The Most Important Local Business Directories For SEO
We looked at directories that had the best SEO.
There have been a lot of ups and downs in the local directory world since, thanks mostly to Google and a number of start-ups who have done well with SEO (e.g. Thumbtack), so we figured it was time to update the list. This time instead of using Compete, we opted for combing through WhiteSpark’s lists of top citation websites and finding which directories appeared most often as a good proxy for SEO strength in 2016.
We attempted to categorize them so you could easily find the best ones for you business. Here’s how they broke down:
- National IYP – 22%
- Travel – 10%
- Health – 9%
- Job Search – 8%
- Food/Restaurants – 7%
- Home Improvement – 7%
- Weddings – 3%
- Automotive – 2%
Interestingly, there were several non-traditional directories in this list. For example JCPenney’s store locator is one of the top citation sources. Given how Google is continuing to move towards favoring “brands” in the SERPs, we would expect to see more non-directory brands make this list next year.
So now without further ado, we am pleased to present the new top 100 online local directories for SEO:
| # | Citation Source | # of Times Seen | Directory Type |
| 1 | www.yellowpages.com | 69 | National IYP |
| 2 | www.yelp.com | 69 | National IYP |
| 3 | www.facebook.com | 63 | National IYP |
| 4 | www.manta.com | 57 | National IYP |
| 5 | www.indeed.com | 51 | Job Search |
| 6 | www.angieslist.com | 45 | Home Improvement & Health |
| 7 | www.mapquest.com | 43 | National IYP |
| 8 | www.superpages.com | 43 | National IYP |
| 9 | www.bbb.org | 39 | National IYP |
| 10 | local.yahoo.com | 32 | National IYP |
| 11 | www.linkedin.com | 30 | Job Search |
| 12 | www.youtube.com | 30 | Video |
| 13 | www.thumbtack.com | 29 | Home Improvement & Services |
| 14 | www.yellowbook.com | 25 | National IYP |
| 15 | www.groupon.com | 22 | National IYP |
| 16 | www.tripadvisor.com | 18 | Travel |
| 17 | https://jobs.monster.com | 16 | Job Search |
| 18 | https://foursquare.com | 15 | National IYP |
| 19 | www.homeadvisor.com | 15 | Home Improvement & Services |
| 20 | https://porch.com | 13 | Home Improvement & Services |
| 21 | https://en.wikipedia.org | 12 | Wikipedia |
| 22 | www.bizjournals.com | 12 | National IYP |
| 23 | www.whitepages.com | 11 | National IYP |
| 24 | https://threebestrated.com | 11 | National IYP |
| 25 | www.glassdoor.com | 10 | Job Search |
| 26 | www.dexknows.com | 9 | National IYP |
| 27 | www.simplyhired.com | 9 | Job Search |
| 28 | www.houzz.com | 8 | Home Improvement & Services |
| 29 | www.weddingwire.com | 7 | Weddings |
| 30 | www.10best.com | 7 | Travel |
| 31 | www.careerbuilder.com | 6 | Job Search |
| 32 | www.expedia.com | 6 | Travel |
| 33 | www.healthgrades.com | 6 | Health |
| 34 | www.theknot.com | 6 | Weddings |
| 35 | https://www1.salary.com | 6 | Job Search |
| 36 | https://local.dmv.org | 5 | Government |
| 37 | www.livingsocial.com | 5 | National IYP |
| 38 | www.whodoyou.com | 5 | National IYP |
| 39 | www.zillow.com | 5 | Real Estate |
| 40 | www.zocdoc.com | 5 | Health |
| 41 | www.thrillist.com | 4 | Travel/Food |
| 42 | www.zomato.com | 4 | Restaurants |
| 43 | www.city-data.com | 4 | National IYP |
| 44 | www.mystore411.com | 4 | National IYP |
| 45 | www.trulia.com | 3 | Real Estate |
| 46 | www.wellness.com | 3 | Health |
| 47 | www.allmenus.com | 3 | Restaurants |
| 48 | www.findmeglutenfree.com | 3 | Restaurants |
| 49 | www.fixr.com | 3 | Home Improvement & Services |
| 50 | www.grainger.com | 3 | Retailer |
| 51 | www.interias.com | 3 | Home Improvement & Services |
| 52 | www.looksharp.com | 3 | Job Search |
| 53 | www.loopnet.com | 3 | Real Estate |
| 54 | www.thebluebook.com | 3 | Autos |
| 55 | www.virtualtourist.com | 3 | Travel |
| 56 | https://agency.nationwide.com | 2 | Insurance |
| 57 | https://doctor.webmd.com | 2 | Health |
| 58 | https://freeclinicdirectory.org | 2 | Health |
| 59 | https://eventful.com | 2 | Events |
| 60 | www.thomasnet.com | 2 | B2B Services |
| 61 | https://health.usnews.com | 2 | Health |
| 62 | https://local.intuit.com | 2 | National IYP |
| 63 | https://k12.niche.com | 2 | School Directory |
| 64 | www.schooldigger.com | 2 | Education |
| 65 | www.vitals.com | 2 | Health |
| 66 | https://stores.jcpenney.com | 2 | Retailer |
| 67 | https://locations.budget.com | 2 | Car Rental |
| 68 | www.allonesearch.com | 2 | National IYP |
| 69 | www.ameripriseadvisors.com | 2 | Financial |
| 70 | www.beautyseeker.com | 2 | Beauty & Health |
| 71 | www.booking.com | 2 | Travel |
| 72 | www.bringfido.com | 2 | Pet Friendly Travel |
| 73 | www.calculateme.com | 2 | Insurance |
| 74 | www.care.com | 2 | Baby Sitters |
| 75 | www.caring.com | 2 | Senior Living |
| 76 | www.chowhound.com | 2 | Restaurants/Food |
| 77 | www.clubplanet.com | 2 | Music Clubs |
| 78 | www.concretenetwork.com | 2 | Contractors |
| 79 | www.erieinsurance.com | 2 | Insurance Agency |
| 80 | www.eventbrite.com | 2 | Local Events |
| 81 | www.eventective.com | 2 | Local Event Planning |
| 82 | www.feeonlynetwork.com | 2 | Financial Planner Directory |
| 83 | www.freeclinics.com | 2 | Medical Clinic Directory |
| 84 | www.greatschools.org | 2 | School Directory |
| 85 | www.homes.com | 2 | Real Estate |
| 86 | www.hotels.com | 2 | Hotels |
| 87 | www.kayak.com | 2 | Travel |
| 88 | www.legalconsumer.com | 2 | Lawyers |
| 89 | www.pinterest.com | 2 | Social Media |
| 90 | www.plannedparenthood.org | 2 | Family Planning Centers |
| 91 | www.priceline.com | 2 | Travel |
| 92 | www.realtor.com | 2 | Real Estate |
| 93 | www.reddit.com | 2 | Forum |
| 94 | www.travelocity.com | 2 | Travel |
| 95 | www.tuscl.net | 2 | Music Clubs |
| 96 | www.urgentcarelocations.com | 2 | Urgent Care Centers |
| 97 | www.usnews.com | 2 | News Site |
| 98 | www.zagat.com | 2 | Restaurants |
| 99 | https://top10weddingvendors.com | 2 | Weddings |
| 100 | https://usplaces.com | 2 | National IYP |
