A free directory built for Melbourne’s north
Local Business Near Me is our own free directory of tradies, clinics, cafés and services across Melbourne’s northern suburbs. We built it on WordPress and ListingPro so locals can search by category or suburb, compare opening hours and contact details and call, email or get directions in a tap, while local businesses get a free listing that helps them be found.
The challenge
A directory is only useful if it has businesses in it on day one and people can find what they need quickly. The goals were to:
- Launch with real listings across Melbourne’s north, not an empty site
- Organise more than 30 categories into home and trades, health and wellbeing and food, family and services
- Limit locations to the northern suburbs so every search returns something local
- Keep listing free for every business, with no paid tiers or commissions
- Let business owners claim and update their own listings
- Make searching by category and suburb quick on a phone
- Get the directory indexed by Google from launch
Project features
We built the directory on WordPress with the ListingPro theme and a custom home page: a search bar that pairs what you need with a choose-a-suburb dropdown, quick category icons and category and suburb menus grouped so they stay short. Locations were trimmed to more than 60 northern suburbs, from Mernda, Doreen and Wollert to South Morang, Epping, Lalor, Thomastown and Broadmeadows.
To launch with substance we seeded more than 900 listings using business facts only (name, address, phone, website and hours), published as unclaimed listings their owners can claim and update for free. Rank Math SEO with FAQ schema, an AI chatbot that helps visitors find a business, Google AdSense placements and a launch video round out the build.
Custom WordPress directory
Modern responsive design
Mobile-first development
SEO-friendly website structure
Search by category and suburb
More than 30 business categories
60+ northern suburb locations
900+ seeded business listings
Free listings for every business
Claimable listings for owners
AI chatbot for visitor questions
Ongoing website maintenance and support
Results
Locals get one place to find businesses in their own suburb, with hours, contact details and directions on every listing. Businesses arrive to find a free listing already live and ready to claim, and the directory was open to Google from day one, giving northern suburbs businesses another way to be found online.
Services provided
Custom website design
ListingPro directory development
SEO and schema setup
Responsive web design
Ongoing website maintenance and support
About Local Business Near Me
Local Business Near Me is a free local business directory for Melbourne’s northern suburbs, built and run by VisualWeb. It lists tradies, clinics, cafés and services across more than 30 categories, from electricians, plumbers and builders to dentists, physios, gyms, childcare and cafés, with no listing fees or commissions for the businesses on it.
Looking for a website like this?
VisualWeb can create a fast, modern website designed to attract more customers, improve your Google rankings and help your business grow. See our web design packages for Melbourne businesses.