Checklist
Backlink submission software versus curated directories for accountancies
Directories can help an accountancy get found, but only a few are worth the form. Here is how an office manager can sort them in an afternoon.
The pitch you will receive
Skip it. Every month an inbox somewhere receives an offer for backlink submission software that promises hundreds of listings overnight, usually for a flat fee and with a screenshot of a dashboard as proof.
Nobody curates them. A listing that no editor checks gives readers no reason to trust it, and Google has been discounting that kind of link for years, as the December 2022 link spam update with SpamBrain showed again.
The useful ones are dull. Think of your professional body's member register, a local chamber of commerce page, a business listing in your town, and a few sector lists that a human editor maintains and updates.
Eight questions to ask about any directory
- Does a person review each listing before it appears?
- Would a client plausibly look for an accountant there?
- Does the listing allow your exact firm name, address and phone, spelled as on your site?
- Is the page indexed by Google, which you can test with a site: search?
- Are the other listings on the page real firms, not blank profiles?
- Does the profile link to a service page rather than a generic homepage?
- Is the fee a one-off or a renewal you will forget about?
- Can you remove the listing later if the firm's details change?
Decision table: submit, buy or skip
| Situation | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your professional body has a member page | Claim it today | Real readers and a real editor |
| A local business register lists you without a link | Add the link yourself | Cheap and consistent with your details |
| A tool offers 300 submissions for a flat fee | Skip | No one reads those pages |
| A relevant finance blog sells a placement | Consider one, after reading the page | Editorial context; from $1, up to about $500 on our list |
| A directory demands a reciprocal link | Decline | Looks like a link scheme |
An afternoon's routine for the office manager
List what exists
Search your firm name and address and note every listing already live, correct or not.
Fix the facts
Make the name, address and phone match your website in every directory you control.
Claim the curated ones
Apply to your professional body, local chamber and any sector list a human edits.
Record it
Keep a simple sheet of directory, date, cost and renewal. Ahrefs or Search Console will show later which links Google has noticed.
Different jobs. A directory gives you an address in a list, while a placement on a relevant finance or small-business site gives you a sentence about your firm inside an article. Our marketplace covers the second job only. Check the red-flag list first.
Questions from office managers
Is any automated directory tool worth using?
For a professional firm, almost never. Automation that posts to hundreds of directories produces links nobody reads. If you want help, use a tool to track listings, not to create them, and approve every submission yourself.
Do directory links count as dofollow?
Many are marked nofollow, which tells Google not to pass ranking credit. They may still send visitors and confirm your details. Check the page source or a link tool such as Ahrefs before assuming anything.
How many directories should a small firm join?
Fewer than you think. Five to ten well-chosen listings, kept accurate, beat a hundred neglected ones. The count matters less than whether a client could find and trust each page.