what works best for your niche and community. If you are looking to build an online directory, take a guided demo of eDirectory and launch your online business today.

Edirectory Free guided demo

Webinar: Agency Services to Increase Your Directory Revenue | eDirectory

Agency Services to Increase Revenue

Launching an online directory business is one of the most scalable and high-margin digital opportunities today, especially when it comes to agency services to increase your directory revenue. With low startup costs and the potential for recurring income, this model is appealing to entrepreneurs eager to establish passive or semi-passive income streams. However, once your directory is operational, what are the best strategies to accelerate growth and enhance client retention?

Why Offer Additional Services?

Many directory owners focus exclusively on listings. But while your directory gains traction with content and traffic, you can jumpstart your cash flow by bundling complementary services that help your clients succeed online.

Benefits include:

  • Early-stage revenue while building traffic
  • Improved client retention and satisfaction
  • High-margin services that stack with your existing offerings

Why Offer Agency-Style Services?

Agency services naturally complement your directory’s value proposition. Business owners listing on your site already need help with:

  • Online visibility
  • Branding
  • Content creation
  • Advertising

Offering these services makes you a one-stop solution—a key to winning long-term clients.

How to Get Started

There are three paths to implementing these services:

  1. Learn and offer them yourself (great for low-skill services)
  2. Outsource to freelancers or small agencies
  3. Partner with service providers who white-label for platforms like yours

Start simple, and scale as demand grows.

Webinar: Agency Services to Increase Your Directory Revenue

7 High-Impact Services to Offer with Your Directory

1. Product and Site Photography

Visit client locations and take high-quality photos for their listing. You can also outsource this to local photographers. A solid DSLR or mirrorless camera pays for itself quickly.

Tip: Offer this service as a one-time setup or include it in Premium listings.


2. Video Production for the Web

Short videos—testimonials, product highlights, or business tours—are powerful trust builders. These videos can be shared on:

  • Your directory
  • YouTube
  • Client social channels

Outsource post-production or learn the basics yourself.


3. “Submit My Business” Service

Many businesses still haven’t claimed their Google Business Profile. Offer this as a fast, low-effort service that provides real value.

Pro Tip: Get certified in Google tools to increase credibility.


4. Paid Ads Management

Help clients run local ad campaigns on:

  • Google Ads
  • Facebook and Instagram
  • LinkedIn

You can bill monthly and either manage it yourself or partner with an ad expert.


5. AI-Generated Blog Content

Use tools like ChatGPT or Jasper to create blog posts targeting long-tail local keywords. This improves SEO for your clients and your own directory when cross-posted.

Bundle as: Monthly packs or à la carte pricing.


6. Smart Local SEO Optimization

Audit and optimize client listings using AI:

  • Suggest better categories and keywords
  • Identify citation opportunities
  • Boost Google Maps rankings

Offer this as a one-time setup or ongoing service.


7. Personalized AI Video Intros

Use platforms like Synthesia or Pictory to create short, branded videos using AI avatars. These are great for:

  • Welcome messages
  • Promotions
  • Service walkthroughs

High perceived value and super quick to deliver.

How to Bill for These Services

With eDirectory, it’s easy to charge for value-added services:

  • Add them to your plans and pricing
  • Use the Page Editor to update service descriptions
  • Or create a custom service page and invoice clients directly

Conclusion

Adding value-added services to your online directory isn’t just a way to increase revenue—it transforms your platform into a full-service digital marketing solution for local businesses. Whether you’re offering AI content, paid ads, or video production, these services enhance your client’s success—and your bottom line.

Useful links and tools mentioned in the webinar:

 

*We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected to the tools and sites mentioned in the webinar.

This session was recorded on May 14th, 2025.

Want more tips? Shoot us a note at .

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Webinar: Revenue Strategies for Online Directories

Revenue Strategies for Online Directories

Generating revenue through an online directory can vary depending on the niche. The creation of an online directory provides an excellent opportunity to establish a recurring revenue stream. Monetizing the website can be achieved through various methods, including utilizing eDirectory’s payment tools or linking to third-party affiliate products and services.

One of the most effective ways to begin generating revenue is by providing high-quality content that is in demand among online users. You may consider setting up a members-only section on your website, similar to how newspapers operate, which only grants access to subscribers. Inviting guest bloggers to publish articles about topics that your audience finds valuable, such as restaurant recommendations, wine, books, movies, and other relevant materials, is another option.

Another profitable method is advertising your newsletter, which can contain a curated list of the best or latest services and products listed in your directory. Sell the ad spots to your sponsors to gain exposure for their brand in front of a targeted audience.

In this webinar, our CEO James Chubb shows the main methods of monetization used for businesses to generate revenue online.

Revenue Strategies for Online Directories

Online directories are one of the best media businesses out there because the production costs are low, and they gain traction on Google rapidly because of the constant content generation (mostly user-created) and they are relatively quick to launch.

Have in mind that promotion takes an important role as you need to make your website visible to your audience. Invest some time to study paid media strategies (PPC) and SEO to generate more organic traffic to your online directory.

And of course, have in mind that the key is to keep your sponsors on board and attract new users. Recurring revenue is the way to make your online directory become profitable in the long run and eDirectory is built for that.

This session was recorded on February 21st, 2024.

Want more tips? Please send us a note at .

Edirectory Free guided demo

 

 

Monetization Tools for Online Directories

Monetization Tools for Online Directories

Monetization tools for online directories

Creating an online directory brings an amazing opportunity to generate a recurring revenue stream. From using the built-in payment tools that eDirectory provides, to offering links to 3rd party affiliate products and services – when it comes to monetizing your website, opportunity abounds!

This Webinar will examine some effective ways of monetizing your directory site. Offering listings and advertisements to businesses and other strategies that make your directory more visible and, more importantly, generate income.

This session took place on May 12th, 2021.

Check our webinar schedule at https://www.edirectory.com/webinars/.

Learn more about how eDirectory can help you start your new project and begin generating income. Visit our Blog for further information on everything Business Directories.

More Income: offer multiple Ads and Classifieds to your listings

More Income: offer multiple Ads and Classifieds to your listings

Increase your income by offering multiple banner advertisements or adding classified ads to your listing levels and plans creating high value plans for your members. This is a great way to upsell premium plans that includes these additional opportunities for members to maximize exposure and branding across your website. (now available in v 11.1)

Revenue-Generating Online Directories

Banner Ads

When getting started with a new website, publishers can use the banner ad space to place affiliate links, sell your own products/services or add google Adsense to generate revenue. Website publishers can also sell banner ads at 80% off to get started, upgrade members for free so they can add offers which will allow you to then charge them for leads. eDirectory has all the banner tools that you’ll need to turn a profit from your advertisers.

By allowing your best customers to take advantage of the opportunity to proudly fly their banner ad atop the category they best represent, adds credibility and brand exposure reserved for premium members. This will quickly prompt your member’s competitors to also want to gain access to premium real estate on your website and sign up for paid advertising.

Displayed banners ads can be created to link to outside URLs such as your member’s website or link to internal listings, deals, classifieds or events in the directory website. eDirectory’s built in banner ad manager makes it super easy to upload banner ad images, manage and track click-through traffic. Banners can be images, flash, or even script from a third-party banner system.

Classified Ads

Another awesome built-in tool is the Classified Ad module. This allows members to advertise jobs, show items for sale or customize the Classifieds Module to display whatever is best for your community and includes descriptions, photos, pricing and contact information. Whether it’s advertisements or sales, it’s a one-stop shop for getting your Classifieds on your directory. Let your site customers sell anything they wish in the an expertly categorized, well-organized, and beautifully presented Classifieds section

A link to the classified ad will also be displayed in the member’s listings, same goes for the classified listing linking back to the member’s.

By offering these additional ads it’s not only beneficial for your members, but also helps site publishers to further populate their website with quality content.

Creating The Plans

Offer at least three and up to four plans displaying tiered pricing plans that are easy to compare and the pricing page that is easy to understand. Create a perceived appearance that by upgrading to a premium plan that includes banner and classified ads, they are able to receive far more value for their advertising dollar.

Creating listings and levels is easy in the eDirectory site manager dashboard which allows up to 4 listing levels and will display what is included (and what is not) great for displaying that all important comparison chart.

directory website advertisingCreate packages and promo codes to further customize your plans and pricing with value-add incentives.

So get started adding multiple banner ad and classifieds with your listings and start and watch your website start to rapidly develop into a thriving community.

3 Tips on Getting Your First 25 Paying Members

Paying Members are a great way to generate recurring revenue to your online business. Every journey begins with a first step…and every business starts with its first clients.  The most important thing you can do when getting started is to focus on growth in the most cost-effective manner.

BannerAdsHomePage

Apply a little growth hacking and know that every hour counts in a start up and your directory site is no different.  Directory sites are unique in that you only need a small number of paying monthly or annual members to achieve profitability.  As your community grows so will your brand.  Use these proven tactics to focus on what is most important early on which is growth and proof of concept.  Forget the minutiae for now and focus your efforts with a bulls-eye.

The eDirectory platform offers plenty of value right out-of-the box to handle your day-to-day operations while you focus on doing what you’re good at – adding value where needed most.  Here are the 3 best tips you can use to get your first 25 paying members:

Start with your personal and professional network

  • Offer free premium listings to your network for 3 months with no strings attached
  • Create special offers with promo codes (free banner ads, social media mentions, and free leads)
  • Post on your social media to invite people to join and contribute to your community

PromoCode

Make your first members your greatest priority and learn everything you can from them

  • Treat each new lead as your most important client and offer assistance with set up from the start, show them how easy it is to claim their listing and get started on adding valuable content to your community
  • Reach out to them regularly to learn about any other opportunities that may exist like partnerships, sponsorship opportunities, and cross promotions. You may be surprised!
  • Be flexible with the feedback you receive. Learn what you can and adapt as needed. What you originally thought was important may not be the case once you begin to gain traction. Use the data to make informed decisions that will grow your original concept into what works for the most important stakeholders – your first clients!

Define your brand characteristics, value proposition, and organize yourself for success

  • Get started on creating valuable content for your site. Members love to see directory owners active and contributing to the growth of their community. Share knowledge, provide valuable insight, and respond regularly. You will set the foundation for trust and credibility.
  • Create social media profiles on the platforms that compliment your brand best. Don’t try to be everything to be everybody, instead, focus on a niche and learn as you grow. Master your local market and make your mistakes while you’re small so you can get organized and poised for growth.
  • Visualize how you see your site adding value to its members. Understand that you are offering an additional opportunity to advertise, be a part of a growing/curated community, and that the members on your site have been vetted and approved by you…. That you are available to weigh in on important matters to your community and that their interests

10 Tips to Creating Successful, Revenue-Generating Online Directories

Revenue-Generating Online Directories

Whether you have recently purchased an eDirectory license or are thinking about creating revenue-generating online directories, it’s very important to understand what is involved in developing, building, launching, and marketing your site in the first year and beyond. Continue reading to find out how you can develop a profitable directory website.

Creating revenue-generating online directories

There are two main areas to focus on when starting an online directory:

  • Developing the business plan or idea behind the directory
  • Getting the word out and promoting your directory

First is the development of revenue-generating online directories as a business itself, which will be covered in the first 5 steps. This aspect focuses on what you are providing to people and how effectively you are providing it. It’s all about your business model and how well you are executing it.

The next group of 5 steps will touch on the promotion of the site and growing its readership. Even the best and most original of ideas and businesses need to get noticed and must constantly work to find new ways to spread the word about their idea or product.

If you put the work in to develop a solid business plan, bring more awareness to your site, develop the right network to increase your visibility, and continually develop rich, relevant content, you can start to see financial success within 6-8 months of your launch.

1. Patience

Any business, even an online business, is rarely an overnight success story. Honing vision for a site, developing content, getting indexed by Google, and building lucrative business partnerships are all critical elements to building successful revenue-generating online directories, and each of those steps takes time. There’s a very good chance you likely won’t see ROI in the first few months, but if you invest your time wisely, and treat your venture as a business, not just a side venture, you have the opportunity to generate significant recurring revenue.

If you throw in the towel after three months, however, you’ll likely never know what potential your vision had, and in that short span of time, you’ve never really given your business a chance. Every good thing takes time to blossom and flourish, and your directory site is no exception.

 2. Do Your Homework

It’s important to do some online research on the line of business, industry, or theme that pertains to your directory. Take the time to research a large number of keywords and topics throughout the web that are related to the same type of subject matter that you will be presenting.

Learn from what you find. Take note of what and how much is out there. Is it a very competitive landscape? What are they providing their audiences? Are there gaps or opportunities in the marketplace?

Think long and hard about what you will be able to offer and how you can use your directory site to offer it better than anyone else. Look for the things you like and can implement in your own site. Also, take note of the things you saw that didn’t quite work and make sure you know how to avoid them yourself.

 3. Develop a Strong Value Proposition

Based on the homework you’ve done, you should develop a very poignant value proposition. This should include the strengths and attributes that your site offers that others don’t. You should continue to develop your site with this value proposition in mind. Build to your advantages and apply what you have learned from your research.

This proposition will be the answer to the question “Why should I come to your site?” or “Why would I want to list on your site?” Having a definitive and persuasive answer to questions of this kind will be an important tool when lobbying for your initial sponsors.

4. Establish a Brand

As you start to develop your revenue-generating online directories, you should make it your goal to make a name for yourself, and establish your site as the leading media vehicle for your area of interest. If you’re developing a Ski Resort Directory, you should be known as the “go-to source” for skiing information. If you are creating a local search site, you should make a name for yourself locally and be the voice of your town, someone who has the finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the area, day in and day out.

Developing a brand is similar to putting a personality on your business or project. Align your brand with the things you learned from your research and your value proposition.

What do you want people to think of when they see your logo or your site? Do you want to be seen as informative, discerning, and serious, or open, knowledgeable, and friendly? Make these decisions first and, then, keep them in mind when decided on a brand name, logo, color scheme, typeface, catchphrase (if you have one), and overall writing style. You want all of the visual elements of your site and your brand to convey the symbol of the brand that you are creating.

5. Listings

Listings are the building blocks of your directory and the bulk of the data that will drive future visitors and sponsors. You should heavily, but honestly populate your directory as best you can. Fill your site with the type of listings that you want your site to be the main resource for. eDirectory’s “Claim this Listing” feature will allow these listing/business owners to claim them at any time and become paying members of your site if they want to edit or promote their information.

Because each page has its own mini ‘website’ with a unique, SEO-optimized URL, it’s important to have listings in your revenue-generating online directories, so these URLs can be crawled and indexed by Google even before your site is launched.

Speaking of SEO, it’s now time to move away from the planning and setup phase of your directory and onto the marketing and promotional aspects that will drive traffic and help you start generating revenue.

6. SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as it is more commonly called, can be a daunting task and confuse even the most tech-savvy of business owners. SEO can be made simpler if you focus on just a few key factors for optimizing your site.

a. General Setup

First, there are a few things to set up for your site:

  • Install Google Analytics and set up Google Webmaster Tools and link the Analytics account to your eDirectory site. This will help you to track your site traffic, indexed pages, and more so you can see your site’s progress.
  • Create a robots.txt file and upload it to the root directory of your site.
  • Create a sitemap.xml file and submit your sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools for indexing. Your sitemap can be found in the SEO Center of your eDirectory under the Sitemap tool.

b. Keywords

To be most effective in being found by your customers in search engines it’s vital to optimize your website with keywords and phrases that are most important to your business. Drawing on the homework and research you did earlier, gather the keywords you will want to be related with and use these tips to optimize them throughout your site:

  • Include keywords in the description fields and headings on the Basic Information area of your site in the Configuration section of eDirectory
  • Include keywords within the content itself especially the Listings, Article, and Blog posts. Use the “SEO” tab for each item in eDirectory to include relevant keywords in the Title, Page Name, Keywords, and Description fields.
  • Include keywords when adding images: keywords in the Image Title and Image Description.
  • Link keywords in your content to other pages on your site: creating internal links by attaching URL’s to a keyword on one page to other pages on your site such as blog posts and articles is a great SEO tactic
  • Include links to your site on social media posts, email signatures, and newsletters whenever possible (but not spammy!)

7. Content

If you run a business or website then you have a certain expertise that can be shared with your prospects. You can show you are knowledgeable and have a chance to build up trust in your ability as a potential product or service provider. Content provides a great opportunity to become the first stop for any kind of information in your market.

Articles & Blogging

The simplest, yet most effective, way to leverage this expertise is through business articles and blogging. It allows you to demonstrate your know-how and become your own micro media company, able to publish your knowledge for others to see. Educating your readers is key, it will be easier to sell your site’s benefits when people trust your authority and see you as a thought leader.

This type of content will help you to build up your inbound links and also help to raise your website’s rank for main keywords and phrases, which are crucial for SEO and growing your site’s organic traffic.

 High-Quality Content

High-quality content is meant to go a step deeper than articles and blogging and really drill down into some topics for your visitors. The goal of this content is to convert a lead to a customer.

An example of this is that your blog may have brought in a visitor to your site and helped them to understand what your business is about. Now you can introduce them to a case study that shows them the direct benefits of your services and provides them with a clear success story that they can relate to. Sharing a real-life success story will help them feel more comfortable with becoming a customer themselves.

Besides case studies, some other examples of high-quality content that can be highly effective include webinars, white papers, eBooks, tutorials, slide decks, demos, videos, and infographics.

8. Invest wisely

It’s important to understand what your budget will be and how much you will be able to spend. If you want to help get the word out about your website in person, it might require making an investment in marketing collateral, promotional materials, or your business may benefit more from online advertising in order to gain significant traction to your site. Plan your spends accordingly and stretch your budget as much as possible.

Some of the lower-cost options for physical marketing collateral would include business cards, flyers, napkins, buttons, window stickers, and more. Resources like Vistaprint and FedEx Office can be great places to find professional yet affordable materials.

For online advertising, Google Adwords is the standard on the web. With an account, you can pay Google to have your site’s advertisement show up whenever someone searches for keywords that you are interested in. You can choose the specific keywords and phrases you want, how much you are willing to spend, the location of the searcher, the time of day searched, and more to ensure you optimize to reach your ideal customers.

Local Search site owners also have the luxury of advertising relatively cheaply through Google Adwords. With keywords and phrases as low as 5-10 cents per click, and Google periodically offering $100 credits to start, this can be a great way to drive traffic to your site and build repeat visitors at a lower cost.

9. Shake Hands

Many people often ask the best way to make a sale to a business in their directory. The important thing to remember is that before you make a sale, you need to build a solid relationship with potential advertisers. Rather than walking into a business, slides in hand, trying to pitch them on a sponsorship opportunity, it’s better to form business relationships first and foremost. Introduce yourself as THE person who has started a directory where
people come to find businesses like theirs and explain to them the opportunities that they can take advantage of (free listings, guest blog posts, etc).

In making a name for yourself and getting the word out about your directory, it’s important to get in front of most, if not all decision-makers in your industry. The best way to get yourself introduced to businesses that are populating your directory, or other potential advertisers, is to take a journalistic angle. Rather than go in to pitch them advertising or talk up your directory, try asking them to do a feature story, article, or interview. These are
things that add value to your site and also make for a great ‘in’ to any business you’re pursuing.

10. Never Stop Working

The success of your site is directly correlated with how much work you put into that site. Our most successful clients have been on board with us for a few years, and they constantly work at improving their site on a daily basis, and they’ve all at one point or another, followed most, if not all of steps 1-9.

Even after your site becomes profitable, you shouldn’t be putting your site on cruise control. The only way to maintain success and exceed it is to strive for continuous improvements and to always be on the lookout for new market trends and opportunities.

You should be meeting new businesses, updating your listings, posting news stories, or writing whitepapers in addition to finding new markets, creating new marketing campaigns, and finding innovative ways to strengthen your brand.

eDirectory has provided you with the tools, now it’s up to you to build your idea into a success!

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