Business Directory Marketing: Why You Should Add Your Vape Shop To An Online Business Directory

Adding your vape shop to an online business directory is the easiest way to increase your customer base. Online business directories are significant because many active users are looking for local vape shops. Adding your shop to an online directory can also boost your online presence and possibly land you on Google's first page whenever someone searches online for a vape shop near them.

In this guide, we explain what online business directories are, why you should list your vape shop in one, and how to improve your listing to get it on the first page of Google. 

Table of Contents

1. What are Online Business Directories?
2. Why does it matter to list your vape shop on an online directory?
3. Which online directories should I list my vape shop on?
4. Things to Include in your Listings
5. How to Boost the Ranking of your Listing
6. Conclusion

What are Online Business Directories?

Online business directories are a collection of businesses from a specific area. Most of the time, to join these business directories, you must reach out to them and go through an online process to verify that the business is real and you’re the owner. Thankfully, most of the listings are free, which is a great way to promote and get your vape shop known within the community.

Why Does it Matter to List your Vape Shop on an Online Directory?

Listing your vape shop in an online directory is essential because it attracts customers, helps with SEO, and makes your vape store discoverable by mobile.

Attracts customers

The main reason to list your vape shop on an online directory is to attract more customers and increase your revenue. Online directories have become more essential since 97% of search engine users search online to find local services and businesses.

Suppose you have an e-commerce site and a brick-and-mortar store. In that case, you can list both on an online directory and get the added benefit of increasing your website traffic, which is super important since visitors can become potential online customers.

SEO

By pairing your business contact information with online business directories with high domain authority, you're more likely to appear on online engine search results. If your vape shop is listed with Google My Business, you're more likely to appear on Google's first page as a local business.

Discoverable by Mobile

Another great advantage of online directories is that most are mobile-friendly. 76% of people who search on smartphones visit a business within a day, and more and more people expect reputable companies to appear online when using their smartphones.

Which online directories should I list my vape shop with?

Many business directories are online, but not all of them help you with SEO or generate potential clients. Below, you can find some of the best directories that will generate website traffic and real customers:

• Google My Business: This is likely the most important directory to join. It can help you appear on the first page of Google, the world's biggest search engine. It also boosts your SEO and lets you add your social media details. You can get reviews here and use its "Insights" section to see how customers find you. If you choose only one directory, make it this one.
• Yelp: Yelp is best known as a review site where members frequently review their favorite businesses. With 92 million unique users on its mobile app each month, it is an excellent place to list your vape shop.
• Bing Places: Bing is the search engine created by Microsoft and is currently the second most used search engine online. While not everyone uses Bing, some people still do, and it's essential to reach them using this business directory.
• Yahoo: The third-largest search engine, Yahoo, is another great online business directory. Signing up with Yahoo Local will also add your business to 60+ directories, including maps, search engines, and voice-activated search; however, it costs $9.95 monthly.
• Foursquare: While Foursquare plays second fiddle to Yelp, the review website still holds value and receives more than 55 million monthly active users, equating to a large pool of possible customers.
• Yellow Pages: The Yellow Pages you've always known, but now digital. It is a great online directory that is free and relevant. More than 80 million consumers use the Digital Yellow Pages each month!

Things to include in your listings

Remember to include the necessary information in the online directories to complete all of your listings. The more information you provide, the better chance you have to rank higher on search engines. Here are some ideas on what to include:

1. Photos: Taking photos of both the outside and inside of your vape shop will help your customers recognize it when they visit. It will also give your listing more credibility.
2. Videos: You can take it one step further, create a video of your store, and upload it to all your listings. It could be a brief video inviting them to the store and showing them your selection of e-juices.
3. Social Media: In the information age, the most important thing is reaching your clients where they spend their time, and these days, they spend it on social media. Add your social media pages to your listing so they can follow you and visit your store.
4. Link to Website: Adding a link to your website is essential, especially if you have an e-commerce site. Local visitors could drive lots of traffic to your website and become potential online shoppers.
5. Company Description: Including a company description is essential for a listing. You need to describe your vape shop and the services you offer so people reading the description know what to expect.
6. Business Hours: Include something simple in all your listings.

How to Boost the Ranking of your Listing

You can further boost your listing ranking by doing the following:

• Using keywords, you rank for in the company description.
• Encouraging customers to leave reviews.
• Making sure the information for your vape shop is the same on all the online directories.
• Fixing duplicate listings.

Using Keywords

A great way to boost the Google ranking of your business listing is by using keywords in the company description. Using keywords, you rank for will generally help visitors discover you more often. For example, using “NYC vape shop” in the description of your listing, if your vape shop is in New York City, can boost your listing.

Reviews

Reviews are a form of small-sized content. Encouraging your customers to leave a review in your business listing will help your business have more scannable information, assisting the listing in ranking higher. If you have glowing reviews, it can also be the deciding factor that makes customers visit you.

Accurate Information

Having the same information throughout every single one of your listings is very important. You don’t want to have a past phone number or an old address since potential customers could try to reach out and not find or contact you. It also gives you more Domain Authority (DA) if the DoFollow links in your listing sources have the same information.

Duplicate Listings

While browsing online, you might find two listings for your vape shop in a directory. Some directories automatically add your business before you get a chance to. If this happens, correct it so that only one shows up once. Then, Google knows which listing to rank higher.

Conclusion

Overall, online business directories can help you find more customers, increase your online visibility, and become known in your community as the go-to vape shop. If you can't sign up for all the business directories, we recommend you sign up for Google My Business. Often, this alone is enough to get you on Google's first page.