Help the right local customers find you
A shop in the Cathedral Quarter, a salon in Mickleover and a plumber working across Spondon and Chaddesden need slightly different ways to reach customers. A useful starting point is to make it easy to discover what you offer, where you work and how to contact you.
This guide brings together our own Derby business directory, Google's local business profiles and two local organisations worth checking. Some options are free; others involve membership or a paid upgrade. Choose the ones that suit your customers rather than paying simply to appear in more directories.
Add a free listing to DerbyDirectory.uk
DerbyDirectory.uk is our independently published directory for Derby and the surrounding communities. Standard listings are free. An approved listing gives your business its own page with a description, contact details, website link if you have one, and a photo or logo. Visitors can browse by category and location.
Start by searching the directory for your business name: it may already have a listing. If it does, use the edit option on that page instead of submitting a duplicate. If it is missing, use the submission form and select the category that best describes your main work. New submissions are reviewed before publication; submitting a form does not make a listing live immediately.
Choose the area you actually serve
The directory covers Derby, Allestree, Mickleover, Littleover, Spondon, Chaddesden, Chellaston, Alvaston, Sinfin, Oakwood and Duffield, as well as businesses serving the wider district. Shops, trades, professional services and home-based or mobile businesses can submit relevant local listings for review.
Use your real base and explain your service area. A gardener based in Allestree who also visits Derby and Duffield should say so, rather than inventing an address in each place. Only select the district-wide option if you genuinely work across the district. If you work from home, check which address details you are comfortable publishing before submitting and contact us if you are unsure.
Set up or update your Google Business Profile
An eligible Google Business Profile is free to create and manage and can show your business in Google Search and Maps. It complements a directory listing: keep the business name, phone number, website and location or service area accurate across both.
Google has its own eligibility rules. Its guidance covers businesses customers can visit and businesses that travel to customers; online-only businesses are generally not eligible. A service-area business operating from home should follow Google's instructions for hiding its address. Check for an existing profile before creating another, and use the official setup and verification process.
Check Derby City Council's business pages
Derby City Council's website includes business support, licensing and local economy pages. These are particularly relevant if you need licences or permits, want to trade at local markets and events, or are looking for council-run support programmes.
Look at the relevant page and contact the council to ask about listings, markets or support. Our directory is separate from the City Council; submitting here does not add your business to its website.
Consider Marketing Derby membership
Marketing Derby is the city's inward investment and place-marketing organisation, and its Bondholder scheme connects hundreds of local businesses through events, promotion and networking. It is worth considering if you want local business connections alongside an online presence, particularly for services where referrals and relationships matter.
Check the scheme's current membership terms, costs and benefits directly before joining. Membership is a separate decision from taking a free Standard listing with us, and neither organisation's listing automatically includes the other.
Write a listing that answers real questions
Give customers a clear business name, a working phone number, an email address you monitor and a website link if available. On our form, your contact email stays private unless you choose to display it publicly. Pick relevant service tags and explain your main services, your base and the places you cover.
Be specific: a heating engineer might describe boiler servicing and repairs in Derby and Chellaston, while a Cathedral Quarter shop could explain its products and whether customers can browse in person. Add useful details such as appointment requirements or collection options where they apply. Use your own current photo or a logo you have permission to use, and leave out unsupported claims such as being the city's best.
Free listings and optional Featured promotion
You can choose a free Standard listing without buying an upgrade. Our optional FastTrack + Featured offer adds priority review and more prominent placement within this directory, including a Featured badge and a homepage spotlight. The current price, renewal details and review arrangements are explained on our How it works page.
Paid placement within a directory is different from a position in Google. A listing or upgrade does not guarantee search rankings, enquiries or sales. Compare the offer with your budget and keep track of whether customers actually find and contact you.
Keep your details current and see what works
Once a listing is approved, check its phone number, website, photo and description. If you already appear on DerbyDirectory.uk, open your business page and choose Edit this listing to request a link sent to the email address on file. If you no longer have access to that address, contact us for help.
Update your profiles when your services, location or contact details change. Ask new customers how they found you and review any referral information available through your website. An accurate, useful profile gives people a better basis for choosing you than a long list of places where outdated details appear.
Ready to list your Derby business?
Check whether your business is already included, then prepare your description, contact details and image. If you are new to the directory, submit a free Standard listing for review. You can explain the areas you serve and help people across Derby and the Derwent Valley understand what you do.
Spotted something out of date? Let us know.