How to Build a Directory Submission Strategy

Introduction

Most directory advice is a list. A strategy is different: it decides the order, the stopping point, and what you will deliberately not do.

The failure mode this framework is designed to prevent is treating directory work as a completeness exercise. Listing on everything available is not a strategy, it is an absence of one, and it produces a long tail of stale profiles nobody maintains.

Evidence base

Evidence base: 64 of 64 verified directories in the PetroHrys dataset inform this framework. Every figure and table on this page is generated from those records at build time. Fields that were never established are shown as Unknown rather than filled in.

Decision framework

Fix the record you already have. If the company is incorporated, a statutory register entry exists and will be read during diligence. Confirming it is accurate costs nothing.
List where your buyer already looks. One or two directories your actual buyers consult beat ten they do not. Each directory page here records which audiences it accepts.
Take the free tier everywhere it is genuinely free. Twenty of the verified directories state a free submission model. These cost only time.
Stop. Set a number of listings in advance and stop at it. Add more only when a specific listing has a specific purpose.
Assign an owner. An unowned listing goes stale, and a stale profile reads worse than no profile.

Comparison

How to Build a Directory Submission Strategy: verified directories, top 12 of 64 by editorial score
Directory	Country	Category	Scope	Submission	Verification required	Review system	PetroHrys Score
Companies House Register	united-kingdom	government	national	Free	Yes	No	95
ABN Lookup	australia	government	national	Free	Yes	No	93
Search ASIC registers	australia	government	national	Free	Yes	No	92
Baza Internetowa REGON	poland	government	national	Free	Yes	No	91
L'Annuaire des Entreprises	france	government	national	Free	Yes	No	91
Veřejný rejstřík a Sbírka listin	czech-republic	government	national	Free	Yes	No	91
Bundesanzeiger	germany	government	national	Unknown	Yes	No	90
Gemeinsames Registerportal der Länder	germany	government	national	Unknown	Yes	No	90
Registro Imprese	italy	government	national	Unknown	Yes	No	90
Care Quality Commission	united-kingdom	healthcare	national	Unknown	Yes	No	89
Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle	france	government	national	Unknown	Yes	No	89
USPTO Trademark Search	united-states	government	national	Free	Yes	No	89

Advantages recorded across these directories

Primary legal source for UK company data
Free public access to filings
Free, no login required
Authoritative ABN status and GST data
Free across every register
Includes banned and disqualified registers, which most registries omit

Disadvantages recorded across these directories

Companies House states it does not verify the accuracy of filed information
Limited to publicly disclosable ABR fields
Split across many separate register searches
Interface is primarily Polish-language
Interface is French-language
Interface is primarily Czech-language

Recommendations

Sequence matters more than volume. The register first because it is read by default, then the small set your buyers consult, then the free tier, and then stop. Revisit on a schedule rather than continuously.

When not to use this

Businesses hoping directory listings alone will produce demand. They are a trust and discovery layer, not a channel.
Anyone buying bulk submission services. Those target directories deliberately excluded from this dataset.

Frequently asked questions

How many directories should we target?

Fewer than most submission services suggest. A statutory register, one or two review platforms your buyers read, and the marketplaces native to your product category cover most of the value.

How long does approval take?

This dataset does not say. Typical approval time is null for every record because it cannot be established without submitting to each directory, and publishing an estimate would be inventing it.

Editorial references

Every directory named here has its own page recording what was verified, when, by whom and from which source. Scoring is documented in How the PetroHrys Score Works, and the verification standard in How Directories Are Verified.