VS
Online Directories
The way we search online has changed. People now conduct specific quick searches to find the products, services and businesses they need at the ‘click of a button’, through search engines. Where once the online directory was a primary tool used by businesses searching for appropriate suppliers, its following has declined in recent years and today it is more essential for vendors to be listed on websites that specifically cater to their industry. Online directories helped to advertise businesses to a wide audience, nurturing higher search rankings and increasing traffic back to their website. Listed businesses also benefited from the associated trust and authority that directories carry, as well as increased brand impressions across the internet. In the B2B sector, online directories organised businesses into categories that reflected their industry and the products and services they offered. Generally a basic directory listing would include the business’ name, location, contact information and short description explaining its activity and any professional associations. Being online, these directories would nearly always include inbound links directing people back to the business’ own website. Adding links to a directory listing is important in improving visibility and SEO performance but with searches growing in length and becoming more exact, more and more visitors are being redirected elsewhere online. As with all areas on the internet, there are those directories that offer a reputable resource and those less concerned with credibility. In some cases users might be targeted by websites promising to replicate a business’ details across several lesser known directories. Sites like these should be avoided, as should any that list less than ‘professional’ occupations. Joining a directory like this, can result in penalties from search engines and damage to a business’ reputation. So, it’s hardly surprising that with issues like these attached to traditional directories, businesses have chosen to place their credentials on other online tools. However, it’s still important that businesses make discernible decisions around their online marketing to make the right impression.
Interest over time
Online Directory Online Marketplace 44 29
Average
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
Applegate Marketplace is different from this model. Identifying how the trends in searches have changed, Applegate now operates as a marketplace – as indicated in the name. This means that the tools it provides are no longer just a proposition that allows businesses to list categories of products and services. First and foremost, Applegate offer the UK’s leading business to business space online – facilitating businesses exposure through carefully tailored marketing solutions. Over time users searching for the term ‘marketplace’ have only increased, as directories have declined. Marketplace represents the new digital environment in which businesses operate. Today potential customers in the B2B sector are searching for answers with a particular use in mind and that is what will primarily guide their decision to purchase. People search for the product first and not the category or producer anymore. Directories have yet to adapt to this approach but Applegate has always promoted specialist sectors, making for a more specific user journey and helping to maintain a quality funnel of enquiries from its visitors. Applegate attracts dedicated buyers not browsers, users that have followed long tail searches to arrive at a precise product or service on the website - with the predetermined intention to purchase. Adjusting our clients’ content to make it ‘search engine’ friendly has been an integral part of Applegate’s transition to online marketplace and currently, 80% of visitor traffic comes directly from searches made in this way. Applegate is manually-edited by dedicated staff, helping to preserve strong rankings in search engines - as the content on the website is regularly monitored and updated with accurate links and sources. Applegate is also able to filter through businesses, allowing space on its site to quality businesses that are of genuine interest to its visitors. In the competitive business environment, online directories and the alternatives are the next best thing to search engines and offer an essential platform for exposure. With so many businesses vying to be featured online, it is vital to ensure that the space you choose to promote your business is relevant for the market you operate in and is making progressive steps to adapt to the way people search for products and services. Applegate offers more than just getting found for a business name, offering a complete marketing solution with a comprehensive range of services that can be customised to meet the specific needs of its clients. Today Applegate has expanded its digital understanding beyond SEO to bring effective promotional streams to its clients, including email and social media campaigns, interactive company profiles and video facilitation. All of which afford clients with an advantageous marketing edge and have helped Applegate to evolve beyond its competitors still using the outdated directory model. For more information about Applegate’s latest marketing solutions please see our 2015 Media Pack.
Capability
Online Directories
Applegate Marketplace
Found for business’ name Links to business’ website Found for specific products & services SEO / SEM
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Content creation & management Advanced visitor reporting Managed email campaigns Social media marketing Video production, promotion & hosting T: 0845 600 7177 E: enquiries@applegate.co.uk W: http://www.applegate.co.uk
Published by Applegate Marketplace Ltd - located at Riverside Road, Pottington Industrial Estate, Barnstaple, Cert No. 10700 Devon, EX31 1LS, United Kingdom - is registered in England and Wales with company number 03990680 ISO 9001 © Applegate Marketplace Ltd 2015w