Negosentro.com | 6 Sites and Directories to Claim or Create for Personal and Professional Branding Now | Could your personal brand use a boost?
How about your professional brand: your company or sole proprietorship’s visibility in a marketplace that’s no doubt becoming more competitive with every passing year?
Either, both — no matter. A better brand starts with robust, active online presence. And these six websites and digital directories are essential to achieving just that. Here’s why you should claim or create profiles on each right away.
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Yelp
Yelp for Business packs a powerful marketing punch. Not just in terms of SEO, as is the case for some of the sites that follow. No, Yelp remains the preeminent destination for consumers in search of — well, just about anything. Best of all, there’s a good chance your business already has a Yelp page that’s waiting to be claimed; millions of unclaimed listings linger on the site. Get on it today.
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Medium
Medium is the world’s most visible blogging platform. That’s partly because it’s super-duper user-friendly and partly because it’s a reliable first-page hit in search results for the terms you want to rank for. Spend an hour or two browsing Medium to get a flavor of how to use the site effectively; this Medium page for Daniella Rand is a great model for individuals and small business owners alike.
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YP.com
Whatever happened to the old-fashioned Yellow Pages, you ask? YP.com happened, that’s what. Today, YP.com is an SEO-friendly directory that’s great for conveying important facts about yourself and your business, especially up-to-date contact information.
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Twitter
Twitter isn’t as popular as social media behemoths like Facebook and Instagram, but it’s still a great place to have conversations with influential people and brands. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a super-effective personal and professional branding tool, thanks to its concise profiles and crisp graphics.
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Everybodywiki
The problem with Wikipedia is its exclusivity. It’s really difficult to get a listing up on Wikipedia without meeting the site’s strict “notability” criteria. That takes time and no small amount of luck. That’s where Everybodywiki comes in. It’s a lot like Wikipedia, right down to the distinctive font and formatting, but it’s much more democratic and personalization-friendly. Which is what we all want out of a personal or professional branding resource, right?
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Google My Business
Search Engine Journal calls Google My Business the “grandaddy of online directories.” Unlike many small business directories, its search relevance continues to grow, possibly due to its association with the Internet’s most important gatekeeper. Hey, we can’t blame Google for giving Google My Business an unfair advantage — nor can we ignore Google My Business when we’re ready to invest in a better online brand.
Stake Your Claim (Or Create It) Online Now
Free, SEO-friendly listings are there for the taking on these six web properties. In some cases, your free listing is literally there for the taking — it’s already up and ready for you to claim and personalize it.
In other cases, you’ll have to do that first bit of work yourself. Don’t be daunted. Every ounce of that work will pay off if you’re willing to do it right. You’ll be left with a more impressive personal or professional brand — or both — and your career will be the ultimate beneficiary.
