Free Canadian Business Directory Guide

November 15, 2014

Look for niche directories that are relevant to your industry or location.

By Maureen McCabe

In my last Toronto business directory guide blog post, I shared a list of sites that small business owners should submit their business listing to in order to increase their presence in local search engine results. Download our free local SEO link-building template that we have created for our clients. This post provides additional great sites to submit your listing to, with a focus on Canada-wide directories.

Canadian Business Directory Listings: What are the Benefits?

By submitting your listing to good-quality directories, you can reap a host of benefits that can ultimately lead to more traffic to your website and more business. Some of the top benefits include the following:

Better Visibility in Local Search Results

Increasingly, we are searching locally. When we search for businesses on our mobile devices, we are typically looking for something nearby. Search engines like Google and Bing are paying close attention to this method of searching and are displaying more relevant local results for users. Having profiles on location-based Canadian business directory sites can help enhance your visibility in search results for local searches.

Builds Links

Directory listings can increase the number of backlinks to your site, which can help your site rank higher in search results. Remember, it’s important to create business listings on reputable, high-quality directories in order to make an impact on your SEO efforts. Posting a business profile on poor-quality directories can actually harm your search engine rankings rather than help them. Keep this in mind when searching for your own Canadian business directory sites.

Give Authority to Your Website

Links on quality, high-ranking and authoritative directories have the ability to pass on some of their authority to your small-business website. Directories that rank well can pass on their PageRank or authority onto the sites they list. If you create a profile for your website on enough quality directories, you may see your site’s PageRank increase.

Customers Still Use Online Directories to Find Businesses!

Canadian business directories are not simply used for SEO purposes.  Some potential customers still use them to find products and services in their local area. If you’re listed on the top directories, you could potentially be found by your target market. If your small business is not listed there, they can’t find you!

Here’s my list of Canadian business directories for you to check out and add your own listing to!

• Industry Canada
• Foursquare.com
• ProfileCanada.com
• Cylex.ca
• MyStore411.com
• Hotfrog.ca
• Canadian Business Directory
• iBegin.com

We now recommend FoundLocally.com, which has been supporting small businesses since 1999. Kudos to Mark Ruthenberg, who wrote a detailed comment below.

Tips for Finding More Directories

1. Search out niche directories that your small business fits into. For example, if you are a wedding planner, you would want to search out wedding vendor directories in your area.
2. Determine which directories your competitors are listed on. Perform a Google search for their business name and check if you can locate some of their directory listings. Your business should also be listed there.
3. Search for hyper-local directories. In addition to Canadian business directories, search for directories specific to your city, region or province.
4. Check if your local newspaper or city website maintains a directory of local businesses and request that your website be listed.

For more business directory and SEO tips for small businesses, check out these blog posts:

Free Toronto Business Directory Guide for Small Businesses
Why Customer Reviews are Important for Small Business Marketing – Part 2
Small Business Marketing Tips: Is it Possible to Get a First-Page Google Ranking?

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