Free listings are a great way to get links back to your website, and to promote your business easily and without spending that important marketing budget. However, look at what you get for free. Often you will only be able to display a few pieces of information, such as your name, address, website address and phone number. This is a great way to get started, and you should take advantage of as many of these as you can.
Another drawback to free directory sites is that most of them are not great to look at and they also aren’t very user friendly. It is also possible that paying members may be featured or listed at the top, taking attention away from your company. But not all directories follow this method; some of them let their users sort the list according to their preferences – be it alphabetically, area wise or closest to their location rather than sorting the list according to who pays to be listed and who is listed for free. So it is important to select your directories according to the services they offer and not just because they are free.
Both wedding suppliers and brides that are looking for suppliers can benefit more from most of the paid directories. These sites make it a lot easier for brides to find a supplier according to their specific needs and preferences since you can post more details about your business. Getting your details listed on the directory is as simple as sending an email with your details to them, which is great because you do not have to go through the trouble of doing it yourself. On the other hand, it is not that simple to modify those details between renewals. Another thing is, you have to pay per state or country which can be a problem because you might end up having to pay twice as much just so you can include your listing in the areas to want to promote your business in, if you just happen to live close to the border. The last thing is to make sure you get value for your money, meaning they should provide regular reports on things like number of users that viewed your listing, number of times favourited, links clicked etc.
There are a number of new sites coming along now that provide a much improved service to Brides and suppliers. These new sites provide both free and paid for listings, complete with the ability for Brides to search and sort on many different criteria, such as distance, price, style, ratings, etc. It is possible to upload your own information to the site, and to manage it whenever you want. So if you are running that special promotion for Valentines Day, you can let everyone know on the directory site easily and quickly! These new sites also permit the uploading of multiple images and videos so Brides can see what kind of service you provide, and how much you cost, before they pick up the phone. This can only be good, as you now have qualified leads identified, and as they say, the rest is up to you!
Mark Strefford is an expert in marketing wedding businesses online, and is the CTO of TheWeddingVine.com, a leading wedding supplier directory, styling and planning website.
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