What’s Business Listing? Benefits and a list of top 20 B2B directories sites
By: Mark Steven
Tags: Digital Marketing, What Is Business Listing, Local Business Listing, Seo Services, Business Directory List

Looking to run your business using the internet? Then you’ll need to build up your online presence by making sure that all of the major search engines are aware of you and what you have to offer. One way to do this is through business listing sites, which act as an online directory or yellow pages of sorts where people can come and find businesses like yours. You may be wondering: How many business listing sites are there in the United States? Why should you list your business on each one? Luckily, we’ve researched and collected all the top 20 free business listing sites in one place so you can easily find, compare, and start using them right away. Read on to find out which sites make the cut!

What are business listing sites?

There are tons of websites offering free business listings. And you should take advantage of as many as possible! Local businesses have become increasingly dependent on online marketing in recent years and it’s easy to see why: by building a brand online, it’s easier than ever for customers across cities or even across countries to find your shop.

Let’s begin with a common misconception — businesses can be listed on these sites for free. Yes, they offer free listings, but there are hidden costs that you must take into consideration. By signing up for their free service you may also be subject to receiving advertisements and calls from them as well as those that partner with them. Even though it may seem like you’re saving money by using one of these services, make sure you check out their terms and conditions before creating your account or giving any personal information such as your phone number or email address.

Local Business Listing Sites

But with so many options available, where do you start? These are our twenty picks for free business listing sites that small business owners need to know about.

1) Google My Business

One of several free sites that Google offers, Google My Business allows you to manage all of your online business listings in one place. In other words, if you want to be found by people searching for businesses in your area, you’ll need a Google My Business account.

These days it’s nearly impossible for consumers and clients to find information about a business without using a search engine. If you’re not using GMB, then someone else is — and they might be getting more calls than you are. With GMB at your disposal, you can ensure that information about your business is readily available when needed most.

2) Bing Places

As one of Microsoft’s products, Bing is always improving, innovating, and trying new things. Although it was once in third place among search engines — behind Google and Yahoo! — it now finds itself in second place (outranked only by Google). This shows just how quickly a business can rise to success in today’s tech-savvy world.

When you list your business on Bing Places, you can connect it with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. This can help spread the news about your business without any extra effort on your part. It also has a form that lets you recommend other businesses in your area. Make sure to include those details so that people can find them as well.

Even if you don’t want to rely on your local market or want global exposure, you can use Bing Places to list your business free of charge. A free listing on Bing will give you access to millions of users in every country on Earth. That’s how big it is: more than 250 million people use Bing each month!

3) TopSEOBrands

With thousands of companies listed on its site, TopSEOBrands is a great place to find potential candidates. You can easily research a company by reading reviews and opening profiles that allow you access to email addresses and other important information. Whether you are looking for local IT services or nationwide providers, TopSEOBrands is your go-to place for finding them.

With millions of business listings, we’re sure you will find what you are looking for. What makes the site different from other directories is that its website encourages reviews and recommendations, meaning that people can get a better picture of what they’re going to get before making a decision on hiring someone.

4) Clutch

Clutch has developed into a crowdsourced business-review site with more than 500,000 registered users. It’s designed to assist professionals in finding well-reviewed businesses or accessing public information about them. Businesses can add or claim their profiles on Clutch — or update them as necessary — to enhance their reputation. According to CrunchBase, not only does it have an active user base of people who have read business reviews on sites like Yelp but also a network of high-quality subscribers (including employees from companies like Cisco) that search for business information.

5) GoodFirms

GoodFirms provides detailed reports on sites that provide business listings for businesses to create profiles and links. Reviews on a scale of 1 to 5 are given for different areas of service including advanced SEO tactics, directory submission options, domain privacy protection offered by each site, ability to customize profile pages, template features available for businesses to use when creating their own profiles with images and videos. Each review also points out where you can save money through discounts available at some sites (e.g., coupon codes).

6) Apple Maps

Sometimes Apple Maps is on point and will guide you directly to where you need to go. When it doesn’t work, though, it can lead you astray. Apple Maps has also been known to neglect local businesses in favor of bigger companies and chains. Yelp has a better track record when it comes to smaller establishments — although it too tends to favor certain brands over others. What these have in common is they’re both Google products; if a search engine isn’t sure how to get from point A to point B, it usually routes people through Google maps instead of taking its chances with one of its own services.

7) Foursquare

Foursquare is a social networking service that helps you find new places, share tips with friends, and learn more about your local community. If you like sharing where you go and what you do, Foursquare is worth using. The app can connect with other social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, so your friends can see where you are too. It’s also an excellent way to track how many times people visit a business over time; if something suddenly goes viral in popularity, it could be useful info for an entrepreneur looking at how much money a small business can make from tourism. Plus, it’s free!

8) Yahoo Local

Yahoo Local is, in many ways, just like Craigslist — it’s a place for local businesses and services to post ads for free. The goal of Yahoo Local is for people looking for businesses and services nearby (in their area) can go to one website and search from there. It’s also really simple to set up a listing page, so if you’re just starting out as a business or service provider, it can be an easy way of getting started without too much overhead or effort. This makes it great for small businesses that don’t have a lot of time or money but want to get their name out there (and/or build their online presence). Because it’s free and easy, you can’t beat that with a stick!

9) Yelp

Yelp started in 2004 as a way for people in San Francisco and Seattle to quickly connect with businesses and services around them. Today, Yelp has millions of active users and is used in cities across 65 countries. This free business listing site helps consumers find everything from their favorite deli or coffee shop (Yelp knows you love coffee) to handyman services, mechanics, and even schools. As you might imagine, small business owners have mixed feelings about Yelp but it’s hard to deny its influence on local businesses. In fact, 91% of consumers use online reviews as a source of information when they’re ready to buy products or services — and 72% have changed where they shop based on an online review!

10) MerchantCircle

MerchantCircle is a free, local business listing site. It’s not as popular as some of its competitors, but it boasts over one million members in 7,000 cities across the United States. In order to submit your business listing to MerchantCircle, you have to do so manually — but it’s relatively easy. If you’re just starting out with your company and don’t have many clients yet, it’s a great place for networking and visibility. Keep in mind that free listings only appear on city-specific pages; if people want more information about your business (phone number, address, etc.), they’ll need to upgrade their free account or pay for an ad. Paying for ads is definitely an option if you’re looking for even more exposure!

11) Hotfrog US

This is one of our favorite free business listing sites! Hotfrog is a great resource for finding businesses by city, state, category, and industry. The directory includes some basic information about every listing including opening hours, address, and contact details. Of course, all listings also include a website link so you can get more info. from there. The website was founded in 1996 and now has over 9 million listings, which makes it a great place to start your business search if you’re looking for local options only. To make sure that Hotfrog US remains focused on small business owners only, anyone who needs paid advertising services or has more than 200 employees is automatically excluded from having their listing featured here.

12) Craigslist (the US Only, requires premium account)

If you want to discover hidden gems in your area, Craigslist is a great place to start. With over 50 million visitors each month, Craigslist’s local sections can be an excellent source of leads for both small businesses and freelancers. Like other free listing sites, Craigslist allows you to create free listings for events and services like classified ads, but those looking for more extensive listings should upgrade their account with craigslist premium.

13) Yellow Pages (the US Only, requires premium account)

If you’re looking for a physical location and want information on nearby businesses, contact your local yellow pages and ask them for a list of their business listings. If they don’t have one, you can look up your zip code on Google and find out who owns that local phone number. Then, call them and ask for their list of nearby businesses. This is particularly helpful if you’re interested in online businesses because it shows you what other types of businesses are doing well in your area; it gives you leads for potential partners or competitors, and allows you to go directly to local customers instead of having to start with referrals from another state or country.

14) Insider Pages

Insider Pages is a free business directory website that lets you add and edit businesses, events, sales promotions, and more. Once you’ve created your account on Insider Pages, you can submit your local business for inclusion in their database, which is searchable by category and location. Though it’s not as heavily trafficked as some of its competitors (mainly because it doesn’t have as many listings), insider pages have a reputation for being reputable and giving preferential treatment to listed businesses over those who pay up. But whether or not they deliver on that promise or if they are actually biased toward paid advertisers remains up for debate.

15) Citysearch

If you have a small business, or if you’re searching for a new restaurant or store in your area, Citysearch has tons of resources. Users can even create their own pages on Citysearch and add information like their hours of operation, contact information, and any reviews they might have written. Citysearch is available in major cities around the country, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It’s also available internationally in London, Toronto, and Melbourne. No matter where you live or what you’re looking for, there will probably be an appropriate listing site nearby. Be sure to check it out when doing your own search!

16) Ezlocal.com

EZLocal, LLC has been recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest-growing companies for four consecutive years. In addition, EZLocal has ranked as one of Deloitte’s Fast 500 technology companies for three years in a row. EZLocal is a local business search engine that has been delivering accurate and reliable business information since 2006. With an extensive directory, EZLocal includes detailed company profiles with up-to-date contact information and social media links, directions and hours of operation, prices and specials, user reviews, photos, and even coupons!

17) Avvo

A legal community that helps you find an attorney and provides ratings and reviews for businesses, schools, doctors, dentists, and more. Avvo has more than 100 million visitors each year across its suite of consumer brands. It is based in Seattle with offices in San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Boulder. In July 2016 it was acquired by Navellier & Associates for $100 million dollars. Avvo has received over $70 million in venture capital funding from Benchmark Capital and Naspers Ventures (Naspers owns a majority stake in Flipkart).

18) Healthgrades

Free tools for medical professionals who are trying to connect with patients. Professionals can include doctors, dentists, psychologists, and pharmacists. On Healthgrades you can find reviews about your medical professional in addition to a public forum for questions and answers about that specific health professional. All of these resources are free and allow you to connect as quickly as possible with people who can help you manage and/or diagnose your condition.

19) Vitals

The Vitals Award-Winning Business Directory is a compilation of thousands of businesses in more than 130 different categories. What makes Vitals unique is that it’s completely free for both businesses and consumers, as well as its Yelp-like rating system. Users can rate a business based on experience and take advantage of daily deals from nearby places they can check out in person or online. Plus, Vitals features business ratings (both positive and negative) from previous customers that help put others at ease when deciding where to spend their money. This means you don’t have to blindly trust reviews — you can see what people are saying about real experiences firsthand.

20) DealerRater

Founded in 1999, DealerRater is a Web and mobile automotive marketplace where car shoppers can find detailed dealer reviews and connect with an online community of vehicle owners. Dealerships use their listings on DealerRater’s website and mobile app to build awareness of their brand and share important information about new models, service specials, or sales events. Users can search for cars based on make, model, price range, and features. They also can filter by specific dealership location(s), service history, price, or type of ownership (lease vs. buy). In addition to selling cars and services directly from dealerships through its site, DealerRater provides local businesses with a platform for lead generation and helps facilitate social engagement between customers — and potential customers — and local businesses in their area.

Conclusion

In today’s world, getting your name out there for potential customers is crucial. Business listing sites are a great way to do just that: by appearing on these websites, you’re showing up in search results which makes it easier for interested parties to find you. While some of these sites may not be essential — they can help get your business name out there and don’t cost much (if anything). We recommend starting with our list of top 20 free business listing sites and then adding others as you see fit!