Getting traffic to your site is hard, but can enlist the help of training company directories. These listing sites typically offer 4 services:
- Send qualified traffic to your website
- Collect customer leads on their site and send them to you for follow-up
- Provide a “dofollow” backlink to your site to improve its backlink profile, although this is rarely explicitly stated. Getting these links is an important component of SEO for your training company
- Improve your brand reputation by providing a nice-looking profile with the opportunity to cherry-pick customer testimonials and ratings
A few directories generate traffic to their site by their own email marketing campaigns, conference attendance, and other lead generation activities. Most rely on traffic from Google for certain phrases (“SEO keywords”) for which training buyers are searching. To evaluate whether a particular directory is a good for your training company, you should see if it ranks for the kinds of keywords that resonate with your buyers. Use an SEO tool with a free account option — like ahrefs.com or semrush.com — to see whether the directory ranks in the top 10 for the kinds of keywords for your buyers are searching. For example, if your company offers leadership training, then findcourses.com might be an effective directory according to this Ahrefs screenshot:
If a directory allows you to track pageviews and leads with your own Google Analytics tag, that’s also usually a sign they’re serious about accountability and performance.
Here is the list:
| Directory URL | Backlink? nofollow/dofollow | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| coursehorse.com | yes, dofollow — add the link in your CourseHorse company description | Free to list, but they take 30% of course registrations | This site aggregates classes from many different vendors and sells them on a commission basis. It attracts a B2C audience looking for cooking, art, and hobby classes, typically in-person and often in the NYC area. |
| findcourses.com and findcourses.co.uk | yes, nofollow | No free plan. $3k/year. | Reports indicate some highly successful listings and others performing poorly. When a user submits a lead on your profile, FindCourses sends that lead to other training companies in the same category. |
| clutch.co / themanifest.com | nofollow redirect to your site | free plan; $500/year for extras | Considered “Yelp for service businesses,” Clutch lists B2B service businesses, and replicates them on a sister property, themanifest.com. Clutch has a stringent policy regarding testimonials. |
| directory.trainingindustry.com | yes, nofollow | free or $30/month for extras | The main organization is more a resource for L&D employees than a directory targeting training companies, but it does link to it. |
| thetm.com | yes, dofollow | free or £150/per month for premium | Focus on corporate training, globally, connecting buyers with training providers. Buyers find them from large scale outreach campaigns. |
| vendordirectory.shrm.com | yes, dofollow | free, $400/year for extras | Society for Human Resource Management has a multi-industry directory. |
| yelp.com | yes, redirect | free, but you can pay for ads | The ad platform offers little transparency and high cost-per-leads. Yelp is better for B2C than B2B. |
| trainup.com | no, enrollment done on their platform | free, but they take 40% of enrollment fees | Long-standing marketplace for courses |
| eLearningIndustry.com | no, surprisingly opaque | free | More focused on suppliers to the training industry |
| goodfirms.co | yes, nofollow | free, $100/month for extras | General purpose directory with a category for corporate training |
| coursereport.com | yes, dofollow | free to list, but there is an undisclosed cost-per-lead | This directory is exclusively for bootcamps |
| lastminutetraining.ca | no, enrollment done on their platform | free, but they take an undisclosed % of enrollment fees | Collection of dates for classes from different training providers |
| hr-guide.com | yes, dofollow | free; advertising available | This website lists not just training companies, but other HR resources |
| schoolandcollegelistings.com | yes, dofollow | free; $16/month sponsored listing available | Little-known directory of schools, colleges, and training organizations |
| epiclearningnetwork.com | no, they have a data feed of courses for you to add to your site | if accepted into their program, you would offer your courses at a wholesale discount to a private label reseller | You have the cash flow advantage of receiving money for the course before having to deliver the training |
Though not strictly directories, these platforms also expose your class offerings to their audiences:
- Google Business Profile – business.google.com
- Bing Places for Business – bingplaces.com
- Nextdoor Business Pages – nextdoor.com/create-business
- LinkedIn Pages and Events – business.linkedin.com
- Facebook Pages and Events – facebook.com/pages/ and facebook.com/events/
- Eventbrite – eventbrite.com
Likewise, several topic-specific directories exist:
- Microsoft Authorized Training Partners – learn.microsoft.com
- Professional Mariner Training Programs – professionalmariner.com
- Schneider Truck Driver Training Schools – schneiderjobs.com
- Nursing Schools – nursingschools.com
- Phlebotomy Schools – phlebotomy.com
- etc.