Local Directory Potential

17 replies
Over the past few months I've noticed numerous threads were folks have talked about the power of a local directory. Not only as a great way to drive traffic to a clients site but also a way to bring in more income with advertising, etc.

I'm curious as to how many of you are currently running local directories and the time and money you have to spend conducting SEO, maintenance, advertising and the like?

I am strongly considering this as another method to bring in potential clients for my business and want to just see how well that works for others who are already employing this.
#directory #local #potential
  • Profile picture of the author WikiWarrior
    I've been looking at this for a while now too. It seems like a huge opportunity if done right, there just doesn't seem to be much out there in the way of solid pre-built platforms that are ready to go. To me it's probably more than I could take on at the moment as it would seem to need a decent chunk of investment to get a platform made and customised, marketing budget, plus buy a huge database of businesses to populate the directory with.

    The potential is huge though and has obvious synergies with what us offliners are doing:

    Contacting prospects re: Google Places
    Website design
    Mass email marketing
    Reviews
    Upsells/cross-sells for premium listings etc
    SEO
    Charge tradesmen per lead
    CPA - Groupon, LivingSocial etc
    Adsense
    Mobile marketing
    QR codes
    Facebook Marketing

    The closest I've got is checking out phpmydirectory which seems to have lots of features. Hmm, it is definitely pretty juicy. Would be interested to see if anyone else has taken the plunge and what software/scripts were used.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tiger_Claw
      I think I might just start running with the project and see where it sends up. Outsource a majority of the work and go from there. There are quite a few good examples of directories out there. Alot of the CMS platforms have decent themes as well, I think I might just go for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author enterpryzman
    I have had a local directory for about 6 years and it has done OK however, I have neglected to exploit it correctly. I am in a small town near Pittsburgh and expect the site could do $ 50-k plus if marketed.

    Enterpryzman
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    • Profile picture of the author Tiger_Claw
      Originally Posted by enterpryzman View Post

      I have had a local directory for about 6 years and it has done OK however, I have neglected to exploit it correctly. I am in a small town near Pittsburgh and expect the site could do $ 50-k plus if marketed.

      Enterpryzman
      50k a year? Month?

      I am contemplating good ways to market the one I'm going to setup. Though, I plan on pushing it via a PPC campaign, newspaper, and a couple of location magazine type publications.
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      • Profile picture of the author enterpryzman
        Yearly is what I was talking about.




        Originally Posted by Tiger_Claw View Post

        50k a year? Month?

        I am contemplating good ways to market the one I'm going to setup. Though, I plan on pushing it via a PPC campaign, newspaper, and a couple of location magazine type publications.
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  • Profile picture of the author tonyscott
    Hi Tiger Claw,

    I run a couple of local directories (in my sig). The largest one is now 3 years old and gets 1,500 uniques per day. We've only really begun to market it properly in the last 12 months. I estimate the income potential to be £250,000 per year.

    The smaller one has been up for 18 months or so. I revamped it 6 months ago and we began to market it 3 months ago. Current traffic is around 40 uniques per day. I estimate the income potential to be £30,000 per year.

    I run them with a business partner and we have recently taken on a full time salesman. It's a lot of work but recurring income is the goal. This means that we have to deliver results for our advertisers (we do) or they won't re-book.

    Tony
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    • Profile picture of the author Ragz
      Originally Posted by tonyscott View Post

      Hi Tiger Claw,

      We've only really begun to market it properly in the last 12 months.
      Tony
      Can you expand on that? There's no doubt that it must be advertised just like a brick and mortar business. What methods are you using... newspaper, radio, flyers?
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    • Profile picture of the author Tiger_Claw
      Originally Posted by tonyscott View Post

      Hi Tiger Claw,

      I run a couple of local directories (in my sig). The largest one is now 3 years old and gets 1,500 uniques per day. We've only really begun to market it properly in the last 12 months. I estimate the income potential to be £250,000 per year.

      The smaller one has been up for 18 months or so. I revamped it 6 months ago and we began to market it 3 months ago. Current traffic is around 40 uniques per day. I estimate the income potential to be £30,000 per year.

      I run them with a business partner and we have recently taken on a full time salesman. It's a lot of work but recurring income is the goal. This means that we have to deliver results for our advertisers (we do) or they won't re-book.

      Tony
      That's awesome to hear Tony. Would you mind PMing me the links to your directories so I can see how you've got them setup?

      I'm interested in seeing what layouts you're using and how you're presenting the information to the consumers coming to the page.
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      • Profile picture of the author tonyscott
        Originally Posted by Tiger_Claw View Post

        That's awesome to hear Tony. Would you mind PMing me the links to your directories so I can see how you've got them setup?

        I'm interested in seeing what layouts you're using and how you're presenting the information to the consumers coming to the page.
        Sorry, missed this.

        The sites are in my sig

        Tony
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  • Profile picture of the author tonyscott
    We don't advertise the site - it is it's own advert in a way. We have the traffic and we contact potential advertisers directly. Sometimes they come to us when they find the site on Google.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnhoefer
    I am just starting one out. It is exclusive for my clients. I sell merchant services. I estimate at $1,000 per client per year, with 250 or so clients. That is my goal for the end of the year. The site just got finished yesterday, you can see it in my sig.
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author mraffiliate
      Nice site. Mind sharing what software / theme you used? thanks


      Originally Posted by johnhoefer View Post

      I am just starting one out. It is exclusive for my clients. I sell merchant services. I estimate at $1,000 per client per year, with 250 or so clients. That is my goal for the end of the year. The site just got finished yesterday, you can see it in my sig.
      Signature

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      • Profile picture of the author johnhoefer
        Originally Posted by mraffiliate View Post

        Nice site. Mind sharing what software / theme you used? thanks
        WooThemes Listings
        Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author 2marketnow
    So it is the directory that gets the $250K or your business that has gained customers from your directory?
    Signature

    Julie Gavis
    http://tinyurl.com/6cvm9qe Six Figure Income Fast

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  • Profile picture of the author johnhoefer
    My business will gain customers by offering them a space in the directory as it is exclusive to only my clients. And I spend 20% of what I make on SEO and PPC.
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  • Profile picture of the author Creativegirl
    Directories are a great idea, but they require work and as many of us know our great ideas can be like running another business, at least for awhile. I've had a local directory for 3-4 years, Guide to Leander. In the beginning I worked it but like another poster said, I too have neglected it. It does bring in a ton of traffic though and gets lots of links so I leverage it.

    My model was to keep it local, only allowing businesses that do business here to sign up but may change that. It wasn't meant to be a big money maker at the time, but more a longevity asset to hang on to when the city begins to really grow, then ramp up. We're the 4th fastest growing city in Texas yet it will still be awhile before we really begin to show it.

    Thinking now of doing a deals type site and connecting it to exclusive "local email advertising" that no one I've found can touch in price point for business owners. Realize I could use the directory already in place, but it's fun to try new things.
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  • Profile picture of the author sconlinemarketing
    I have started this as well, and have two sites up so far. acontractorsdirectorydotcom and scbusinessdirectorydotcom
    You can add your clients to these for additional citations and backlinks. Granted they are a contractor or a SC business.
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