Thumbtack is another great business directory for providers of home renovation and maintenance services. Other industries that could add a business listing to Thumbtack include electronics repair specialists and web designers.
Nextdoor is both a neighborhood guide and a free online business directory for local businesses of any category, but it’s specially recommended if you offer home services or products at a local shop.
You’ll notice that some of them have low organic traffic numbers. Remember: The main benefit of adding your company to business listing sites is to build citations with your NAP information.
Even if an online directory only receives a few organic visits per month, that’s okay — the main value is having a listing with your correct name, address, and phone number (NAP).
Don’t worry about upgrading any of these listings. I never did when I was building citations. Most people don’t visit online business directories any longer; instead, they use Google or other popular websites such as Yelp.
Brownbook.net is a Yellow Pages alternative for businesses of any category. One of my favorite citations — it’s very easy to sign up.
Neustar Localeze is a business listing service that also includes an online directory. This one is paid, and sign-up can be a little more complicated than other options, but it’s still worth it.
Spoke.com is an online business directory with a “feed” on its home page, like a social media site. You can also add people and topics.
n49 is a Canada-based directory that has a US arm. One of my favorites in terms of UX and workflow. It’s simple to sign up, and editing your listing is easy through its portal.
Tuugo’s organic traffic numbers may be low, but like others on this list, it’s an easy citation that will help you reinforce your NAP information. It’s also very, very simple to sign up — no verification required.
City Local Pro is a business directory that specializes in home improvement services, but you may be able to sign up and get a citation regardless of category.
Opendi is a business directory with international arms in Europe and South America. Opendi has a long pending period for new listings, but it’s worth submitting to.
Bizhwy.com is a simple online business directory that also gives you the option of submitting a press release. Since its traffic numbers are low, I recommend sticking to a free listing.
DirJournal is an online business directory that also offers advertising options. Since its traffic numbers are low, I recommend sticking to a free listing.
As mentioned, the value of listing your business in directories isn’t about visibility in the directories themselves (although that’s certainly helpful); it’s more about building citations with your business information.
You’ve seen local packs before — they’re the groups of local businesses that appear when you make a location-based search, such as “pizza near me.”
By listing your business in local directories, you’re reinforcing your company’s NAP information again and again. This constant and consistent record of citations (really, make sure your information is consistent!) can improve your chances of ranking higher in Google’s local packs. You’ll therefore increase visibility and exposure in your area, which can result in more website visits and foot traffic.
We can’t forget the big benefit: Backlinks. Most local directories allow you to add a link to your website, and while some of them may be no-follow links, it’s still worth the mention.
Most directories are authoritative websites that have a high domain authority or domain rating. By listing your business on these directories, you can indirectly increase your website's domain authority by getting a “vote,” so to speak, from an authoritative site.
Pakistan Yellow Pages Business DirectoryBy getting backlinks or “votes” from directories, you will, in turn, improve your search engine rankings and increase your website's visibility and traffic.
Creating business listings can also improve your legitimacy. Local directories are trusted sources of information, and being listed on these directories can boost your company's credibility and reputation.
Imagine if people look up your business and the first page of the SERPs are filled with random URLs that happen to share your business name. That doesn’t help you look established. But if the SERPs are all filled with listings from other directories, users will feel like your company is real and therefore worth their investment.
Before the web became the go-to for finding all the information in the world, whenever someone wanted to find a local business, they’d check the original local business directory: the Yellow Pages.
Today, physical Yellow Page books are mostly a relic of the past. But their spirit lives on in online business directories and their local business listings. And just like decades ago, having a great local business directory strategy can be key to helping potential customers find you.
A local business directory is a collection of information about businesses located in a specific geographic area, organized by category. Their purpose is to help people find the right local products or services for them.
Local business directories used to be printed as books and distributed via mail or store. Today, almost all directories are online. The most widely used directory is Google, primarily through its Maps tool. Each listed location on its map is a local business listing. Other local directories display their listings by map, category, or alphabetically. The practice of creating and optimizing these listings is known as a local SEO strategy.
Local business directories used to be printed as books and distributed via mail or store. Today, almost all directories are online. The most widely used directory is Google, primarily through its Maps tool. Each listed location on its map is a local business listing. Other local directories display their listings by map, category, or alphabetically. The practice of creating and optimizing these listings is known as a local SEO strategy.
The most popular directory, Google, is used billions of times per day. Having your listing surface in Google’s results can be a massive boost in awareness for your business. Google used to only show its listings in Map-based Google searches, but now, it shows local listings in any search it deems to be related to local businesses. So the opportunity for greater exposure for your local business through Google is greater than ever.
There are other local business directories, too, such as Hotfrog and Local.com. Not only do customers use them, but Google reads them to inform their own listings. Maintaining your business on multiple local business directories increases your overall visibility and sends signals of your trustworthiness to Google.
Of course, not every business will benefit from setting up local listings. Directories are designed for businesses with a physical location or specific service area. If your business is remote, or not restricted to a service area, you may not qualify for most directories, and you wouldn’t see much benefit anyway. For example, software companies typically don’t benefit from having local business listings.
If you own a small business, creating a local business listing is a simple process that helps to ensure your company can be found online. Local business listings help potential customers discover your business, learn about your products or services, and find important information like your phone number, address, and hours of operation. Here’s the best-practice process for creating your listing:
Your business’s Google listing is the most important listing, as it’s by far the most-used directory. Other directories also tend to follow Google’s standards for information required, so if you have a complete Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), you’ll likely have all the information you need for your other listings. You can start the process from the Google Business website.
Businesses can already have listings without creating them themselves—users can choose to create them when they want to leave a review. This is known as an unclaimed listing, and in Google, it will have a button saying “Claim this listing” on it. If there is an unclaimed listing for your business, it’s better to claim it than to create a new one. This avoids duplicate listings and keeps your unclaimed listing’s reviews. Once you do this, the process is the same as below.
Joy Hawkins, owner of Sterling Sky, agrees on the importance of establishing a Google Business profile: “Based on businesses we have tracked over a few years, we have seen businesses in various industries increase their lead volume from their Google Business Profile by 16%, to 149%, compared to three years ago.”
These are the most important details, as directories use them to know when and where to show your listing. Most listings will have pre-set categories and will allow you to choose primary and secondary categories. Choose the category that best captures your overall offering as your primary category, and choose sub-categories that reflect your individual product/service offerings. Only choose categories that you actually offer on your site or in your store.
Similarly, for your address and/or service area, select your real physical address and the actual bounds of your service area. If you don’t have an official service area, ask yourself, “How far would I drive for a customer?” Keep in mind that directories don’t reward larger service areas—they use this geographic information to see what’s close enough to their user.