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What Are Local Business Directories?
Local Business Directories are basically online Yellow Pages that list all kinds of local businesses. On a regular business directory page of a business you can usually find:
- Business name
- Address
- Phone number
Optional are:
- E-mail address
- Opening hours/business hours
- Description
- Images
- Attributes/filters
- Customer reviews
- Website link
Depending on the business directory, the optional options can vary. Potential customers can find your business through these local directories. However, they also directly influence the ranking of your Google Business Profile, increasing the chance that potential customers can find you through local search queries directly on Google search results or Google Maps.
Renowned local business directories you might have already heard of are Tripadvisor, Yelp, or Foursquare and also your own Google Business Profile (GBP) counts as a directory listing.
Why You Need to List Your Business on Local Business Directories
Getting your business listed on these online business directories means that you are collecting citations. This means your NAP details (name, address, phone number) are being mentioned on the web. Collecting citations has a direct impact on your local SEO, meaning that the more your business gets mentioned on different platforms, the more positive signals are being sent to Google. Consequently, Google assumes that your business is legitimate, active, and well renowned which will result in higher rankings of your Google Business Profile when potential customers search for a business nearby. Therefore, collecting citations should be a prominent part of your local SEO strategy.
Furthermore, you not only gain indirectly more online visibility through these listings but potential customers can also immediately find you via popular business directories. For example, if you are managing a hotel, you need to make sure that you are present on Tripadvisor, as many guests are searching for accommodation directly via this or similar platforms.
Local Business Directories List - Get Listed and Improve Your Online Visibility
Let’s have a look at the tables below. There you can see a list of suitable business directories for different markets where you can create a listing/profile and collect these valuable citations!
| Global Directories | Automotive Directories |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Fiat |
| Bing Places for Business | GM |
| Facebook Business Pages | Ford |
| LinkedIn Company Directory | BMW |
| Apple Maps Connect | VW |
| Foursquare | Mercedes |
| Hotfrog | Toyota |
| Yalwa | Audi |
| Kompass | - |
| One World Yellow Pages | - |
How Do You Get Listed in Local Business Directories?
If you manually create citations, be aware that this requires consistency and accuracy. Suppose your business details are not consistent across the web. In that case, you risk a decline in online visibility as well as confused potential customers who will most likely choose a competitor with accurate information.
Fill in all the information required. As previously mentioned, you need to always fill in your NAP details and can choose directory-specific options to fill in further information such as opening hours, descriptions, or images.
Create a spreadsheet with all the listings that you have created and the information that is included in each directory. We recommend you save the login details in a dedicated password vault for easy auto-fill-in.
Now that you have created all your directory listings, the difficult part starts: You need to maintain those business listings. Imagine you want to change your opening hours on a special holiday. This would mean logging in to over 100 different platforms and changing your information manually. You will be busy for at least a couple of hours. And it doesn’t end there, on many business directories, users can suggest edits. Imagine now you don’t check your e-mails for a couple of days. This means that these suggested edits will be published because you didn’t reject them in time. A scenario like this is very common and causes NAP inconsistency quicker than you might think. We get that you probably don’t have the time and motivation to keep up with all of this! No worries, that’s why we have created our Local Listing Technology to take this off your plate!
Obenan’s Local Listing Technology
Obenan’s Local Listing Technology is designed to streamline and enhance the online visibility of businesses by ensuring consistent, accurate, and optimized listings across multiple platforms that are managed via one central dashboard. While many businesses fear manual listing management and decide to not even start with it, with Obenan you set up your dashboard once and don’t have to worry about it until you want to change your details. Even then, this can be done with one click and all listings are updated!
Let’s look at what the Local Listing Technology includes:
- Centralized Listing Management
- Allows businesses to manage their information, such as name, address, phone number (NAP), and hours of operation, across multiple platforms from a single dashboard.
- Ensures synchronization of data to maintain consistency across platforms like Google, Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps, and up to 130+ directories depending on the location.
- Auto-Sync Feature
- Automatically updates business information across directories whenever changes are made.
- Reduces the risk of discrepancies that could affect search engine rankings.
- Google Integration
- Seamless updates to your Google Business Profile and related services to optimize local search rankings.
- Includes features for updating descriptions, photos, and attributes.
- Global Directories
- 130+ directories claimed with one click (the number depends on your country and industry)
- Error and Inconsistency Resolution
- Identifies and fixes issues like mismatched NAP data or incomplete attributes that can harm visibility.
- Includes built-in checks to ensure all information complies with search engine algorithms.
- Attributes and Keywords Optimization
- Highlights unique business attributes to differentiate from competitors.
- Includes tools for adding optimized descriptions and relevant keywords to listings.
- Comprehensive Data Analysis
- Tracks and reports on listing performance, including visibility metrics and user engagement with listings.
Should I Pay For Listings?
Certain listings require a monthly or annual subscription, but do they truly benefit your business? Well, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer—it really depends on your niche and how people search for businesses like yours. For service area providers, these paid directories can sometimes make sense. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, it’s crucial to reach bridal couples where they begin their customer journey and gather inspiration. Many of these online directories are tied to popular online magazines. If your target audience is active there, investing in a listing might be worth considering.
That said, don’t forget that in the US alone, there are over 18,000 monthly searches for “wedding photographers near me” (Source: SEMrush). This means you can see significant results just by optimizing your Google Business Profile, collecting citations in free business directories, and incorporating local SEO into your overall marketing strategy. For other industries, like restaurants and bars, Google remains the go-to platform. Hungry customers will typically type “restaurant near me” directly into Google Search or Maps, making paid directories less likely to provide a meaningful return on investment.
Why pay for a single listing when you can automatically claim 130+ listings, never worry about manual updates, ensure your business details are always accurate, and, most importantly, own your listings forever? Let’s be honest—there are plenty of overpriced offers out there that leave you renting listings instead of owning them. Once you cancel, everything disappears.
With Obenan, you truly own your listings. And if you ever decide to stop using our tools, we’ll release them to you, so you never lose control of your online presence.
