Top local citation sites in the United Kingdom.
Use this United Kingdom directory shortlist to check eligibility, existing records and contact details before submitting a listing. Choose relevant local and industry sources; a longer list does not guarantee better rankings.
Best next step
Pick the page that matches your workflow, not the tool with the longest feature list.
Prioritize relevant and maintainable listings
Start with the map and search profiles your customers use, then check national directories and eligible industry directories. Verify an existing record before creating another. Record who controls the listing and how corrections are made.
Directory counts are not a ranking formula. Google describes local ranking in terms of relevance, distance and prominence: official local ranking guidance. Search visibility, referral traffic and customer usefulness are separate reasons to maintain a listing.
The 50 UK citation sites, by job
Eligibility, prices and submission routes need checking on the linked directory. Industry entries only apply to eligible businesses. This is a research shortlist, not 50 independently verified current offers.
| Citation site | Where | Tier | Cost | Why it earns the submission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | business.google.com | Core | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Apple Business Connect | businessconnect.apple.com | Core | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Bing Places | bingplaces.com | Core | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Facebook Page | facebook.com/business | Core | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Yell.com | yell.com | Core UK | Free tier / paid | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Thomson Local | thomsonlocal.com | Core UK | Free tier | Long-standing UK directory that still ranks for brand plus town. |
| Scoot | scoot.co.uk | Aggregator | Free | Feeds Touch Local, Wow and several partner networks from one submission. |
| Central Index | centralindex.com | Aggregator | Free | UK data aggregator; corrections here propagate to downstream directories. |
| Companies House | find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk | Trust | Free | A statutory company record, not a directory submission. Registered-office and trading addresses may differ; use the correct address for each purpose. |
| FreeIndex | freeindex.co.uk | General UK | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Cylex UK | cylex-uk.co.uk | General UK | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Hotfrog UK | hotfrog.co.uk | General UK | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Brownbook | brownbook.net | General | Free | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| Yelp UK | biz.yelp.co.uk | General | Free tier | Check the current listing, market relevance, eligibility and correction process on the official site. |
| TouchLocal | touchlocal.com | General UK | Free | Fed by Scoot; claim rather than duplicate. |
| UK Small Business Directory | uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk | General UK | Free tier | Straightforward SMB listing. |
| The Best Of | thebestof.co.uk | General UK | Paid membership | Town-level directory with real local traffic in some areas. Check your town before paying. |
| Bizify | bizify.co.uk | General UK | Free | Modern UK directory, quick approval. |
| Approved Business | approvedbusiness.co.uk | B2B UK | Free tier | B2B-leaning UK index. |
| Business Magnet | businessmagnet.co.uk | B2B UK | Free tier | Industrial and trade supplier directory. |
| Applegate | applegate.co.uk | B2B UK | Free tier | Manufacturing and industrial procurement. |
| Kompass UK | kompass.com | B2B | Free tier | International B2B index with UK coverage. |
| Foursquare | location.foursquare.com | Aggregator | Free | Powers venue data for several apps and platforms worldwide. |
| TripAdvisor | tripadvisor.co.uk | Hospitality | Free claim | Restaurants, hotels, attractions. Reviews outweigh the citation. |
| OpenTable UK | opentable.co.uk | Restaurants | Paid | Only if you take bookings. |
| SquareMeal | squaremeal.co.uk | Restaurants | Free tier | London-weighted restaurant and bar directory. |
| Deliveroo / Just Eat | restaurants.deliveroo.com | Restaurants | Commission | Ordering platforms, but the listing pages rank. |
| Checkatrade | checkatrade.com | Trades | Paid membership | The default UK trades directory. Expensive, and near-essential for builders and trades. |
| MyBuilder | mybuilder.com | Trades | Lead fees | Lead generation with a citation attached. |
| Rated People | ratedpeople.com | Trades | Lead fees | Same model as MyBuilder; pick one, not both. |
| TrustATrader | trustatrader.com | Trades | Paid membership | Vetted trades directory, strong regional presence. |
| Which? Trusted Traders | trustedtraders.which.co.uk | Trades | Paid assessment | Strongest trust signal in UK trades. Slow to join, worth it if you qualify. |
| Bark | bark.com | Services | Lead fees | Broad service marketplace across most categories. |
| NHS Find a Service | nhs.uk/service-search | Healthcare | Free | Authoritative for any registered healthcare provider. |
| Doctify | doctify.com | Healthcare | Paid | Private healthcare, review-led. |
| Top Doctors UK | topdoctors.co.uk | Healthcare | Paid | Private consultants and specialists. |
| The Law Society Find a Solicitor | solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk | Legal | Free for members | The authoritative UK solicitor directory. |
| ReviewSolicitors | reviewsolicitors.co.uk | Legal | Free claim | Ranks well for firm-name searches. |
| Rightmove / Zoopla | rightmove.co.uk | Property | Paid | Estate and letting agents only, and it is where the customers actually are. |
| Treatwell | treatwell.co.uk | Beauty | Commission | Salons, spas and clinics. Booking platform with strong search presence. |
| Fresha | fresha.com | Beauty | Free tier | Salon booking with indexed profile pages. |
| ClassPass | classpass.com | Fitness | Commission | Gyms and studios. |
| Trustpilot | business.trustpilot.com | Reviews | Free tier | Not a citation in the classic sense, but a UK trust signal Google surfaces often. |
| Local Chamber of Commerce | britishchambers.org.uk | Trust | Membership fee | A real local backlink, not just a citation. |
| Federation of Small Businesses | fsb.org.uk | Trust | Membership fee | Member directory listing plus a genuine link. |
| Local council business directory | gov.uk/find-local-council | Trust | Usually free | Many councils run a business directory. Genuinely local, genuinely authoritative, almost always ignored. |
| Nextdoor UK | business.nextdoor.co.uk | Community | Free | Neighbourhood reach; strong for trades and home services. |
| Tupalo | tupalo.co | General | Free | International directory with UK coverage. |
| iGlobal | iglobal.co | General | Free | Global business index, easy submission. |
| Where To? | wheretoapp.com | General | Free | Apple-ecosystem discovery app. |
Three UK-specific traps
- Separate the registered office from the trading location. Companies House records a legal address, which may differ from the place customers visit. Follow each directory’s eligibility and address rules; do not copy a registered office into a storefront listing automatically.
- Postcode formatting matters more than it should. "SW1A 1AA" and "SW1A1AA" are treated as different strings by several UK aggregators. Pick the spaced form and never vary it.
- Paid trade directories are advertising with a citation attached. Checkatrade, Which? Trusted Traders and Rightmove are worth real money in their categories — and worth nothing outside them. Judge them on leads, not on SEO.
The order that avoids rework
- Freeze the NAP. One business name, one address format, one phone number, one postcode format. Write it down.
- Search for what already exists. Phone number in quotes, then the previous address if you have moved. UK aggregators generate listings from public records without asking.
- Clean before building. Claim or remove duplicates first.
- Fix Scoot and Central Index. The two UK aggregators. Corrections here stop wrong data returning.
- Core five, manually.
- Your vertical. One, occasionally two.
- General directories last. The only part worth automating.
- Recheck at 90 days.
When software is the right answer
A single UK shop with one address should do this by hand in an afternoon. Software earns its cost in three situations: several locations, agency work that needs a client-readable audit, or a business that has moved or rebranded and now has years of stale records scattered across aggregators. That last one is genuinely hard to unpick manually, and it is what citation cleanup services are actually for.
Tools that find, submit and monitor UK citations:
Visit Whitespark → Visit BrightLocal → Opens the vendor site in a new tab. Disclosure: affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. This never changes which tool we recommend.FAQ
Is Yell.com still worth listing on?
The free listing, yes — it still ranks for brand plus town searches and feeds other directories. The paid packages are advertising and should be judged on leads delivered, not on SEO value.
Do UK businesses need Yelp?
Claim it, then largely ignore it. Yelp is much weaker in Britain than in the US, but Google still uses it as a data source and an unclaimed listing with wrong details is worth fixing once.
Is Checkatrade worth the money?
For trades, usually yes, but as a lead source rather than a citation. It dominates search results for most trade-plus-town queries in the UK. For any business that is not a trade, it is irrelevant.
What about service-area businesses with no shopfront?
Google Business Profile supports a service area with a hidden address. Most UK directories accept this, though a few still require a street address. Decide once whether your address is public and keep that decision consistent everywhere.
How often should UK citations be rechecked?
Every quarter for a single location, monthly for multi-location. Aggregator data propagates slowly and old records resurface months after you thought they were dealt with.
Before using this shortlist
Each directory needs an eligibility and submission check for your business. Keep legal registrations distinct from customer-facing listings. For UK companies, see registered office requirements. A registered office is not automatically a storefront address.