This week Managing Director of AussieWeb, Monte Huebsch, published a critical comparison of Australian online business directories for SearchWeek.Bias aside, it’s worth the read for insight from one of the local search leaders as to where the rest of the industry is heading.

Last weekend I was speaking to Ross Hill from Geelong based Web marketing company Thrive which allowed me to pull together my thoughts on where company verification currently stands for online business directories, as well as recommend solutions to speed up this process while limiting listing fraud by spammers.Current practices for company verification include cold call validation from each listing company or mailing a postcard with online verification to the physical address, again directory independant.

Both of these solutions are time-consuming, resource-heavy and over time costly. Cold call validation requires a dedicated support team to work with local businesses, there is a clear benefit of having direct contact with local businesses if you are promoting premium content for businesses or wish to clear up any relevancy issues with their listing. While postcard validation incurs significant delays in turnaround by business operators.

Removing cold calling practices and leasing a listing-confirmed database from a respected agency is the clear answer for business directory owners. Existing call centres can then be converted to support relevancy/promotional activities. This updated database can then be sold to other directory owners.

Being able to generate and maintain public interest would open opportunities for significant listing validation coming from channelled consumer feedback. A significant step up from direct consumer feedback may be to pay contributing individuals of the public to continue verifying businesses.