Business directory sites in India: where to list your business

People look for business directory websites for one of two reasons: to list their own business so customers find it, or to find other businesses to sell to. The sites are the same; how you use them is not.

Where to list your business in India

These are the directories most Indian customers actually use. Each lets you create a basic listing without paying; paid plans add more visibility or leads. Check each site's current terms, as plans change.

• Google Business Profile. Puts you on Google Search and Maps, with reviews, photos, opening hours and a call button. Free, and the most important one for local customers.
• Bing Places and Apple Business Connect. The same idea for Bing and Apple Maps, both free.
• Justdial. India's best-known local search directory, used heavily for shops, services and clinics. Basic listing free; paid packages for more prominence.
• IndiaMART. The biggest B2B marketplace for manufacturers, wholesalers and suppliers, where buyers post requirements. Free basic listing; paid plans for more buyer enquiries.
• TradeIndia and ExportersIndia. B2B marketplaces, the second focused on exporters. Both offer basic free listings.
• Sulekha. For local services such as tutors, packers and movers and home services. Profiles are free; it earns by selling leads.
• LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram pages. Not directories in name, but buyers search them, and they are free.

Three tips that matter more than the number of sites

1. Use exactly the same business name, address and phone number everywhere. Mismatches confuse both customers and Google.
2. Pick the most specific category on each site ("Orthodontist", not just "Doctor").
3. Ask happy customers for reviews on Google and Justdial; reviews decide who gets the call.

Using directories to find businesses

Directory sites are built for customers looking for one business at a time. To build a prospect list from them you copy listings one by one, often behind a login, with the same business appearing several times and many entries showing only a call-centre number. Copying them automatically is against most sites' terms.

If what you need is every business in a city or an industry in one sheet, a ready-made directory is faster.

Ready-made business directories by city and state

Starleads has a business directory for 253 cities and 34 states: every kind of business in that place in one Excel file, with the business name, contact person, mobile number, email and address where available. The biggest city directories:

• Mumbai 6,81,153 contacts · 51% email · 77% mobile ₹499
• Hyderabad 5,80,917 contacts · 42% email · 91% mobile ₹499
• Bengaluru 4,26,906 contacts · 48% email · 97% mobile ₹499
• Chennai 3,58,318 contacts · 50% email · 80% mobile ₹499
• New Delhi 3,51,473 contacts · 55% email · 95% mobile ₹499
• Pune 2,95,344 contacts · 51% email · 89% mobile ₹499
• Ahmedabad 1,85,973 contacts · 56% email · 97% mobile ₹499
• Kolkata 1,77,230 contacts · 44% email · 76% mobile ₹499
• Jaipur 1,41,971 contacts · 44% email · 86% mobile ₹499
• Gurugram 97,539 contacts · 57% email · 96% mobile ₹499
• Coimbatore 94,133 contacts · 52% email · 87% mobile ₹499
• Noida 92,412 contacts · 51% email · 95% mobile ₹499

Whole states:

• Maharashtra 13,98,528 contacts · 50% email · 82% mobile ₹499
• Delhi 12,18,421 contacts · 51% email · 89% mobile ₹499
• Telangana 6,73,350 contacts · 41% email · 91% mobile ₹499
• Tamil Nadu 6,66,533 contacts · 48% email · 86% mobile ₹499
• Karnataka 6,49,604 contacts · 43% email · 98% mobile ₹499
• Gujarat 5,26,194 contacts · 54% email · 91% mobile ₹499
• Uttar Pradesh 4,93,840 contacts · 45% email · 94% mobile ₹499
• Rajasthan 2,58,133 contacts · 43% email · 89% mobile ₹499
• Haryana 2,42,115 contacts · 52% email · 95% mobile ₹499
• West Bengal 2,31,545 contacts · 44% email · 80% mobile ₹499

Want one industry instead of every business? Each city page under cities and states lists that city's industry lists: dentists, CA firms, hotels, exporters and so on.