Best Free Local Business Directories

By: Tony Peters
Owner, AP Designs LLC
Inquiry@apdesignsonline.com


If you’re not in Free National and Local Business Directories right now, you’re missing out on some good Backlinks and potential business exposure. I’m not talking about Google Places, Yahoo Local, or LinkedIn. I’m talking about the next Tiers down from that. The Places you have only heard about only once, or maybe never.

Some of these Free Business Directories get their start as being Free. Then they get tons of traffic, and before you know it they charge monthly fees for any listing at all. And then their traffic plummets, just as fast as it came. Is their directory really that good?

The purpose of this article is to tell you. Which ones are still FREE. At least as of the date when this article was written.

I personally always like free things: Free tools, Free Advice, Free Coffee, and Free Listings. I’m sure you do too. Sometimes there can be a “catch” with free things, and sometimes… well, they’re just free. For instance, the Free knowledge we dish out on our page How SEO Works. And, this Blog. It’s all Free! OK. Enough. On to the Free Local Directory Listings.

Here are 10 Directories that you may not have ever known about:

1. Manta.com
   This one is solid. I am even signed up for their newsletter which gives me great FREE helpful business tips. They even have an app of the week for phone apps. I’d say I download about 30% of their suggested apps. Very helpful!.
2. Yelp.com
   You’ve probably seen commercials on TV for Yelp. It’s has grown very fast. They also have a great app for iPhone or Android. I just became a part of their community not too long ago. I highly recommend this Directory.
3. MerchantCircle.com
   I’ve been part of Merchant Circle for a while. It has provided me some decent backlinks to my website, and possibly a little exposure. Although I have never gotten a phone call which says “Hey, I found you on Merchant Circle!” it’s still a worthy investment of your time to make a business profile.
4. Local.com
   Local.com is a bit too heavy on the advertisements. It would be a much better interface if they would ease up a bit. Nonetheless, they provide another avenue for a listing and a backlink.
5. YellowPages.com
   I have always despised the “phone book” websites. A choice few call my cell phone a few times a year trying to get me to pay way too much money to be included in their phone book. I’m not sure about your phone book at home, but mine sits on the door step for 3 days until I finally decide I should bring it in. Then it sits for 5 years on a shelf, never used, until I do a complete home cleaning and the accumulated phone books finally get thrown away.
   Well, the phone book companies are FINALLY starting to catch on to this “internet stuff”. The Yellow Pages Directory is actually pretty decent. They also have an app, if you feel the need to download it. Although, be cautioned! You may get marketing phone calls.
6. BizJournals.com
   This Free listing is limited to being “shown” in one city for one specific industry. Of course you can upgrade your listing for a fee.
7. DiscoverOurTown.com
   This is a free listing, but has an expensive upgrade to a paid listing. I’d like to see their traffic reports for my region before dropping the extra cash they ask for the “premium” listing.
8. MojoPages.com
   MojoPages is Yellow Pages with a different name, look, and feel. You can get $50 in free advertising if you put an icon on your website for 1 month. Heck, I did it. It isn’t too intrusive.
9. CitySquares.com
   This one is super painless to signup for. Whereas other have a bunch of fields to input, this one cuts to the chase, and the listing is instant.
10. Hot Frog
    A Great directory which gets millions of visitors per year (self proclaimed). And, it’s Totally Free.

After you have create these free listings, try to log-in once a month and maintain the listing by whatever means they have. Some, you don’t have to do anything. Others want to to write a review every once in a while (MojoPages), which isn’t too bad especially if it’s true. Keep adding to your listing description or modify is as your company evolves. Hopefully after all your hard work (or your employee’s) you will see the dividends in one form or another.

There are other free directories out there. Share yours by adding a comment. Thanks for reading!