Listing Your Bail Agency in Internet Directories

On the Internet, the bail bond industry has become increasingly more competitive. Rivals are jockeying for postition in Google's and Yahoo's search results. In the last article in AboutBail.com's series on web marketing we will discuss the benefits and best practices of submitting your business to online directories.

Submitting to directories can help you in two important ways.

1) Rank Higher in Search Engines - getting inbound links (links from another site to yours) helps you to rank higher in the organic search results that are important to you.

2) Increase Exposure - many directories have very good search engine results for your keywords. Your customers will be able to find you on these sites and, over time, they will find your site as it climbs the search engines. Getting listed on directories can exponentially increase your chances of being found by your customers (i.e. they will find your name in the directories you advertise on and they will find your site in the same search results). You want to saturate your name as much as possible on the web.

At AboutBail.com, we have been fielding questions from bail agents regarding Internet advertising since 1999. Below are some of the most common questions we receive regarding Internet directory listings:

How do you identify legitimate directories?

Before taking the time to get a listing, it is a good idea to make sure that you are dealing with an established and legitimate directory. Read their "About Us" page, contact a sales rep and "google" them to find more information. If you cannot get a hold of anyone at the business via email or phone, or if you cannot find any information about them, submitting to these sites could be a waste of time and a waste of money. Just looking at the site should give you an idea of the sites legitimacy. If the listings are flanked by irrelevant advertisements or if the site is designed very poorly you probably will not want to submit to it.

Is it ok to submit the same description to multiple directories?

At the minimum, directories will ask you for a company name, description and link to your web site when submitting your business. If you use the same description on each directory webpage, then those submissions will be seen as duplicate content by the search engines. When a search engine sees duplicate content the links are not as valuable and will most likely not lead to higher search engine results.

To steer clear of this, write a custom description for each directory you’re submitting it to. Make sure the content is consistent, accurately reflects your business and reads smoothly. When it comes to directory listings you should be choosing quality over quantity.

Should I put my business in a niche or general directory?
A niche directory is a directory that is dedicated to a specific industry - like AboutBail.com. There are many general directories that advertise for multiple industries in a combined directory format. While broader directories may have more public brand recognition, industry specific directories are viewed as a more credible than general directories by your customers and the search engines. People use a variety of search terms to find resources online so being listed in a combination of niche and general directories will help you achieve the best results.

"The strengths on the AJ Dell'Omo Bail Bonds & Surety Bonds listing are having a website and email address," said AboutBail.com Brand Manager Terrence Joyce. "Companies have a perceived value by the end user when they see a professional email address and website."

Should I only link to my homepage?
The homepage of your website is very important because it works as guide to your visitors. If a directory will allow you to add multiple links you should include links to internal pages of your website. Take turns linking different pages of your website to the various phrases you have in directories. If you use the exact same links on each directory listing it could discredit your webpage to the search engines. (Note, your current telephone number should be visible on each page because you do not know which page visitors will see first.)

How many directories should I be in?
You want to be in as many quality directories as you can afford. Think about your budget and find a healthy mix of both paid and free listings. A good way to research the most authoritative directories is to search for your important keywords (e.g. "bail bond agents", "find bail bonds", "maricopa county bail", etc) and find out which directories are coming up on top. Those are the directories where you want to list your business.

If you are interested in getting your bail bond business listed in AboutBail.com, contact Terrence Joyce at (866) 411-2245 or online.