If you were link building in the early 2000s, you might recall submitting one or more websites to a relevant directory with a high PageRank to get a quick backlink.
But, as with many previous link-building strategies, when it became too easy, Google began to penalize those links.
The question now is whether web directories will continue to be a valuable source of links in 2022.
What Is the Current State of Web Directories?
Google’s algorithm is now much more complicated.
While links remain one of the most important ranking factors, Google no longer treats all links the same.
A super relevant contextual link from a high-authority site in your niche has a lot more clout than a link from a web directory listing.
That isn’t to say that web directories aren’t useful.
Web directories and local citations, according to Moz research, still appear to be a minor ranking factor – especially for local businesses.
Google’s John Mueller, on the other hand, has stated that directory links “generally” do not aid SEO.
What should a marketer do?
Stop looking at web directories as a place to find links.
Rather, think of directories as a source of traffic and credibility.
Any company with a local presence should keep their local citations up to date with a consistent NAP, but web directories won’t help you much with SEO beyond that.
The real benefits will come from the trust and traffic they bring to your company’s website.
Keep those two criteria in mind as you begin your search for web directories.
Before you begin filling out your listing, think about the following questions:
- Is this a trustworthy website? To put it another way, would a customer regard my business as more – or less – legitimate if they saw me on this site?
- Is this site likely to attract my target audience? If not, it is unlikely that it is worthwhile to list your company.
Let’s get down to business with the web directories that are still relevant today, which is what you came here for.
Web Directories With Today’s Relevance
Many old web directories have transitioned beyond basic listings to detailed review sites to stay relevant.
This trend is reflected in many of the websites I’ve listed below.
I could have included many more sites on this list, such as Jasmine Directory, Brownbook, and Bloggapedia, but I’m not sure they’re worth the effort anymore, based on their current traffic numbers (or lack thereof).
Instead, I’ve chosen to concentrate my efforts on sites that provide more than just a citation opportunity for your company.
These are all real-time web directories with real-time traffic numbers that could add real value to your website.
All traffic estimates were taken from SimilarWeb.com in January 2022, unless otherwise noted. All of these web directories, except BOTW, Yahoo, and BBB, offer free listings.
Web Directories That Are Useful For Any Type Of Website
1. BOTW
Best of the Web (or BOTW for short) has been a trusted online directory for over 16 million businesses since 1994.
It gets between 60,000 and 70,000 visitors per month.
For blogs, there’s blogs.botw.org, and for local businesses, there’s local.botw.org.
The cost of a lifetime listing (which includes a link to your website) is $297.
2. AboutUs
AboutUs was founded as a business domain directory, but it now accepts and discusses all types of websites.
On average, 100,000 people visit the site each month.
3. Spoke.com
Spoke is a website where you can find and discuss business people, companies, news, and other topics.
A web listing for a business or a person can be added to Spoke.
As of this writing, the site lists 1.4 million businesses and 5 million people.
It receives over 100,000 visitors per month.
Read How to Perform Website Localization in 5 Simple Steps.
Only One Web Directory To Rule Them All For Blogs
4. Blogarama
Over 154,000 blogs are listed on Blogarama, and site administrators keep them up to date.
This is the only one of the (many) blog sites where I’ve added the blog that continues to send me consistent traffic.
When you plug in your RSS feed, Blogarama will automatically update your listing with your most recent posts.
The site receives more than 150,000 monthly visitors.
Relevant Web Directories For Local Businesses
5. Google Business Profile
If you’re an SEO expert, you’re already aware of the numerous advantages that make listing your business on Google not just a good idea, but a necessary part of your online marketing strategy.
Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile in late 2021.
The importance of having a Google Business Profile as a local search ranking factor continues to rise.
Google is also the most popular search engine on the planet.
Having a Google Business Profile that is optimized is the best way to ensure that you appear to the majority of internet users looking for what your company has to offer.
6. Bing Places
Next up is Bing Places, the world’s second most popular search engine’s equivalent of Google Business Profile.
While Bing is only used by about 6% of the world’s population, it’s important to remember that it’s the default search engine for Internet Explorer and Edge, and Microsoft continues to dominate the desktop computer market.
By adding your business to Bing Places, you can ensure that you reach those PC users.
7. Facebook
Yes, we consider Facebook (er, Meta) to be a social media platform.
Facebook Pages, on the other hand, are searchable on Google.
With Facebook approaching 3 billion monthly users, having an official Facebook Page gives your business, blog, or online publication another way to connect and drive discussion with your audience.
Furthermore, two-thirds of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once a week.
8. Yelp
Yelp continues to be the most popular review site for local businesses.
You need to be on Yelp if you want customers to find your business – and you need to be getting positive reviews.
Yelp currently has 224 million reviews and 90 million monthly users, with 97 percent of those who use the site going on to make a purchase.
9. Foursquare
Foursquare isn’t as well-known as Yelp, but it does have listings for a wide range of local businesses.
The site attracts 24 million monthly visitors, and 93 percent of local storefronts account for 2 million of the 2 million businesses already listed on Foursquare.
10. Yellow Pages
This is, indeed, the Yellow Pages.
If you’re curious about what happened to the company that used to deliver yellow books to your door, they went online.
While claiming your business is free, you should expect to be pushed to sign up for their advertising options as soon as you do.
YP stays relevant by offering coupons, providing listings for a wide range of industries, and posting blog content regularly to drive internal link equity back to their directory pages.
The site receives an average of 17 million visitors per month.
11. Chamber Of Commerce
ChamberOfCommerce.com is your local Chamber of Commerce’s online version (which you should also aim to get listed in, by the way).
This website, which has been around since 1998, aims to be the most comprehensive online directory of small businesses.
It also serves as a resource center for small business owners, with free listings, paid ad options, and educational articles.
The site has a database of over 30 million businesses and receives over 780,000 visitors per month.
12. HotFrog
Around 80,000 people per month use HotFrog to search the 69 million businesses listed.
Free listings are available for businesses, sole practitioners, and anyone doing business with a physical address.
13. Superpages
Superpages is a directory of local businesses.
Basic information, reviews, photos, coupons, and, of course, a link to their website can all be added by businesses.
The web directory receives 500,000 to 600,000 monthly visitors on average.
14. MerchantCircle
The premise of MerchantCircle is simple: “Find the best local merchants.”
From attorneys and notaries to realtors and agencies, the site has listings for all types of merchants and contractors.
Last year, over 100 million people used the site to search its 2 million business listings.
Around 1.5 million people visit the site each month.
15. Better Business Bureau
To today’s consumers, having a Better Business Bureau (BBB) listing and being able to reference that accreditation on your website remains a major trust signal.
You’ll need to apply for accreditation, but once you’ve been approved, customers can check out the site to see if you’re a legitimate company.
BBB is one of the top 300 websites in the United States and one of the top 1,200 worldwide.
The average monthly traffic volume is between 12 and 13 million. It is worthwhile to have a listing here.
16. B2B Yellow Pages
Although this site appears to have never left the 1990s, it is still a useful web directory with over 18 million listings.
The web directory receives between 500,000 and 600,000 monthly visits.
17. Nextdoor
Nextdoor has evolved from a friendly neighborhood website to an essential business directory in just a few years.
With over 54 million business recommendations on the site, Nextdoor has a very active user base.
Once you’ve claimed your free business listing, you can market to those users using Nextdoor’s advertising options or with free Business Posts.
These have a similar look and feel to Google Business Posts.
However, they have one major advantage over a Google Business Profile: once posted, they appear immediately in the feeds of everyone within 2 miles of your business.
Did we mention that Nextdoor is one of the top 200 websites in the United States, with over 150 million unique visitors per month?
That’s pretty, pretty, pretty good, in Larry David’s immortal words.
18. eLocal
Since 2007, eLocal has served as a local business directory.
eLocal attracts between 120,000 and 160,000 monthly visitors looking for businesses, doctors, contractors, and other services.
19. DexKnows
DexKnows is a local business directory that attracts around 100,000 monthly visitors looking for local businesses and sole practitioners.
20. Alignable
Alignable is first and foremost a small business referral network, and then a web directory.
Its goal is to make it easier for local business owners to connect, collaborate, and refer businesses to one another.
In less than ten years of operation, the site has amassed over 7 million members and receives over 3.3 million monthly visits.
Alignable can help you generate new business through referrals, partnerships, and other methods.
21. Local.com
Over 100,000 local businesses with websites and contact information are listed on Local.com.
Over 2 million people visit the site each month.
What Else Is There?
There may be additional niche directories with high traffic that are relevant to your industry, such as Avvo for attorneys, Thumbtack for local contractors, or Porch for home improvement professionals, in addition to the directories listed above.
BrightLocal.com has an excellent list of these, which is organized by domain authority.
There are also online services that will create, update, and otherwise maintain your local citations across dozens of online directories, such as Moz Local and Yext.
Many of these directories will just be citations for the sake of citations, but they will include big names like Yahoo, Yelp, and others on our list.
Working with one of these services can significantly speed up the process of getting your website added (while also relieving you of some of the work), which is why they are not free.
However, depending on how many websites you manage, they may be worthwhile.
Conclusions on Web Directories
As you can see, there are still some useful directories. A directory is a good candidate for your backlink profile if it receives traffic from your target audience, is relevant to your website, and maintains high-quality listings.
Relevant directories for local businesses can also be found on the websites of local newspapers, magazines, and business websites. It’s a good candidate if it’s highly relevant to your website and receives traffic from your community.
Examine the page where your website will be listed and decide whether or not you want to be listed alongside the other websites on the page.
If you follow these guidelines, you’ll only select the most useful directories for your company.
Learn more from SEO.
