Local Listing Directories value

[WesleySmits]

Hello fellow mozzers,

I would like to start a discussion on whether certain local listing directories are worth it.

Most people are of course familiar with Google+ Local(Google Places), Yahoo Local, Bing Local, Yelp, Hotfrog etcetera..

I know there are a lot more of these big local listing directories.

I am situated in Holland and we have a lot of small local listing directories.
Some of these directories are not really good quality. For example:
http://dordrecht.cylex-bedrijvengids.nl/bedrijf/pizza-presto-dordrecht-12014914.html

This domain is filled with ads in prominent locations. They have a domain authority of 44 and as far as i can tell there are close to 0 reviews on companies. (So not a very active community).

When you perform SEO for a local business you want the business to be found in the local search results. Google goes around the web to see if the business information (contact and address information, website etcetera) is consistent on different local listing directories. The links from the directories are still links and therefor they pass a certain amount of PageRank.

How much value do you think local listing directories such as the links i will provide below will add to a business? Do you think it is worth the time to find these small directory sites and fill in information about the business there or is your time better spent on other SEO activities?

I would love to hear your input on this subject

Links

http://dordrecht.cylex-bedrijvengids.nl/bedrijf/rietveld-doe-het-zelf-j-10800715.html
http://adviesbureaus.zoekeensop.nl/0392908-parket-expertise-bureau-etten-leur/
http://www.allewinkels.net/ijzerwaren-en-gereedschap/rotterdam/henk-schell-ijzerwarenhuis/

[Chris.Menke]

As  far as directories that are typically of primary value to local search, I'd stick with David Mihm's local search ecosystem. Outside of those, you might do searches for the [name, telephone number] of the top listed local results to get a feel for their local citations.  Sites that provide overlapping citations to the highest-listed local results should be at the top of the priority list to check out.

[WesleySmits]

Thank you for responding

So if i understand your answer correctly. You think that the smaller local listing directories are not worth the time and effort or they do not provide any benefit at all?

[Chris.Menke]

Well, once you get down to the point where it's not worth the time and effort, you kind of start spitting hairs but for the majority of those little directories, I'd say even the IP diversity factor is of little or no value--and that wouldn't really be of help in local search anyway.  When you see a local site that might be of value to your local results, it's going to stand out from from garbage directories and such.

[brad.s.knutson]

Local directories will help you with expanding your reach for local search.  Having a listing on Google Places, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, FourSquare, etc., will get your brand in front of potential customers faces.  Isn't this the ultimate goal?  Whether or not this helps you rank in search engines, you still want to turn leads into sales.

If you are looking at local directories as your sole source of inbound links to improve your SEO, you should probably look elsewhere, but if your interested in getting your brand out there for people to see, local directories are essential.

[WesleySmits]

I know what Local SEO can do for your business:)
My question is however whether the small local listing directories are worth spending time and effort on.

The reason i'm asking this is that i got a discussion with some quite recently on the subject of how important the smaller local listing directories are towards your ranking in both the normal search results and in the local search results.

[brad.s.knutson]

It depends on what you are trying to get out of it.

If you are using local directories to improve your SEO and inbound link profile, then no - I don't think they are worth the time.

If you are using local directories to get your brand in front of potential customers, then yes, it is definitely worth your time.

[BrianJGomez]

I would direct submit to all the biggies and then submit through LocalEZE (now Nuestar (sp?)) for the lesser directories. Chris ^ is exactly right, there's diminishing returns on spending the 5-10 min to claim your listings on every directory and if you look at the David Mihm infographic that Chris shared you'll see that LocalEZE feeds most of the lesser known directories. That's what I've been doing for my clients for years and it works well.

[WesleySmits]

Don't forget that I am from Holland and that a lot of the American directories do not work for for Holland. But thank you for the advice.