Best Online Advertising Stuff » search engines

Best Blog Directories for Marketing Your Blog

Carter Hostelley — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:06:28 +0000

Looking to market your blog? Let's start with the basics. You need to get your blog to show up in search engine results. You also want prospects to stumble upon your blog. What's an easy and cost effective way of doing this? List your blog with the best blog directories.

We’ve compiled this list of the 19 best blog directories. We’ve ranked them based on our editorial review, monthly US visitors (estimated by Compete), and Google page rank (a key factor in determining ranking in search results… the higher the number the better).

Blog Directory	Monthly Visitors	PageRank
BlogCatalog	2,466,000	7
Technorati	2,237,000	8
Blogs.com	1,605,000	7
Blog Toplist	549,000	4
Blogged	211,000	6
Best of the Web Blogs	150,000	6
TopBlogArea.com	147,000	5
Blog Flux	146,000	4
TopOfBlogs	74,000	5
Loaded Web	69,000	5
Blog Top Sites	59,000	3
Blogarama	32,000	4
TopBlogging.com	26,000	3
BlogExplosion	21,000	5
Bloggapedia	13,000	6
OnToplist.com	13,000	5
Bloggeries	12,000	3
EatonWeb	11,000	6
BlogHop	7,000	6

It only takes a few minutes to submit your blog. You’ll register with the blog directory, type in your blog’s URL, choose categories that your blog fits, and provide helpful keyword tags to make it easy for directory searchers to find you. That’s it.

Best of all, most blog directories offer free blog submission!

In a few cases, you may be asked to pay a fee but even then it’s affordable (e.g., $35 per year)… and some offer advertising opportunities that make sense for you to consider. But don’t be surprised if the blog directories ask that you link your blog back to them. Why not as they need promotion too.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s start marketing your blog!

Best Local Directories for Your Online Advertising

Carter Hostelley — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:11:52 +0000

Getting started with your local online advertising? Well, you should consider the Yellow Pages for your advertising dollars. The online version that is! Not to mention the local search engines and online directories. And guess what? Most are free and all are affordable.

Start by listing your business with the 33 best local search engines and directories shown here. We’ve ranked them based on our editorial review, monthly US visitors (estimated by Quantcast), and Google page rank (a key factor in determining ranking in search results… the higher the number the better).

Local Directories	Business Listing	Monthly Visitors	PageRank
Google (Local)	Free	141,000,000	10
Yahoo (Local)	Free	120,000,000	9
Bing (Local)	Free	41,000,000	9
YellowPages.com	Free	17,200,000	7
Yelp	Free	6,600,000	7
SuperPages	Free	6,300,000	7
MerchantCircle	Free	5,800,000	8
Citysearch	Pay	4,500,000	8
Local.com	Free	4,200,000	7
Yellowbook	Free	2,400,000	7
InsiderPages	Free	2,400,000	7
DexKnows	Pay	2,000,000	6
LocalPages	Free	1,800,000	5
Hot Frog	Free	1,600,000	6
MagicYellow	Free	1,500,000	5
Switchboard	Free	1,300,000	8
YellowBot	Free	1,200,000	7
GenieKnows.com	Free	1,200,000	6
Discover Our Town	Free	691,000	6
CitySquares	Free	523,000	5
GetFave	Free	436,000	6
Judy's Book	Free	433,000	5
Kudzu	Free	375,000	6
MapQuest	Free	254,000	6
Best of the Web	Free	244,000	6
Matchpoint	Free	203,000	5
YellowPageCity	Free	151,000	5
USDirectory	Free	94,500	3
OpenList	Pay	87,000	5
Yext	Free	84,000	4
HelloMetro	Pay	71,000	3
MojoPages	Free	37,000	6
CityWaboo	Free	35,000	3

Of course, there are quite a few local search and online directories to list with. So you may instead want to use services such as Universal Business Listing, iBegin.com, and Localeze. They’ll do the submitting for you at little or no cost… plus save you a ton of time!

When submitting your business listing, don’t forget to include the same descriptive keywords and compelling copy that you use on your website. This will improve the chances of your business showing up in the right search results and sending qualified prospects to your website.

What if you don’t have a website? Then start with directories like YellowPages.com, SuperPages, Yelp, and MerchantCircle. They’ll create a business listing for you that’ll include the name and description of your business, phone number, and street address. And if you’re willing to pay ($25 to $50 per month), you can also add photos, special offers, and more!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get the phones ringing!

Best Free and Affordable Press Release Services

Carter Hostelley — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:52:56 +0000

In today's web world, press releases can and should be an important part of your strategy to get the word out about your business… even if you're a one person start-up working from the kitchen table!

So you should do a press release. Actually, lots of them… figure two per month (or more!) Since that can get expensive fast, we've put together a list of the best 31 press release distribution services that are free and affordable.

This list is based on our editorial review, the number of monthly US visitors (estimated by Quantcast), and Google page rank (a key factor in determining ranking in search results… the higher the number the better).

We also show the minimum cost you'll pay to issue a press release (most will charge extra for additional services).

PR Services	Minimum Cost	Monthly Visitors	PageRank
PR Log	Free	1,200,000	6
Free Press Release	Free	746,000	5
PR-inside.com	Free	249,000	4
PR.com	Free	135,000	6
PressReleasePoint	Free	98,000	5
1888 PressRelease	Free	53,000	5
24-7 Press Release	Free	44,000	4
BigNews.biz	Free	43,000	5
FreePressReleaseCenter	Free	19,000	4
i-Newswire	Free	16,000	3
Newswire Today	Free	14,000	6
ClickPress	Free	11,000	5
OpenPR	Free	11,000	4
EcommWire	Free	11,000	4
Free-News-Release	Free	10,000	4
PressExposure	Free	9,000	4
PressAbout	Free	9,000	3
Information-Online	Free	8,000	3
PRZoom	Free	7,000	4
PR9.NET	Free	4,000	4
WebWire	$20	109,000	3
Wired PR News	$20	12,000	4
Press Release 365	$25	9,000	4
Express Press Release	$29	36,000	3
TransWorldNews	$49	357,000	4
PR Leap	$49	47,000	5
Chicago Press Release	$49	14,000	5
Eworldwire	$75	15,000	5
PRWeb	$80	882,000	7
Send2Press	$99	7,000	5
EmailWire	$100	23,000	5

Remember that everyone's needs are different… so we encourage you to try different press release services to see which ones work best for you!

Keep in mind, the free services tend to only show your press release on their site while paid services will also distribute to news outlets like Google News… plus make it easier to search engine optimize your release. So the extra cost may be worth it to you.

Are you ready to get started? Then pick one of the press release services and go ahead and make some news!