Business directories for small business

business directory sites

An important part of getting your business more relevance is to list on the popular Australian business directories. In most cases basic listings are free and are easy to set up. They don't just boost your local presence but you will get some sales from people clicking through or phoning from your listing. It is important to ensure you select the correct listing sites for your submissions - some sites can actually damage your Google ranking. The sites below should be considered as part of your businesses local presence. At the very least make sure you register on the three big sites - True Local, The Yellow Pages and Yelp. It is also a good idea to look at business specific listings - ones that cater for the business you are in.

The Big Ones

True Local

True Local is arguably the biggest local directory in Australia. You need to register as a member first by providing your contact details and then you can add a free listing for your business. Your listing includes a description of your business, location and phone, photos and a link to your web site and email address. Apart from the free listing True Local has a number of paid listings. A basic listing for $33/month puts you higher in the search results and gives you some additional features like a coloured logo and an image in the search results. The priority listing for $99/month provides premium ad placements, reporting, video options and a 1300 number with a messaging service. True Local

Yellow Online

Yellow Online offers a free listing which includes a basic listing with links to your web and email addresses. The next level (Bronze) will cost you around $30 a month and will include opening hours, a business logo and your business history. For another $29 you get the Silver plan which has FAQ's and image gallery (also has a $165 setup fee). The top plan that small business should consider is the Gold plan which includes quote requests, accreditation and awards, blog and article links, a video gallery, 2 social media links as well as mobile phone and apps links. You are looking at around $144/month for this plan plus a $357.50 setup fee. For bigger business with multiple locations they offer a Professional listing - with prices ranging from $217 per month. Yellow pages offers an alternative for small business to creating and maintaining their own website. Yellow Pages

Yelp Australia Directory

Yelp is an online business directory aimed at local businesses. It encourages its audience to submit reviews about businesses that they have used. Yelp offers a free business listing with a business profile and photos as well as statistics and charts that measure your business pages performance. You also have the opportunity to communicate with your customers by responding to reviews. Yelp offers upgrades to your free listing that start from $1/day. These incluse a call to action, removal of competitors ads, photo slideshow, business highlights, Yelp connect, logo, portfolio and verified license. Yelp Australia

As a minimum set up a free account with these three directories. Make sure you data is consistant across all three and you include your NAP. If you do opt for a paid option the minimum term is often 6 months.

Some of the other business directories worth considering are:

Local Search
Start Local
White Pages
Word Of Mouth
Infobel
Aussie Web
Australian Planet
Pink Pages
Hot Frog
Cylex
Enroll Business
Aussie Hours
Tuugo
SearchFrog
Fyple
Zip Leaf

When you are setting up your directory submissions there is a lot of repetition of data involved so it may be easier to have the following on hand to avoid wasting a lot of time: a business title, the email address you want to use for contacts, phone number, ABN, your business description (100-200 words), your logo (as an image file) and some business images (maybe your shop front and any other images that showcase your business).