Find More Business Records – Instant Business Data Search Tips

Getting the Most from Instant Business Data (00:00:00)

• The instant business data tool has been previously covered, and this segment provides tips on how to get the most from it, with a brief demo to show how to use the tool effectively (00:00:00).
• The instant business data tool was initially released about a year ago, and many Business Data (BD) users have been using it, although some users in rural or low population areas have reported difficulty finding results for certain business categories (00:00:16).
• Some tips and a demo will be provided to help users get the most out of the instant business data tool, which has filters and settings that can limit the number of results, and adjusting these settings can increase the number of results yielded (00:00:42).
• A quick overview of the instant business data tool will be given for users who haven't used it yet, followed by tips, tricks, and a demo to demonstrate how to use the tool effectively (00:00:54).
• The demo will show how adjusting specific settings and filters in the instant business data tool can adjust the number of results, helping users to import business data into their website more efficiently (00:01:05).

What is Instant Business Data? (00:01:11)

• The instant business data tool allows users to quickly and easily populate their website with actual business listings, which can unlock potential leads if the business data contains contact information for those businesses (00:01:11).
• The tool enables users to instantly import real business listings by business category and location, and also search for specific business names, with a range of filters and settings available (00:01:36).
• Every business directory site starts with 100 free credits, which can be used to import businesses, and users can conduct as many searches as they want without using up credits, allowing them to see the number of results yielded by each search (00:01:56).
• The instant business data tool can help make a website appear more active, credible, and ready for traffic, enticing visitors to click around and interact with business profiles, especially for new or growing sites (00:02:15).
• The tool provides a bonus for users if the business data contains contact information, as they can reach out to business owners, promote their website, and offer services such as free membership plans or premium membership plans (00:02:28).
• The instant business data tool, provided by Brilliant Directories, creates a custom description for each imported listing, optimized for Google SEO, to avoid duplicate content and improve the chances of indexing by Google (00:03:05).

Go Global or Stay Local (00:03:35)

• The instant business data tool searches through a database containing over 20 million listings from around 160 countries, with countries having higher populations typically having more business data (00:03:41).
• The database includes a significant number of business listings from various countries, such as the US with over 19 million listings, the UK with almost 4 million listings, and Canada with 2.2 million listings (00:03:48).
• China and India are among the countries with the most business data in the database, due to their large populations (00:03:54).
• The tool aims to provide tips and tricks on how to get the most out of it, especially for users in lower populated or rural areas who may not be finding the expected number of results (00:04:14).
• Users who are not yielding the desired results can benefit from the provided tips and tricks to get closer to their goal and obtain more results (00:04:26).

How to Get the Most Results (00:04:33)

• To get the most results when searching for businesses, there are two ways to search: strictly by business category or optionally including a business name, and considering enabling the related category match option can help expand the search results (00:04:33).
• When searching for a specific business category, such as attorneys or doctors, enabling the related category match option can help capture broader results, as these categories often have many subcategories (00:04:54).
• If including a business name in the search, enabling the partial name match option can help capture businesses with similar names, such as those with apostrophes or extra letters (00:05:46).
• Excluding specific businesses from the search results is also an option, for example, excluding businesses with the name McDonald's when searching for restaurants (00:06:12).
• Unchecking preferred attributes, such as business email address, phone number, website URL, and updated information within the last 30 days, can help increase the number of search results (00:06:24).
• Unchecking these attributes will still allow businesses to be imported and create listings, but may make it more difficult to reach out to business owners without contact information (00:07:17).
• Expanding the location search to include larger nearby cities or adjacent zip codes can help capture more businesses, especially in rural areas where people may travel further to access services (00:07:40).
• Searching the entire state or province can also be an option to capture as many businesses as possible, and starting with a broad search and narrowing down as needed can provide more opportunities for both the website owner and users (00:08:19).

Let's See This In Action! (00:08:49)

• To demonstrate the effectiveness of search filters in finding business records, a sample search is conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa, using the category "plumbing", which yields zero results, indicating the importance of selecting the correct business category (00:09:16).
• Switching the category to "plumber" yields more results, with six records found when all preferred attributes are enabled, and this number increases to 19 when the "updated in the last 30 days" filter is removed, and further increases to 172 when the email address filter is removed (00:10:42).
• The business import tool is beneficial for new sites as it helps them appear seasoned and credible from the start, and it's not necessarily about going after imported listings, but rather populating the site to start real marketing efforts (00:11:23).
• Changing the primary category to "plumber" and switching to a related category match increases the number of records found to 209, demonstrating the impact of adjusting search filters on the number of results (00:11:44).
• Expanding the location from Johannesburg to all of South Africa increases the number of results almost tenfold, showing how adjusting search filters can significantly affect the number of results, and this applies to international users as well (00:12:26).
• The search filters used include primary category, related category match, preferred attributes, and location, which can be adjusted to broaden or narrow the search, and it's important to choose the correct category and filters to get the desired results (00:09:40).
• The database contains hundreds of millions of business records, and users can filter these records to find the desired number of businesses to import, starting with broad filters and narrowing them down as needed (00:13:16).
• The primary benefit of using this database is to quickly import business listings into a website, making it feel more seasoned and active, and helping to make other businesses feel more comfortable registering on the site (00:14:00).
• Users can search for businesses using category and location, category and keyword, or business name, with options for exact, partial, or "does not match" name searches (00:14:20).
• When using the partial match option, users should choose words that are likely to be part of the business name they are looking for, such as "DDS" for dentists or "law firm" for lawyers, to get accurate results (00:15:28).
• The partial match name search can return a large number of results, such as 1,600 businesses with "plumbing" in their name, which are likely to be plumbing services (00:16:07).
• Users can also exclude specific businesses from their search results, such as excluding McDonald's from a search for restaurants in Los Angeles, which can significantly reduce the number of results (00:16:50).
• The database allows users to refine their searches using various filters and options, making it possible to find specific types of businesses and import them into a website (00:17:19).
• To find specific business records, it is possible to exclude certain business names, such as Walmart or McDonald's, from search results, which can be useful when searching for independent businesses rather than chains (00:17:35).
• The search results can vary greatly depending on the specific use case and location, making it essential to adjust the search parameters accordingly (00:18:00).
• When searching for businesses in rural or remote areas, it is helpful to be very specific with the location and to conduct multiple searches that include adjacent zip codes or cities to obtain more comprehensive results (00:18:06).
• Including neighboring zip codes in the search can also provide additional business listings, especially when there is no major city nearby with a high likelihood of relevant results (00:18:20).
• Conducting several searches with different location parameters can increase the chances of finding the desired business records, particularly in areas with limited business listings (00:18:25).

Pro Tips Before You Import (00:18:29)

• Before using the instant business data tool, it is recommended to conduct a search and import a small number of results, such as 10 or 20, to ensure everything is as expected before importing the rest, and this can be done without worrying about duplicate imports as the system will automatically skip them (00:18:29).
• Duplicate imports will be skipped even if the same results are found through different searches, such as a category search and a keyword search, and it's also important to note that the same business name can appear at different locations, which is not a duplicate listing (00:19:27).
• If imported listings are deleted, they can be reimported for free from the "my imports" tab, where previous search results can be tracked and reimported without using additional credits (00:20:21).
• When importing members, business listings can be assigned to a membership plan, a specific member category, and tags can be applied for internal notes or segmentation, allowing for targeted emails to be sent to specific groups of businesses (00:20:57).
• The instant business data tool is a helper tool, and if it's not providing the desired results, there are other sources of business data available online that may offer the required filters, and suggestions for improvement are always welcome (00:22:06).