Free Listing on Business Directory Can Have A Negative Impact On Your business

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for and this can also apply to your  business. As the internet traffic grows there are many free listing directory services mushrooming on web.Most of the business directory services existing on a web have a free listing of business profile on their portal. The business owners should serious re think about submitting their business profiles on free directory listing services  as it can also have a negative impact on their business. Business owners should preview their business profile that has been submitted on various free directory services ( with or without consent of business owners). The most serious issue can be the online contact us page on the customers business profile.

The online directory service players can be old and new, but most of them have the policy of provide free listing of your business profile or your product profile on their website/portal. These directory services, also has a paid listing with some added on features provided. 

Where lies the trouble for you..

If the free listing profile has an online contact us form then this should be mapped to an email id of the business owner of the company whose profile is listed. But if your submit information on your contact us form, does the information actually comes to you, if not where does the information go….??
This is where the trouble lies, if the information submitted on contact us (maybe your new customer) form of your business profile and the information is not delivered to you---is it going to your competitor?. if not you can always ask the directory service provider about this lost information. More over the business directory services would avoid displaying your email id on your free listing business profile and generally many directory services will provide the online contact us form. But if you pay them, then they may provide all your relevant contact email id and website url.  So getting a free listing on the business directory service can be more like the directory service owner is enjoying a free ride of your brand name, since the traffic on the directory service is building due to your free listing and the most fictitious model of this business is where is the information going if it’s not coming to you. Many times, the free listing content are copied from the business owner website, which again can have an adverse effect of content duplication on web and a negative impact,  if you are spending money on various search engine optimization for a better listing of your website on search engines.

You Losing Your Rank On Search Results
With business profile listing on various directory service, the content of the directory services is increasing and on web content in the king. Actually the content (business profile, products & service profile) listed on free directory services can be a copy of the content from your website and lead to content duplication on web which can even hamper your listing on various search engine search results.

Where Lies The Solution…
Check if your business profile is listed various free listing business directory services, this can simply be done by typing your company name and city in search engine. If you find your business profile listed with an online contact us form submit some information on the contact us form exiting on your business profile, and if the relevant information does NOT reach your inbox then get serious and ask  the directory service provider to delist your business profile. If you see your business profile with your postal contact details and business telephone number with NO ONLINE CONTACT US FORM ON YOUR BUSINESS PROFILE PAGE, then this profile won’t harm your business and such information can continue to exist on free directory services.

How does FREE listing Directory  Services help Business Directory Owners and not Subscribers
This is simple, the directory owner is getting free content to make their website content rich just by simply re drafting your original content taken from your website, Or at times the business owners also provide the content that is posted on directory service.

Helps the directory services owners to Tap new paid customers just by showing your business listing, your competitors is triggered to pay.

Information submitted on your website, if not reaching you can be landing in your competitor’s inbox and this suffices the commitment of the directory service owner who guarantees leads. Even web giants like GOOGLE have no business policy of guarantying business leads even after your opt to pay for goggle adwords, this goes on to show there is certainly a catch with free listing business directory service, wonder how smart can you be to have a grip of this business model of free listing directory services, without loosing customers