When a customer wants to find a local business he may use one of the well known world wide search engines.
He might type in 'Electricians in London'. (Or whatever your business type and location is). If you show up in the search results then you are very lucky. Of course you’ve got no chance of showing up in the results if you don’t have a website.
The first few search results are probably from the well known large national directories followed by lesser known local directories. The potential customer will click on one of these search results and then select the business to call.
That’s why you’ve got to get your business listed in directory, regardless of whether you have a website or not.
There are several problems with national directories, one is their high cost and the other is that they cover every type of business from Architects to Zip makers. There’s nothing wrong with that and if you can afford it then go ahead and advertise in them, but make sure you track your results so that you can monitor how effective your advert is. However, if you are a Plumber or one of the trades that do your work at a customers house do you really want to be lumped together in a massive online directory that has all manner of businesses such as taxis, horse stables and solicitors?
You might like to consider getting your business listed in specialised local directories. For example you may be able to find a directory that specialises in tradesmen such as Painters, Plumbers, Electricians and Gas Installers.
Let’s say that your business is that of selling off-road cars. You can appreciate that it is probably best to advertise in an off-road car magazine rather than a general car magazine. The off-road car magazine can be compared to the specialised online local directories. And the general car magazine is like the national non specialised online directory.
If you've got a local business, take a few minutes to register with this local directory, its free and will help to give exposure to your company.