These guidelines are a reflection of HoustonBusinessListing.com’s efforts to build, maintain and promote a quality directory and search engine for business professionals and advertisers in the Houston and Metropolitan Area.
Advertiser's submissions to the HoustonBusinessListing.com site or network partner sites will be subject to HoustonBusinessListing.com editorial review, modification and/or removal in HoustonBusinessListing.com's sole discretion. HoustonBusinessListing.com reserves the right, but not the obligation, to review Advertiser submissions. .
Web Sites
Minimum requirements for inclusion:
Keywords
HoustonBusinessListing.com does not allow advertisers to bid on keywords that include destination URL components of third-party websites, i.e. "www", ".com", ".net", etc.
Multiple Listings per Category
HoustonBusinessListing.com does not permit and you may not submit multiple Featured Listings from the same or affiliated company to appear within the same category/on the same directory page. Categories/pages with multiple ads from the same company provide a lower quality user experience and will be removed.
Each Featured Listing within a category/directory page must be for a unique web site and contain unique ad copy. Mirror, framed or redirect sites that have different urls but the same design layout do not qualify as unique web sites.
Multilinks
Multilinks are a good way to feature specific pages of your site in your listing. For instance, you can create a "Contact Us" multilink that goes directly to your contact information page. (Multilinks are available for Featured Listings only on the Personal Business Page.)
Additionally, multilinks:
HoustonBusinessListing.com Title and Description Guidelines
Titles
Your listing title should promote your site and inform the user what they will find when they click on the link. The title must address a specific category, keyword, product or service offering.
Abbreviations
No improper or unnecessary abbreviations. Industry-standard abbreviations are acceptable. Unacceptable abbreviations:
Calls to Action
Do not use immediate calls to action such as "click here," "click now" or "buy now."
Capitalization
Use standard title casing. Do not capitalize entire words. Example of unacceptable title capitalization:
Character Count
Titles cannot exceed 60 characters in length (including spaces).
Company Name
We highly recommend that unless your company is a well-known brand, you do not include your company name in your listing title. Research has shown that such listings underperform compared to listings that do not include a company name. We recommend using Keywords for your Title Links. HoustonBusinessListing.com's Search Engine best works with Keywords used for your business type.
Example: Website Design, Intenet Marketing, Family Lawyers, Family Doctors, Etc.
Contact Information
Do not include an email address in the title. Do not use phone numbers unless they are part of your trademarked or official company name.
Free Claims
We highly recommend you do not use the term "free" in your listing title. Research has shown that listings with "free" in the title underperform compared to listings that do not. Users also find such claims to be less relevant. Any "free" claim must be verified on the landing page or it will be removed from the title.
Keywords
Include keywords that reflect your site. Ideally, your title should include a Category Keyword. These keywords will be bolded when a user searches for them and provide visibility on the top-level directory pages.
For example, this listing would appear on the Online Advertising and Marketing directory page as follows:
Punctuation
Do not use superfluous punctuation:
Repetition
Each listing should have a unique title, keyword targeted to a particular product or service. Duplicate titles that are irrelevant to their listing will be changed.
Slang
Do not use slang or phrases that could be misconstrued. Titles that have potentially sexually charged words will be changed. For example:
Spacing
Your title must be in logical sentence or phrase form and contain grammatically correct spacing.
Spelling
Correct spelling must be used.
Superlatives
Do not use superlatives, such as “best”, “cheap”, “#1”, “lowest”, “cheapest”, etc.
Symbols
Avoid gratuitous use of symbols and characters. Symbols may only be used as they appear on your website. Ampersands (&) should only be used for commonly accepted terms.Additionally:
Web Site Address
Do not include any url in the title.
Descriptions
Descriptions are meant to detail the company's primary function and provide an accurate account of material found on the landing page of the web site.
Capitalization
Follow standard capitalization rules for sentences. Category keywords, proper nouns and product names may remain capitalized. Do not capitalize entire words.
Example of unacceptable capitalization in a description:
Character Count
Descriptions cannot exceed 150 characters (including spaces). However, we highly recommend keeping your ad copy at around 100 characters for optimal performance
Contact Information
Do not include an email address or full URL in the description. Do not use phone numbers unless they are part of your trademarked or official company name.
Free Claims
We highly recommend you do not use the term "free" in your listing copy. Research has shown that listings with "free" in the copy underperform compared to listings that do not. Users also find such claims to be less relevant. Any "free" claim must be verified on the landing page or it will be removed from the title.
Grammar
Use standard English spelling and grammar. Use one space only between sentences.
Punctuation
Do not use superfluous punctuation. You may use only one exclamation point or question mark per sentence. Furthermore:
Superlatives
Avoid superlatives - "leading," "best," "top-rated," etc.
Symbols
Avoid gratuitous use of symbols and characters. Symbols may only be used as they appear on your web site. Ampersands (&) should only be used for commonly accepted terms.
Web Site Address
Do not include your URL in the description. Your web address will be visible in the display URL below the listing.
Listing Ad Copy Examples
Incorrect Ad #1:
Get Your SITE LISTED!
Adds @ BDC Turn leads into $$$$ Hurry!!!! Visit www.mywebsite.com today.
What's wrong with the title:
Correct Ad #1:
Web Site Listings
Advertise at mywebsite.com and turn leads into customers!
Incorrect Ad #2:
Cheap Best Hosting! Call 1-800-FRE-HOST
75 GB Transfer Free Domain & Blogs Unlimited #email acct Make it EZ Why pay more????
What's wrong with the title: