This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to make free content. Thank you for your support!
The number of internet users has grown from 100 to 3+ billion. Although a lot of firms have benefited from the internet revolution, many businesses have become bankrupt. eCommerce platforms have destroyed the business of 1000s of brick and mortar stores. The only way to survive the wrath of these sites is to make people aware of your shop/service and the products you sell.
Listing a business online is the best way to promote it. Although there are 100s of sites where you can list your office, shop, or service, not all sites are trustworthy or complete. Businesses won’t benefit from such sites. Hence, they should not be listed on it.
Where should you list your firm? Here’s the list of the top sites where you can list your company, office, shop details or service for free:
Facebook is a great place to promote a firm or service. Although users can create a page or group on Facebook for free, the page is of no use if it has doesn’t have a good amount of followers.
Facebook provides an ad generator tool with which you can promote your business page. The company charges within 1 to 100000 dollars to launch an ad campaign. Once you create an ad, your page will get likes for sure. But will the new followers of your page buy items you promote?
Of Late, the social network giant has launched a marketplace section where you list your products/offers for free. If you’re using FB for chatting with friends, the marketplace section will annoy you. Also, if one of your friends has listed an item for sale on facebook, you’ll see the post in your news feed. The FB marketplace place su*** as it makes Facebook a business promotion site rather than a social network. Also, FB also increases the number of stalkers as it displays your FB profile in a HoverCard when a user clicks on your name.
Google My Business
Google displays the details of the business on the right side of the first page of its search results. It also displays the rating and timings. If you have a Google account, you can create a GMB profile within a few minutes. Google lets you customize the appearance of your listing. It also allows page owners to interact with the customers who have left a review on their page.
YP (Yellow Pages)
The major advantage of YP over other websites its the target audience. Unlike other sites that are restricted to just one country, YP is a global site which means anyone can list their business on YP. YellowPages.com enables users to update their profiles. It also allows users to share deals on the site. YP is visited by around 60 million people every month.
Also check: Best WordPress review plugins
Yelp
Yelp is the business listing site in the US. The company gives more importance to user reviews and photos they upload more than anything else.
Listing a service or a business is easy. Once your page is live, people can rate your business. I like Yelp because reviews you’ll find on it are genuine. Yelp is a popular site. It is over 100 million monthly visitors and 10+ million genuine reviews.
Yelp is free but to enjoy more features, you’ll have to upgrade your account. Like FB, the site lets users reach a wider audience by creating an advertisement.
Thumbtack
Exclusive to users based in the United States, ThumbTack offers a Pro program wherein service providers join the site on the payment of a small fee. According to the company, over 250000 PRO users generate a combined annual revenue of $1 Billion. Who can join TT? ThumbTack is a great site for people who offer services.
JustDial
JustDial is India’s top business directory. You’ll find the business of all types on this site. The only thing that is annoying about JD is the promotional campaigns. The company executives may call you to promote their tools.
Sulekha
Sulekha provides a wizard tool that helps customers find the right businesses. It is similar to JD but has fewer reviews as compared to JD and Yelp.
IndiaMART
IM is a B2C and B2B portal that generates sales worth 3 to 4 billion USD every year for the businesses listed on the site. IM is free to join. To create an account on IndiaMart, you must verify your phone number by entering an OTP. IM Has 100s of categories and it gets a large user base.
Also read: Best WordPress Directory Themes
Note: Although blogging is a kind of business, bloggers should avoid spamming directories that are meant only for shops, services, etc. Failing to do so will attract a penalty from Google.
Conclusion: If you own a shop or you provide a service, create an account on one/all of the sites mentioned above to increase your sales and get more customers.
