How Is Your Competitor Stealing Your Leads on Business Directory?

You didn’t raise prices. You didn’t fire your best technician. Your spending on Google Ads this quarter is about where it was last quarter. And still somehow the phone isn’t ringing as much as it used to.

Before you chalk this up to a Google algorithm update, open up a new browser tab in incognito mode or with a private window. Perform a search for your own service plus your city. Now, click the directory result that appears and take a close look at the page your business appears on.

Chances are you’ll see a competing business’s name, along with their phone number and possibly their website, that appears either directly below your listing (boxed in a gray box and marked “Sponsored”), or mixed in among similar directory results (marked “Featured” or “People also considered”).

This is a telltale sign that someone has leveraged directory ads to boost their visibility by “stealing” some of your leads. If you don’t take action, you could be losing out on sales to businesses that are willing to pay for prime placement in directories.

In this post, I will show you how that can happen, what it looks like, and how you can reclaim your fair share of directory traffic.

How Leads Quietly Leak Out of a Business Directory

Most owners feel that directory listings are a task to be ticked off, done and forgotten about. They submit their information once; it gets published and they move on to the next thing. What these people don’t understand is that directories are dynamic listings, changing all the time, re-ranking sites, selling placement and rewarding active sites. A dormant directory listing does not just stay where it is, it drops.

This is where the leakage normally begins.

1. Your listing is unclaimed, so anyone can outrank it

Business directories auto-generate a profile based on open data. This means that your company could already have a listing on numerous directories, which you did not claim. Unclaimed listings do not have photos, descriptions, service lists, hours, etc. Your competitors’ ads could also appear on the same page, since the directory has no proprietary relationship with your listing.

2. Competitors are buying the category page you should own

When a user searches within a directory, they are shown a category page. This page is shown with businesses that have completed their directory profile, added photos, services, descriptions and reviews. Companies that did not perform these actions are relegated to page two of the results, where they cannot be found.

3. Your contact details are outdated, and the lead moves on

If a phone number linked with your listing is your old landline or an address shows your previous place of business, the lead will move to the next result. Inconsistent name, address, and phone directory data across different directories confuse search engines and penalize your presence on other sites.

4. Your review count is stuck in 2021

Having two reviews from 2021 will get you beaten out by a competitor with forty reviews, most of which are recent. Having recent reviews is no longer just a social proof booster – many directories now use review quantity and recency as ranking signals.

5. You’re missing directories where your buyers are

While many owners concentrate on the obvious directories. Completely ignore the not-so-obvious ones, their competitors are poaching their customers through a directory, of which the owner has never heard.

Six Signs Your Leads Are Leaking Right Now

Run through this list and see if three or more things apply to you. If so, it’s a directory problem, not a demand problem.

• You’ve never checked out a directory dashboard, or don’t remember the password.
• Do a search on your business name and find listings that weren’t created by you.
• Your profile doesn’t have photos, or just has a logo.
• When searching for competitor names, their directory listing shows up as “sponsored” on your result page.
• The most recent review on your listing is over six months old.
• Your hours of operation don’t open on weekends and holidays as indicated on your directory listing.

That last one might be more important than you realize. “Open now” filters are one of the most used tools in local search, and a blank or incorrect field can remove your listing from consideration.

How to Take Your Spot Back

None of this involves an agency retainer. This involves approximately four focused hours of your time, and 20 minutes a month.

1. Audit your existing data

Run an audit on what’s already there by searching your business name in quotes as well as your phone number as separate searches. Create a simple spreadsheet that shows all the places you’re listed, their URL, and if the listing is claimed, accurate, or a duplicate.

2. Claim everything

Verification can be a phone call, postcard, or even an email. It’s an important step (the single most ROI driven task on this list) because an unclaimed profile is someone else’s claimed profile.

3. Standardize your NAP data

Decide on one specific version of your business. name, address, and phone number including whether or not to abbreviate Street, Avenue, etc., and apply it everywhere so that search engines know all these listings are for the exact same business

4. Optimize your listings

Fill in every available field. A good rule of thumb is to write your description as if you’re telling a stranger about your business over coffee and then editing it for the web. Be sure to include your main service and city in that first sentence. Categories, services, areas served, hours of operation, payment types accepted, and year established are equally important. The best photos are of your work, employees, and storefront, and you’ll notice a sharp increase in response if you include at least 5 high-quality photos.

5. Consolidate duplicate listings

If you find duplicates, report them through the “report duplicate” or “suggest an edit” features of whichever directory has the less accurate listing

6. Develop a review strategy

Review platforms have become increasingly vital in the past year. The best time to ask for a review is right when you finish working with the client. The best way to get a review is to send them a link via text message. Always respond to reviews, even if it’s a bad review.

7. Research directories you’re missing

Selective expansion beats shotgun expansion. Put your time and energy into the right channels rather than wasting resources trying to shoehorn your listing information into 200+ directories.

Now this where Tekmag Listings Fits Into This If you’re rebuilding your directory footprint in the United States, Tekmag Listings is a good promotional platform to add to that list, particularly for local service businesses.

It’s a USA-centric online business directory where small businesses and local service providers can create and maintain a free profile, organized by category and location to help customers find providers near them.

The reason a directory like this is worth your time is the structure. A free, claimable, categorized listing gives you an editable profile, a consistent citation which reinforces your NAP information across the web. A second surface for discovery when someone searches for a service plus a city. For an up-and-coming business with less authority, that’s often the difference between being found and not being found at all.

How to Determine Whether a Business Directory Deserves Your Time

Not every directory is worth twenty minutes of your life. Here are five criteria that will help you choose the most relevant ones.

• Does it rank? Use a search engine and look for a category + the city covered by the directory. If the website appears in the results, it probably has traffic.
• Can you claim and edit your listing? If it is not possible, leave it immediately.
• Is it relevant to your industry or region? Look for niche directories that cover relevant categories and audiences.
• Does it allow reviews? This feature helps you attract customers.
• Is the listing free or is it really worth spending money on it? Do not spend money on something you do not really need. Pay for advertising only when you have maximized the potential of the free directory.

Directory Mistakes That Quietly Cost You Leads

• Keyword stuffing your business name. Using “Dave’s Plumbing | Best Emergency Plumber Chicago” is against most platforms’ guidelines and could get you banned.
• Using a tracking number as your main phone. It creates NAP inconsistency. Use a tracking number as a secondary phone.
• Too many categories. Choose a primary category and only include relevant categories. Having too many categories, especially your main category, can hurt your ranking.
• Duplicate content across platforms. Copy/paste the same content everywhere. Vary your content on each directory.
• Not updating your listing regularly. Search engines prefer newly written content, so update your listing at least once every three months. Update your photos, hours of operation, and services frequently.

The Bottom Line

Your competition will likely not take extraordinary measures. They probably just claimed their profiles, filled out their information, and asked for reviews. Every week that you leave your profile unclaimed is a week that you’re allowing someone else to occupy that space.

Begin by performing the audit this afternoon. Claim your listings, update your information, and ensure you’ve added relevant platforms like Tekmag Listings to appear in another place on the internet. Set a monthly reminder to spend 20 minutes on this task.

This is the perfect plan because your competition will not do the same things you have just done.