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8 min read

10 Online Directories to Improve Your Local SEO in 2025

Key takeaways

  • Online directories are an essential part of local SEO because they improve a business’s visibility, credibility, and ability to attract customers.
  • Businesses using directories should ensure consistency in the information they display online, to prevent confusion.
  • Popular online directories include Google, Yelp, and Facebook, but there are many others, including those that are industry-specific.

Local SEO involves efforts to improve a busi­ness’s vis­i­bil­i­ty in loca­tion-spe­cif­ic search results, which is a cru­cial endeav­our for com­pa­nies that oper­ate locally.

To name just a few, com­mon busi­ness­es that rely on local SEO include those pro­vid­ing ser­vices like clean­ing or plumb­ing, those with phys­i­cal premis­es such as florists or restau­rants, health­care providers like den­tists or ther­a­pists, fit­ness cen­ters such as dance schools or mar­tial arts stu­dios, and hos­pi­tal­i­ty offer­ings like hotels or spas.

There are lots of things these busi­ness­es can do to improve their local SEO and attract new cus­tomers. They can ensure their Google Busi­ness Pro­file is updat­ed and func­tion­ing, cre­ate localised con­tent, and earn cus­tomer reviews. How­ev­er, being vis­i­ble and dis­play­ing com­pa­ny infor­ma­tion in an online direc­to­ry is impor­tant too. It may even be a secret weapon.

But which direc­to­ry should you pick? And how can you use them effec­tive­ly? Let’s dive in:

How do online directories work?

Online direc­to­ries func­tion as vir­tu­al list­ings where busi­ness­es can share key infor­ma­tion such as their name, address, phone num­ber, oper­at­ing hours, web­site link, and some­times even cus­tom er reviews. It’s easy for busi­ness­es to cre­ate accounts, claim or add list­ings, and pro­vide their details.

Many direc­to­ries offer paid options for enhanced vis­i­bil­i­ty, ana­lyt­ics, or pro­mot­ing ser­vices to tar­get audi­ences. We’ll explain lat­er why some busi­ness­es should branch out and pay for these. And final­ly, users may be able to fil­ter results by dis­tance or rat­ing and view an esti­mat­ed price for the ser­vice they require.

Online direc­to­ries can sig­nif­i­cant­ly ben­e­fit your local SEO, and busi­ness in gen­er­al, because:

  • They afford you greater online visibility.
  • Your busi­ness is more like­ly to be dis­cov­ered through these addi­tion­al means.
  • Search engines pull infor­ma­tion from online direc­to­ries to pop­u­late their results.
  • Con­sis­tent and accu­rate infor­ma­tion on direc­to­ries sig­nals to search engines that you are legit­i­mate and trustworthy.
  • Users who find you this way are more like­ly to be tar­get customers.
  • Direc­to­ries pro­vide back­links to your web­site, which can improve over­all SEO.
  • Poten­tial cus­tomers are more like­ly to view you as cred­i­ble if you appear in a rep­utable directory.

You are more like­ly to reap these attrac­tive ben­e­fits if you choose the right direc­to­ries and use them effectively.

10 online directories for improved local SEO in 2025

1. Google Business Profile

Google Busi­ness Pro­file (GBP) is a free tool for busi­ness­es to man­age their online pres­ence on Google (includ­ing Search and Maps). Once you cre­ate a pro­file, busi­ness­es can show­case key details such as their name, address, phone num­ber, web­site URL, open­ing hours, and any rel­e­vant photos.

GBP allows busi­ness­es to engage with cus­tomers through fea­tures like reviews, posts, and FAQs. It’s espe­cial­ly vital for local SEO, help­ing busi­ness­es appear at the top of the SERPs and Google Maps for rel­e­vant searches.

Busi­ness­es using GBP can also analyse per­for­mance insights, such as search queries and cus­tomer inter­ac­tions, to opti­mise their pres­ence and bet­ter reach their tar­get audience.

If you’re going to cre­ate an account with just one online direc­to­ry, it should be GBP. As the most wide­ly used search engine glob­al­ly, Google dri­ves the major­i­ty of online search­es. A GBP list­ing ensures your busi­ness appears in Google Search and Maps, mak­ing it the most impact­ful tool for local vis­i­bil­i­ty. With­out it, you risk being invis­i­ble to poten­tial cus­tomers active­ly search­ing for your services.

2. Bing Places for Business

Bing Places for Busi­ness is a free plat­form that allows busi­ness­es to cre­ate and man­age their list­ings on Bing’s search engine and maps. By adding essen­tial details like name, address, phone num­ber, open­ing hours, and pho­tos, busi­ness­es can enhance their vis­i­bil­i­ty in local search results.

Bing Places sup­ports mul­ti-loca­tion busi­ness­es, enabling you to man­age all your list­ings from one place. You can expect fea­tures like cus­tomer reviews, pro­mo­tions, and the abil­i­ty to mon­i­tor per­for­mance insights like views and clicks.

While the infor­ma­tion on GBP is man­u­al­ly inputted, Bing will col­lect data from dif­fer­ent sources on the inter­net to com­ple­ment what you input, includ­ing reviews from sites like Trustpilot.

Though Bing isn’t as pop­u­lar as Google, being on it will ensure users search­ing on Bing can find your web­site – don’t for­get that the whole point of online direc­to­ries is increas­ing your chances of visibility.

3. Yelp

Yelp remains a pop­u­lar online direc­to­ry and review plat­form despite the growth of Google. It con­nects users with local busi­ness­es across var­i­ous indus­tries, includ­ing restau­rants, retail, ser­vices, and health­care. Busi­ness­es can cre­ate free pro­files to share essen­tial details such as their name, address, phone num­ber, open­ing hours, web­site URL, and any pro­mo­tion­al photos.

Yelp’s robust review sys­tem allows cus­tomers to rate and pro­vide feed­back, help­ing busi­ness­es build cred­i­bil­i­ty and attract more clients. Enhanced paid options, like Yelp Ads, offer increased vis­i­bil­i­ty in search results and on com­peti­tors’ pages.

Yelp list­ings appear high in Google search results and, with mil­lions of active users, it’s still an impor­tant plat­form to be on for improv­ing local SEO performance.

4. Facebook

Face­book serves as both a social media plat­form and an online direc­to­ry where busi­ness­es can cre­ate ded­i­cat­ed Face­book Pages to con­nect with cus­tomers. These pages allow busi­ness­es to share key infor­ma­tion such as their name, address, phone num­ber, web­site, oper­at­ing hours, and services.

Busi­ness­es can also post updates, show­case prod­ucts, and inter­act with cus­tomers through com­ments, direct mes­sag­ing, and reviews. Face­book’s fea­tures, like the “Check-In” and events, help pro­mote local vis­i­bil­i­ty. Paid adver­tis­ing options, such as boost­ed posts or tar­get­ed ads, enable busi­ness­es to reach spe­cif­ic audiences.

With bil­lions of users glob­al­ly, Face­book is a pow­er­ful tool for local SEO – even if it isn’t exact­ly a ‘direc­to­ry’.

5. Trustpilot

Trust­pi­lot is a glob­al review plat­form that allows busi­ness­es to build trust and show­case their rep­u­ta­tion through cus­tomer reviews. Busi­ness­es can claim or cre­ate a pro­file to col­lect, dis­play, and respond to reviews from customers.

Trust­pi­lot pro­files fea­ture details like the busi­ness’s name, web­site, and aver­age star rat­ing. It’s ben­e­fi­cial to be on Trust­pi­lot as reviews con­tribute to trans­paren­cy and cred­i­bil­i­ty. Some poten­tial cus­tomers will opt for Trust­pi­lot over oth­er direc­to­ries since reviews are the first thing they want to read when con­sid­er­ing a new service.

Trust­pi­lot also offers paid plans for fea­tures like detailed ana­lyt­ics, cus­tom review invi­ta­tions, and inte­gra­tion with mar­ket­ing tools. Wide­ly recog­nised in the UK and beyond, it’s a trust­ed plat­form for enhanc­ing brand trust.

6. Yell

For­mer­ly Yel­low Pages, Yell is anoth­er lead­ing online busi­ness direc­to­ry in the UK. It helps busi­ness­es con­nect with local cus­tomers by fea­tur­ing essen­tial details such as name, address, phone num­ber, web­site, and services.

Yell allows busi­ness­es to enhance their pro­files with pho­tos, cus­tomer reviews, and spe­cial offers. Its plat­form sup­ports paid adver­tis­ing options for increased vis­i­bil­i­ty in search results. Yell also inte­grates with search engines like Google and Bing, mak­ing it a valu­able tool for local SEO.

Despite there being a hand­ful of pop­u­lar direc­to­ries out there, Yell remains a go-to resource for mil­lions of users and so should def­i­nite­ly be includ­ed in your arsenal.

7. 192.com

192.com is a UK-based online direc­to­ry that helps users find local busi­ness­es, indi­vid­u­als, and ser­vices. Known for its exten­sive data­base, it pro­vides detailed infor­ma­tion, includ­ing busi­ness con­tact details, reviews, maps, and even finan­cial per­for­mance sum­maries for some companies.

Busi­ness­es can cre­ate or claim their list­ing to ensure accu­rate and updat­ed infor­ma­tion is avail­able to poten­tial cus­tomers. 192.com is wide­ly used for local search­es and is par­tic­u­lar­ly val­ued for its inte­gra­tion of pub­lic records, offer­ing addi­tion­al insights to users.

8. TripAdvisor

Tri­pAd­vi­sor is a glob­al­ly recog­nised plat­form for dis­cov­er­ing and review­ing trav­el-relat­ed busi­ness­es, includ­ing hotels, restau­rants, attrac­tions, and tours.

Busi­ness­es can cre­ate free pro­files to show­case essen­tial details like their name, address, con­tact infor­ma­tion, hours, and ser­vices, along­side pho­tos and menus. Tri­pAd­vi­sor’s review sys­tem allows cus­tomers to rate their expe­ri­ences, help­ing busi­ness­es build cred­i­bil­i­ty and attract more patrons. Enhanced paid options, such as Tri­pAd­vi­sor Ads and pre­mi­um list­ings, increase vis­i­bil­i­ty and pro­vide advanced analytics.

With mil­lions of users world­wide, includ­ing the UK, Tri­pAd­vi­sor is a vital tool for busi­ness­es in the hos­pi­tal­i­ty and tourism sec­tors to improve their rep­u­ta­tion and reach.

9. Checkatrade

Check­a­trade is a trust­ed UK-based online direc­to­ry spe­cial­is­ing in con­nect­ing home­own­ers with vet­ted and reli­able trades­peo­ple, such as plumbers, elec­tri­cians, builders, and dec­o­ra­tors. Trades­peo­ple can cre­ate pro­files show­cas­ing their qual­i­fi­ca­tions, ser­vices, con­tact details, and pho­tos of com­plet­ed projects.

Cus­tomer reviews and rat­ings are key fea­tures that help busi­ness­es build cred­i­bil­i­ty. Check­a­trade ver­i­fies busi­ness­es through back­ground checks, ensur­ing trust­wor­thi­ness and qual­i­ty for users.

Paid mem­ber­ship options pro­vide addi­tion­al ben­e­fits, such as enhanced pro­file vis­i­bil­i­ty and mar­ket­ing sup­port. Wide­ly used across the UK, Check­a­trade is a valu­able plat­form for trades­peo­ple to attract local cus­tomers and grow their rep­u­ta­tion in their community.

10.HappyCow

Per­haps a lit­tle niche, but Hap­py­Cow is a notably unique online direc­to­ry that’s reached the glob­al stage.

Cater­ing to veg­ans, veg­e­tar­i­ans, and those seek­ing plant-based din­ing options, Hap­py­Cow helps users dis­cov­er restau­rants, cafes, gro­cery stores, and oth­er busi­ness­es offer­ing veg­an and veg­e­tar­i­an-friend­ly menus. Users can apply fil­ters to find places with wheel­chair acces­si­bil­i­ty, out­door seat­ing, and cer­tain cuisines.

Busi­ness­es can cre­ate pro­files to share their name, loca­tion, con­tact infor­ma­tion, oper­at­ing hours, and menu high­lights, along with pho­tos and reviews from cus­tomers. Users can fil­ter results by dietary pref­er­ences, cui­sine, and dis­tance. Hap­py­Cow also fea­tures a mobile app, mak­ing it easy to find plant-based options on the go.

Pop­u­lar world­wide, Hap­py­Cow is a go-to resource for pro­mot­ing eth­i­cal and sus­tain­able din­ing or gro­cery shopping.

Tips for using directories effectively

To get the most out of online direc­to­ries, there are some best prac­tices you should follow:

1. Choose the right directories

Focus on direc­to­ries that are rel­e­vant to your indus­try and audi­ence. For instance, restau­rants should pri­ori­tise Yelp and Tri­pAd­vi­sor, while trades­peo­ple ben­e­fit from plat­forms like Checkatrade.

If no direc­to­ry specif­i­cal­ly caters to your indus­try, pri­ori­tise broad­er plat­forms like Google Busi­ness Pro­file, Yelp, and Face­book, which are ver­sa­tile enough for all busi­ness types. These gen­er­al direc­to­ries still attract high traf­fic and will allow you to show­case your offer­ings effectively.

2. Maintain accurate and consistent information

Con­sis­ten­cy is cru­cial for local SEO. Ensure your busi­ness name, address, phone num­ber, web­site, and oper­at­ing hours are iden­ti­cal across all direc­to­ries. Incon­sis­ten­cies can con­fuse cus­tomers and cause them to take their cus­tom elsewhere.

Dis­crep­an­cies can also con­fuse algo­rithms, weak­en­ing your local search rank­ings and reduc­ing your vis­i­bil­i­ty in map results.

3. Fully complete your profile

A half-fin­ished pro­file can deter poten­tial cus­tomers. Take advan­tage of all avail­able fields, includ­ing descrip­tions, pho­tos, and ser­vices offered. A detailed, pro­fes­sion­al pro­file not only informs users but also makes your list­ing stand out.

4. Prioritise high-quality images

Upload clear, high-res­o­lu­tion images that show­case your prod­ucts, ser­vices, or phys­i­cal space. Great visu­als grab atten­tion and help poten­tial cus­tomers envi­sion their expe­ri­ence with your busi­ness. Images that are low qual­i­ty can make your busi­ness appear less trust­wor­thy or competent.

5. Leverage customer reviews

Encour­age hap­py cus­tomers to leave pos­i­tive reviews on your direc­to­ry pro­files as these will build cred­i­bil­i­ty and influ­ence pur­chas­ing decisions.

Arguably, reviews are more impor­tant on some plat­forms com­pared to oth­ers. For exam­ple, plat­forms like Yelp, Trust­pi­lot, and Tri­pAd­vi­sor heav­i­ly empha­sise reviews. Their pri­ma­ry func­tion is to show­case cus­tomer feed­back, and busi­ness­es with high rat­ings typ­i­cal­ly receive more vis­i­bil­i­ty and traf­fic. Plus, on Tri­pAd­vi­sor, rank­ings in search results are direct­ly influ­enced by review quan­ti­ty and qual­i­ty, mak­ing them super important.

Reviews are also more impor­tant on the more niche direc­to­ries like Check­a­trade. Since these plat­forms are found­ed on trust and cred­i­bil­i­ty with­in a spe­cif­ic indus­try, reviews here are often seen as more author­i­ta­tive and impact­ful by users.

On plat­forms like Face­book, reviews con­tribute to your over­all rep­u­ta­tion but may not be empha­sised as much com­pared to fea­tures like posts, pho­tos, or busi­ness updates.

What­ev­er plat­form you choose, you should engage with reviews if you receive them. Make sure you always respond to pos­i­tive reviews with grat­i­tude and address neg­a­tive ones con­struc­tive­ly. This shows pro­fes­sion­al­ism and a com­mit­ment to cus­tomer satisfaction.

6. Use keywords wisely

Incor­po­rat­ing rel­e­vant key­words into your direc­to­ry pro­files will enhance your busi­ness’s dis­cov­er­abil­i­ty in search results.

Use spe­cif­ic, loca­tion-based key­words in your busi­ness descrip­tion such as “afford­able plumber in Man­ches­ter” or “hand­craft­ed fur­ni­ture in Birm­ing­ham”. Avoid key­word stuff­ing, as this appears spam­my and may deter poten­tial cus­tomers. Instead, write nat­u­ral­ly and focus on high­light­ing your unique offerings.

7. Take advantage of premium features

Many direc­to­ries offer paid options for enhanced vis­i­bil­i­ty, ana­lyt­ics, or fea­tured place­ment. If your bud­get allows, these tools can pro­vide a com­pet­i­tive edge and bet­ter insights into cus­tomer behaviour.

Cer­tain busi­ness­es are more like­ly to rely on these pre­mi­um fea­tures, and so should­n’t scrimp on this expen­di­ture. Local-only or region­al com­pa­nies, such as plumbers or salons, often depend on pri­or­i­ty place­ment to stand out in com­pet­i­tive mar­kets. Brick-and-mor­tar stores with­out e‑commerce or a strong online pres­ence should use paid options to get the best chance of attract­ing local customers.

Final thoughts

By fol­low­ing these tips, you’ll not only opti­mise your online direc­to­ry pres­ence but also cre­ate a strong foun­da­tion for improv­ing cus­tomer trust and dri­ving local traffic.

For fur­ther assis­tance with your SEO, mar­ket­ing, or any web­site needs, reach out to us here at pur­ple­plan­et. We have a whole suite of dig­i­tal solu­tions on offer:

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