Quality matters more than quantity
Traditional listings vendors tout “200+ directories” as a selling point. The truth is, most of those sites are losing traffic quarter after quarter. What truly drives online discovery and foot traffic are the core platforms — Google, Facebook, Apple — along with rich, vertical sites like Zillow, Healthgrades, and Tripadvisor.
The myth of 200 listing sites
For over a decade, vendors sold the idea that more directories meant more visibility. The problem? Consumers don’t search on 200 directories, and Google doesn’t reference them any longer. Consumers search on a handful of trusted platforms like Google, Apple, Bing, Facebook, and Yelp.
Experts agree that quality beats quantity
“We see a lot of multi-location businesses go and submit their site to like 2,000 directories.
10 years ago, great strategy. In today’s world, they’re not relevant at all. It doesn’t matter if 2,000 directories just mention your name and a link.”
Neil Patel Co-founder at NP Digital and Leading SEO Expert
“I thought that updating local citations with keywords would instantly jack up your visibility… we updated thousands of citations last week… and we haven’t seen any change.”
Andrew Shotland CEO, Local SEO Guide
“One of the big issues is trust. And survey after survey, including ours, show that people trust Google more in local. Google has the most reliable data, and people know that instinctively, if not explicitly.”
Greg Sterling Co-founder of Dialog, NearMedia, and leading local Marketing expert
Go deeper: The KPIs that actually matter for listings
Adam Dorfman breaks down the metrics that drive visibility and customers. And why chasing 200+ directories is a distraction.
The evidence, backed by data
The decline of citations as a ranking factor
According to Whitespark’s Local Search Ranking Factors survey, citations have steadily declined as a Google ranking factor. Once critical, they now play only a minor role compared to signals from Google Business Profile, reviews, and on-page content.
Long-tail listing sites are losing traffic
Dozens of directories, from Yellowpages and Justia to HomeAdvisor and Superpages, have lost 80-95% of their traffic. Plus, dozens of once-prominent directories, like ZipLocal or MojoPages, no longer exist. This proves that long-tail sites no longer drive meaningful discovery or relevance to users and search engines.
Source: Semrush
Which listings actually matter?
Here’s where consumers search for and engage with local businesses the most:
Core sites
Google
Facebook
Instagram
Apple
Bing
YelpIndustry sites
TripAdvisor
WebMD
Healthgrades
Vitals
LegalZoom
FindLaw
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