We get asked all the time the difference between a Search Engine and a Directory. The short answer is a search engine is a website where users can search for answers, information, and content online. Trying to rank higher at Search Engines (such as Google) is often referred to as SEO, or search engine optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What a directory is has evolved over time, but these days, a directory is an organized collection of businesses, organizations, or websites, often with a connecting theme such as geography or industry. Trying to rank higher for local searches by getting into specific directories is often referred to as Local SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the strategies for improving your visibility in both search engines and directories are similar, both are needed for a sound SEO strategy. Let\u2019s take a look at what will help your business rank higher in both search engines and directories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As mentioned above, people use search engines like Google or Bing to find internet content. To do this, users enter a search term (query) into the search field, such as \u201chockey sticks.\u201d The search engine then looks through its index (database) for relevant websites and displays them in the form of a list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I often get asked \u201cdo all search engines return the same results\u201d, and the answer is no. Bing and Google, the two major search engines, may look very similar on the surface but both search engines have very different algorithms. Algorithms are the formulas search engines use to rank the most relevant results at the top; different algorithms mean different results, even if the query is the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to get your website to rank on the first page of Google, you have to uncover what kind of pages are ranking well. The first two to three pages of results on Google can have many different types of content: Ads, Organic Results, Photos, YouTube Videos, News Articles, Featured Snippets, and Google\u2019s Map Pack just to name some. Different keywords can spur different results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search intent is the \u201cwhy\u201d behind a search query. Why did the user conduct this search? Do they want to learn something? Are they looking to make a purchase? Or, are they looking for a particular website?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google\u2019s recent algorithm changes are designed to provide users with the most relevant information based on their search query.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that you\u2019ve done some research at the search engines and you have a basic understanding of what the intent around that search term is, the next question to answer is what type of content should you be creating to get to the first page of the search engines?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are 4 C\u2019s that you should follow to uncover that answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Online directories are searchable databases that display a business\u2019 name, address, phone number, and additional information. Local directories dominate the first page of many local search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are main \u201clocal directories\u201d that your website should be on; Google, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing Places. There are plenty of other local directories that you can place your business information on, but you\u2019ll want to choose them wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like keyword research, you\u2019ll want to choose what best fits your strategy. If you\u2019re a restaurant, you would want to place your business information on OpenTable, Yelp, and if you want to get hyper\u2013local look for city\u2013specific websites (i.e. Portland Food Map). If you\u2019re a home remodeler, you\u2019ll want to make sure to be listed on Houzz and Angie\u2019s List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether they like to admit it or not, Google has been housing their own local directory for years. The map pack has been seen at almost every local search you\u2019ve ever done on Google. If you\u2019re trying to rank, Google My Business (GMB) is where you want to start. This is because there are many other local directories out there that get their information from Google My Business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three objectives that you need to consider when trying to rank well within Google\u2019s Local Pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more details on our products and services, please feel free to visit us at: <\/strong>Article Writing Services<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Content Writing Services<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Blog Writing Services<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Press Release Submission Services<\/strong><\/a> & <\/strong>Press Release Writing<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong>Please feel free to visit us at:<\/strong> <\/strong><\/a>https:\/\/webigg.com\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We get asked all the time the difference between a Search Engine and a Directory. The short answer is a search engine is a website where users can search for answers, information, and content online. Trying to rank higher at Search Engines (such as Google) is often referred to as SEO, or search engine optimization. What a directory is has evolved over time, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[64,65,66],"class_list":["post-2268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet-marketing-internet-marketing","tag-article-writing-services","tag-blog-writing-services","tag-content-writing-services"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2269,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268\/revisions\/2269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}