SBS Mailbag: Adding Your Business to Citysearch
UPDATE: This is an old post with outdated information. Please see this more recent post for info about how to add a business to Citysearch:
Citysearch Brings Back Free Business Listings, Adds Twitter
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Reader Timothy A. e-mailed me last week to suggest an update to the Citysearch information I have in my Local Search Marketing Guide. The page layout had changed so my explanation wasn’t accurate, and I’ve replaced the old image with a new one.
Tim also asked, Is there a way to submit a new business listing for free? He noticed that the “Add Your Business” links all went to Citysearch’s paid advertising program. With some help from Greg, I tracked down Brandi from Citysearch Marketing and shared Tim’s question with her. The answer? Yes, you can submit a listing for free:
“We have a form that can be accessed at http://national.citysearch.com/corrections.
The current version is a bit misleading since it says Make a Correction (it is in the process of being redesigned), but if someone fills out the information, the new business will be added into the system.”
Great to know! Brandi also said the new form should be available in about a month. Thanks to Tim for the question, and thanks to Brandi for the answer.
Have a question I might be able to answer? Or one I might be able to get answered? I’d love to do more mailbag-style posts, so contact me with whatever is on your mind and I’ll do the best I can…
citysearch has found a new place to hide the free submission! This link now returns a 404
I agree with Scott S…the link is a 404…
Anyone have an updated link to be able to submit a new business?
Can you give me the link for citysearch new business listing for free.
Thank You
Andrew
I agree with Scott S… and Pete the link is a 404…
Anyone have an updated link to be able to submit a new business?
I’ve been trying to pry information out of Citysearch for more than a month about how/where SMBs can submit a listing for free. My gut feeling is that you can’t do that anymore. Will try to write up a post soon….
If a listing on the site is so important to you business owners, then why wont you pay for it? I can’t seem to understand that you will try to find any way to get over and get a FREE listing but will not put any advertising dollars behind your businesses.
You raise a good question Patrick. I’ve found that so many business owners have spent so much on advertising that doesn’t work because of poor messaging, copy, layout, etc., that they are concerned about just sending more marketing dollars down the drain.
Ask the questions, “how will Citysearch benefit my business, what is my message, how will I track results, how will I follow up with leads, what is the ROI I need and how does it compare to the ROI on alternative methods of marketing?”
Most businesses I consult benefit far more from marketing and developing a relationship with existing clients before looking for cold prospects. First get the “Client system” in place and built before spending money to get more clients.
Whether it is free or not is not always the best question. It’s projected results and how it fits into a marketing mix.
good discussion!
I just do not understand why it is a minimum of $200 a month for citysearch’s advertising. It seems like a lot. I want a business listing on all local sites but to pay $200 a month seems like I wont get a good ROI because they can’t provide enough traffic for me for my small city.
$200/month does seem pretty pricey. There are some other places, including infoPages.com and Superpages.com, who will let you add your listing for free. CitySearch.com will continue to suffer from not having very complete search listings if they won’t include businesses for free.
Yeah try $40. a month or a CPC like google..
yes it seems like they have removed the free link.
Yeah it seems like they removed the free local listing link. But I guess places like yelp and others will have to do.
The Citysearch “submit business” page is still here:
http://national.citysearch.com/profile/add_business
And you can still reach that via the same “Add Business” link that I mention in this post:
http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/citysearch-brings-back-free-business-listings-adds-twitter/2534/
Thanks Matt, just wanted to let you know that you link from Dec 1 worked great. I had been looking all over for that link until I landed here.
Thanks Matt. Its a great assistance. Have submitted in the mean time.
I want to get a listing with them any ideas?
This post should help, Andrew:
http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/citysearch-brings-back-free-business-listings-adds-twitter/2534/
And be sure to read the comments, too. Some have had trouble with the process.
It looks like Citysearch has changed things up again. The links have changed. Do you have an update on this?
Thanks!