Although there are many successful business directory websites today, it seems that many of them are losing their popularity. While one group of people say that business directory websites no longer make sense, other people cannot imagine their business without being part of a business directory website and advertising their services there. That’s why today we decided to find out do business directory websites still work in 2024.
In order to answer this question as successfully as possible we must first explain what business directory websites actually are. Directories are essentially online platforms that contain large databases of businesses or companies, which are classified by certain categories such as location, industry, size and any other criteria. Business directory websites are basically platforms where business owners can publish and promote their products or services to potential customers.
All good business directory websites have the option for the user to search by various criteria, including location, company name and specific keywords. Depending on the settings, contact information, user ratings and comments from previous customers can be found on the profile of each business.
So do business directory websites still work in 2024?
According to what we have written so far, it seems that business directory websites do still work in 2024. We are aware of the fact that there has been an expansion of social networks and that many companies do their promotion on them themselves or hire agencies to do that. However, business directory websites are still very important for many reasons, and we will mention only a few:
– Better SEO rating – Business directory websites can provide backlinks to the website of the company, and this can greatly increase the SEO rating. This is a very important thing for companies that have just started working and do not have many websites linking to them. Business directory websites usually have high domain authority and they are viewed as authoritative websites by search engines. In this way all backlinks to your website become very important and crucial for your position on internet search engines such as Google and Bing;
– Help with sales in the appropriate area – business directory websites offer the possibility of filtering by area and specific keywords;
– Increasing security and credibility – good and stable companies that are part of a well-known business directory website usually have excellent ratings and good credibility. In this way the potential customer feels secure and there is a greater chance that he will decide to become a buyer;
– Increase online visibility – if your company is a member of several business directory websites, the chances of being found by potential customers looking for products or services that you offer are several times greater;
– Targeted marketing – most business directory websites offer the possibility of searching by location, category and other parameters, thus helping companies to target their ideal audience. In this way you will surely increase the conversion.
– Affordable marketing – all business directory websites offer very cheap membership packages, and very often they also have free ones. This way many visitors will see your company and your services. Targeted social media marketing would cost you ten times more for the same amount of visits;
– Customer insights – business directory websites can give companies insights into users and their visits. You can get a list of terms that users have searched for, customer demographics and a lot of other information. This is very important for improving the marketing strategy and better targeting of potential customers.
When it comes to the SEO we mentioned in the above, it is important not to expect miracles. Your website will not be the first on internet search engines just because you are a member of one or more business directory websites. Not all business directory websites are created equal. Some may have much better SEO than others, and it all depends on how they are built. It is most important for you to choose well-known directories with high domain authority and optimized pages in order to achieve the best results.
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are many well-known business websites on the market. Some of them are completely free while others make millions selling membership packages and advertising space.
Some of the most famous business directory websites are:
1. Google Business Directory
This is a free business directory created by Google of course. After you have created your profile, you can very easily manage your listing, respond to reviews and inquiries from your visitors, and the best option is that your listing will automatically appear in search results on Google as well as on Google Maps. You can add unlimited information such as phone numbers, location, image galleries and many others. This directory has a great platform for customer reviews that will help you better connect with your customers, gain their trust and make a higher conversion. Given that Google is one of the world’s largest technology companies, we advise you to create your profile on this business directory, which is completely free.
2. Yelp
Yelp is one of the most famous business directory websites today. It contains millions of ads, more than 200 million different reviews, and is used by several million people every day. This platform was created in 2004, and they offer services in several countries around the world, so we can say that it has become a global platform. It is well designed and users can search ads by location, category or keywords. Users have the option to leave a photo or video of the business they visited, thus helping other customers to get the best service.
3. Yellowpages
Another business directory website that is known worldwide is Yellowpages. This excellent platform allows users to search for business by location, category or some keywords. It is one of the largest platforms in the USA and contains about 30 million businesses. Just like any good business directory website, here you can find many categories such as automotive, health care, home services, repairing, sports and many more.
4. TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor has chosen only one niche and that is travel. This is an online travel and restaurant review platform that has more than 9 million ads from 190 different countries. An excellent business directory that allows every business to have its own page that contains information such as business hours, location, contact information, image galleries and visitor reviews.
TripAdvisor is proof that you can have a profitable business directory website that is not universal but has opted for one niche, which is travel and restaurant reviews. One of the best options that this platform offers is the possibility for visitors to leave their impressions and ratings, thus helping future visitors to find the best possible destinations during their trip.
5. HomeAdvisor
HomeAdvisor is another excellent and very well-known business directory that has chosen only one niche which is the repair of anything related to your home. This great platform is connecting homeowners with experts such as electricians, plumbers, window fitters, roofers and many other experts. HomeAdvisor was founded two decades ago and today is the largest and most famous platform of its type in the USA.
The best option that this platform offers is to check the expertise of the persons who advertise. In order to place your ad and your services on HomeAdvisor you must pass detailed checks such as references and licenses to ensure that you are a good and qualified expert to be listed on the platform. The great thing is that the home owner can follow the progress at any moment on the platform and be aware of how far the project has come and whether it will be completed soon.
If you still haven’t registered your business on some of the business directory websites, then hurry up to do it in order to become known to the more people and to reach as many potential clients as possible.
We’ll go a step further and ask if you’ve considered having your own business directory website?
Wouldn’t it be great if you were the owner and other companies signed up to your platform?
You must think that it is a difficult task, but using WordPress CMS this job can be completed very quickly.
If you are planning to create your own business directory website then continue reading. Below we will describe the best tools and methods to achieve this.
There are 2 ways you can build your business directory website using WordPress. The first way is to install one of the many plugins for this purpose. After that, you work on the design of your website and bring it to a perfect state so you can do business. Do not forget that the design is very important and creates a certain security for customers. This can be a tough job if you don’t understand web design and don`t know how to do it yourself. It may happen that the plugin is not compatible with your theme or another plugin and it could cause your website to malfunction. That is why I do not recommend this method of creating a business directory website.
Another way is to install a ready-made WordPress theme that has all the functionality you need to run your business directory website. This is the method I recommend because you already have a completely designed system that you can start using right away. There are many excellent WordPress themes for this purpose, and we will list some of the best:
1. Templatic Directory WordPress theme
We will start with the Directory theme by Templatic because this is one of the best themes on the market. There are so many useful options that we can say that this is a platform or application. Using this theme you can create an online business directory with companies, services or any other type of listings you want. There are many design options that will help you quickly change color schemes and layout options. Users can search listings by different characteristics such as location, keyword and any other advanced search filters.
If you are wondering how you will monetize your business, this theme comes with integrated different monetization methods such as membership plans, banner ads, featured listings, AdSense and many others.
2. ListingPro
ListingPro is a great WordPress theme for all those who want to create their own business directory website. Like the previous theme from this list, ListingPro allows you to create a universal business directory website, and it is also possible to choose only one niche.
This theme is excellently designed, and has a fast and user friendly dashboard where you can track all the statistics related to your platform. There are several ways of monetization such as selling membership packages and selling advertising space. The ListingPro theme looks great on all screen sizes, so it doesn’t matter what device your visitor is using.
3. Listable
For those who are not too experienced in the world of WordPress we bring Listable – a theme that is very user friendly. This great theme has everything a serious business directory website should have. You can create a good directory website with custom listing types and categories. It has Google Maps integration, advanced search filters, a system for user reviews and ratings. Monetization is mostly the same as on the previous themes – you will sell membership packages, featured ads and advertising space.
Conclusion
We have tried to explain in detail about business directory websites see if directory websites still work in 2024. These types of directory platforms are still very important today, both for users looking for a specific product and service and for business owners who offer these products and services. In this article we have listed several popular business directory websites. Each of them has certain unique characteristics and functionalities, but they all have a common goal – to provide users with information about the products and services they need. If you have the desire to create your own business directory website you can do it very easily using the themes we have listed. All you have to do is make a good marketing plan and start making money.