Sorry to tell you, but directory submissions don’t provide a ton of traffic. Don’t expect to see visitors coming from any directory that you submit your site.  But what can you expect?

You can expect that the links from these directories should count as backlinks to your site if the directory page where your link resides after being approved is cached in Google.  Content may be king, but backlinks are still important.

Niche directories rather than general directories are a much better quality link, so I suggest seeking them out for your niche. Below is a list of travel directories that I have compiled.

Warning: Don’t just submit to Niche directories, but use niche directories as an arrow in your SEO Quiver. Create great content, and remember to use a variety of types of links.

Travel Directories

• All-travel-sites.com premium, but has a lot of free methods..comment on the blog or do a guest post. (my site)
• Travel-Directory.org
• Traveldirectory.org
• TravelandTourismdirectory
• A travel directory for websites that use the .Travel
• Travelandtourism.net directory
• TouristClick.com has a variety of submissions free to $85.
• TravelAxis  free but has a $60 rush submission feature. Has a list of travel directories at the bottom of the page, but has not been updated since 2009.
• World Web Travel Directory

Lists of travel Directories

Rather than go through endless lists and compile my own list of directories, how about a list of other travel directory lists?

• One of my favorites is the list of travel sites on Directory Critic with over 170 travel directories listed.
• TravelAxis.orgs list of travel directories updated in 2009
• WebDirectory.ws has a list of Travel directories that looks like it is updated regularly.
• A pretty old directory list with 39 travel directories.
• InfoVileSilencer.com’s list of free travel directories I have used their lists before..most are good, but some bad ones slip through.. but you just never know.
• I like this list of travel Directories with Stats..some nice stats for each directory that is listed.
• ShortBreaks Travel Travel Directory List

Well, that’s my list of travel directories and list of lists of travel directories that I can recommend. I know there are a ton of directories out there with lists of travel directories or lists of general directories with travel categories. I would recommend using the former, but chose wisely when using general directories with travel categories.

With all the changes Google has made and continues to make, I believe its best to use these sparingly.Variety is not only the spice of life, but is the spice of your SEO.

Be sure to read our other posts on Link Building so you will be sure to do your link building right.

Do you do a lot of networking?

I have had many networking associates say they have a referral for me, and that I should expect a call from so and so, but the call never comes for one reason or another.

Why do I want to give and/or get referrals?

Looking at the Baldydog.com company client list, I see that the majority of our clients were from referrals. Some were from companies that I have done business with, others where just from old clients who were more than satisfied with our work. So if you want business, you need to be giving and getting referrals.

What is a referral?

Any time you tell someone about a product or a business or suggest to someone that they should use said product or service that is a referral.

When you get a lead based upon a referral, you are far more likely to close the deal than you are if you are cold calling.

Referrals are like votes for your brand. The person who refers you is in essence giving your brand a vote.

Ask my dog above and I am sure he would give a vote for that bone in is his mouth…sorry, I just had to work him in..

Tips to get more referrals.

• Ask friends or clients if they have someone they can refer to you.
• When networking, tell people exactly what type of referral you would like to get. For example, I looking for referrals of marketing companies that do Law Firm marketing so they might list their Law Firm SEO clients with Onlinelegaldirectory.com. I am telling people exactly what type of referral I am seeking.
• Give more referrals. People give referrals to people who give them referrals.
• Develop symbiotic relationships. For example, we try to work with lots of web developers, because many web developers don’t do SEO, but they do have lots of clients that need SEO. Then at other times we have SEO clients that need some sort of web development..its a win win situation.
• Go above and beyond what you promise your clients. Since we always give our clients more than what we promise, they love us, and love to send their friends to us.

How to Give a Good Referral

Having been in a BNI(Business Networking International) chapter, I learned their way to give a good referral. Don’t just give a name or contact info for the referral. A lot of times, what I do is ask the person if it would be alright for my friend to give them a call and find out what the best time would be to get a call. So when I am talking to a person about my buddy Tom who fixes computers, I verify with the person that “I am going to have my buddy Tom of LuckyGeek.net give you a call at such and such a time about your PC.” I prefer not to give them Tom’s info and have them call him. Some will, but some won’t .

Get permission to have your friend call the referral at a certain time. Its like scheduling an appointment. Don’t have the referral do the calling.

Additionally, when you are chatting with someone, a need will come up that one of your associates can fix. Be sure to sell your friends services, so that the referral will be waiting for the call. For my buddy Tom, I tell them I have a guy who fixes all sorts of computers and is cheap, and he has a policy that if he can’t fix it there won’t be a charge.

What to Do When You Get A Referral

• Thank the person giving you the referral.
• Call the referral at the designated time or call to reschedule the appointment if it doesn’t fit into your schedule.
• Build your friend up who gave you the referral(don’t bad mouth them)
• If it leads to business, be sure to reward your friend who gave you the referral with praise, thanks, cash, dinner, or a referral..etc.

How do you give and get referrals?

This may not be what you do in regards to getting and giving referrals, but please let me know if you have any referral tips that you use successfully that I have not mentioned.

One of my goals for 2012 is to build Onlinelegaldirectory.com into something of an authority in the niche of Law Firm SEO. That is to say I want it to become a resource that any SEO company that specializes in Law Firm SEO will want to use in their client campaigns.

Creating Law Firm SEO Authority

• redesign/rebuild the legal niche directory.
• establish a regular schedule of submission reviews.
• build the law firm social media network.
• engage others to be involved in the goal.
• Increase revenue for the site that has a decade old domain.
• Develop an associated law firm review blog.

Why invest in this Niche Legal Directory?

As I stated in a previous post, I intend to sell the legal directory, but as it stands it is pretty stagnate. Lets take an inventory.

• It does have a Fanpage and twitter.
• 849 cached pages in Google.
• 264 backlinks found
• 454 listings

What Activities We Do

Within the last year, I did create the Twitter profile and Fanpage. I have been trying to make an effort to find a legal resource that has at least a Twitter profile, to add to the directory. I would then send out a tweet that notifies the site that they have gotten a free 1 year listing to the directory.

Tweeting the links does two things. One it lets the owner know about their listing, and two it helps to get the link cached in Google.

Additionally, if there is an associated blog or Fanpage, I will like them and leave appropriate comments.

What Other activity Can I do?

Do you have any suggestions for activities that I can do to increase the authority of the site?

SEO and PPC are now the 2 hot new ways to market businesses and companies as googling has become the most popular way to find out information. However with the vast amount of popularity in digital marketing this has also caused a flood of new companies claiming to be ‘the best SEO consultancy’ or a ‘PPC agency guaranteed to give you fast results’. When choosing a consultancy or agency to provide SEO or PPC services how do you know who to trust? Should you go for a cheaper company or one with more experience? Choice is great but with SEO and PPC agencies it can be very confusing and you want to get the best for your money.
However frustrated you might get when trying to choose a company do bear in mind you are doing the right thing. Companies who manage their own SEO or PPC often don’t have the extensive amount of knowledge a professional company do and by spending money on a quality service you free up time to spend on other aspects of your business. Nevertheless it is good to clue yourself up on how SEO and PPC works as this is the first step in preventing you going with a fraudulent or inefficient SEO consultancy.
One of the phrases you should never trust when it comes to choosing a PPC agency or SEO consultancy is: ‘we promise number 1 ranking on Google’.  No company no matter how professional or experienced they are can guarantee a number 1 ranking on Google. If a company does state anything like this on their advertising take it as a red warning sign because the mystery of Google’s rankings is not fully understood by anyone but Google themselves so there can’t be a guarantee like this.
Like with all things a good way of finding a reputable site is by word of mouth and the new hot spot for SEO is Reading. Lots of digital marketing companies have been flocking to the area and the location is getting a name for being a powerful hub for tech companies. ‘SEO Reading’ may not be the glamorous London offices you perhaps would have associated with the rise of this new industry but if you want expertise and reliability it is best to go to the source.  Just like Persia is known for its rugs, Berkshire is getting known to be the home of digital marketing.
Once you think you have decided on a company you can then also do a few things to check their creditability. First of all use SEO to check them out- Google the company and see whether there has been good reviews or negative feedback from customers. You can then also see how the company market themselves online- if they haven’t done a good job on their own website then this probably means they’re not going to for your company either. Before committing to a company you could also get a couple of examples of SEO content they have done for other companies or give them a test article and see if you like what they come up with.

I just got back from attending my second Rotary Leadership Institute class.  As an officer of the Boyertown Rotary, I feel it is my duty to learn as much about Rotary International as possible.

Note: Many of the tips in this Search Engine Optimization (SEO) post could apply to any non-profit or company site.

What is Rotary?

Rotary International is a non-profit service organization.  There are clubs all over the world, and there is probably one or more Rotary Clubs near you. Many towns have multiple Rotary clubs.

Each Rotary Club operates  a little differently, although most meetings have many of the same elements such as sharing info, doing service projects, and networking.

Service projects vary from doing local community projects like student mentoring, park development, or projects that are unique and needed in each clubs town.

In my town, one of the service projects done by  the Rotary was a “playground for everyone” which is a playground that is handicapped accessible.

But Rotary is much more than service..if you are lucky enough to be asked to join, check it out, you’ll be glad you did.

Why do Rotary Club Websites Need SEO?

When I search for a town’s Rotary, I expect it to come up. Often times, I am looking for a town’s Rotary to see when and where it meets, and I can not find the chapter or any info about it. Or even worse, I find an out of date site that is from 2005.

Additionally, I think the Rotary Websites should be optimized so that when someone searches for the club’s town name, the club should be on the search engine results page right at the top of the list. So if I was to optimize my club site fully, it would show up for terms like “Boyertown, PA” ‘Boyertown Service organization” in addition to “Boyertown Rotary”.

Lastly, if the site were to truly become an authority in the town, it would make selling advertising to reputable businesses with the town so much easier. What club wouldn’t love to bring in some extra revenue for service projects?

How Can Rotary Clubs Optimize their Sites?

First, they can use content management systems that are SEO friendly and which can be updated easily and regularly.  ClubRunner, the system we currently use is not SEO friendly, but it does have a ton of features that make it good for Rotary clubs and it is pretty easily updated.  I am thinking about doing a blog post that compares  different platforms for Rotary Clubs. I believe providing platforms for Rotary Club websites is a huge niche that a web development company could do well in.  My small club pays maybe $35 a month for the site. There is a club in almost every small town, and in some towns there are multiple Rotary Clubs.  Additionally, Clubrunner charges more if your club has more members. But I digress…

The second thing that Rotary Clubs can do to optimize their sites, is to integrate their sites with Social Media. Having social media widgets  for your Social Media profiles does affect search rankings.

The third and most important thing that Rotary Clubs should do is to undergo a club link building campaign. This can be as simple as getting each club member to comment on one blog per month, and drop their club’s site url into the website field. Additionally, if the members have websites of their own, they can link to the club on their site. One way links are what it’s all about.

Easy Rotary SEO

These three tips are not a complete SEO strategy, but they are a start. If your club is in a competitive market like Las Vegas or New York, to show up at the top in the search engines, it may take a bit more work. If you need some  help, let me know by dropping a comment with your contact info.

Rotarians: Drop your club or district’s url in to the web page field in the comments section to get a link to your site.