How SEO friendly is your Online Business Directory?

June 17, 2010 - PRLog -- They’ve heard that links to their site are good for SEO, they’ve read up on it a little and the literature says Business Directories are the place to start! So all Business Directory links are as good as each other right? Wrong...

Google ranks the importance of any webpage based on an array of factors, one of the most important of these is the number of pages linking to said page i.e. Page A has 3 links from Pages B, C & D. It’s kind of like an internet voting system, the more links you get the more popular you must be!

So, one of the first ways to begin building links to your business website is via a listing on business directories such as Yell, Thomson Local and Fortuna. But not all links are equal!

First a quick summary of two key terms

SEO – Search Engine Optimisation, this is the process optimising a website for better
performance in search engines such as Google & Bing.  
HTML – Think of this as a webpage programming language, words that build the appearance
and interactivity of a website, the bricks and mortar so to speak.


SEO Friendly Directory Links

Websites can be programmed and structured in a variety of ways. Older websites use older methods for design and as such are not always compliant with current SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) best practice. So when it comes to getting links on a directory here’s some things to check!

1.   HTML “rel=nofollow” Tag.
Some sneaky directory owners use this tag. It prevents search engines from passing any SEO benefits to your site and is used for a variety of reasons.

2.   Hidden Javascript Link
Javascript is more web programming; websites can hide your link “inside” Javascript on purpose or unintentionally.

3.   Poorly Indexed.
A poorly optimised site will not have all of its pages found by a search engine.
If the search engine can’t find your listing page then it can’t find your link!

4.   Reciprocal Link
Some directories ask you to link back to them from your website in order for them to accept your listing. These are not the kind of directories you should concern yourself with! Reciprocal links are not valued as much as one way links.
So these are some things you should be mindful of when searching for directory links.
Some of these are quite technical and may require a little reading up on in order to understand them. A search on Google for something along the lines of “What business directories are good for SEO?” may prove useful with others providing recommendations.

You may be surprised on as to what directories are actually SEO friendly. Some of the larger online business directories are as culpable as the smaller players.

Fortuna, the UK business directory portal, is a relatively new site meaning that it has been designed with SEO friendliness from the very beginning. The site does not suffer from any of the directory issues mentioned above passing on the SEO benefits you’re looking for!


About Fortuna:
Fortuna is an innovative online UK business directory / portal, with over 100,000 unique visitors per month. We offer a range of ways for businesses to advertise with us, most notably via having a company’s own twitter feed visible on their chosen category directory.

For more information on how we can generate interest in your business, visit us now at:-

http://www.fortuna.co.uk

Contact:
Michael Brand
Online Marketing Manager
www.fortuna.co.uk
onlinemarketing@fortuna.co.uk
0845 557 0004

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Fortuna is an innovative UK Business Directory / Portal that provides a number of advertising opportunities to UK businesses.