The Most Important Local Business Directories for SEO

Three+ years ago, when I put together The Most Important Local Business Directories For SEO, I looked at which directories ranked the best in Compete.com which was a proxy for which ones 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 I figured it was time to update the list. This time instead of using Compete, I 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.

I 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, I would expect to see more non-directory brands make this list next year.

So now without further ado, I am pleased to present the new top 100 online local directories for SEO:

Andrew Shotland is the proprietor of Local SEO Guide, a SEO consultancy focused on enterprise search engine optimization for local media properties and multi-location businesses. He also has a blog about Apple Maps.