Adding Business to an Online Directory

Buttercake

Hi folks, I am creating an online directory for a specific area. I have a list of businesses in the area (shops, accountants, solicitors etc) and I want to add them to the directory for free.

Is it considered okay to add them as a simple listing - business name, contact details etc that is already publicly available or would I need permission before adding them?

if its a courtesy thing, id rather go ahead and add them instead of waiting.. then let them know they have been added and to contact me if they wish to have their listing removed. These will be small scale local businesses: The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker.

Gloomtastic!

Buttercake wrote: »

Is it considered okay to add them as a simple listing - business name, contact details etc that is already publicly available or would I need permission before adding them?

Publicly available from where? If it's from a website, who's to say that the content is not the copyright of the publisher? Yellow/Golden Pages have sleepers in their lists where if they receive calls/post/emails they know have been lifted without their permission.

You may also fall foul of the new GDPR.

Buttercake

Thanks for reply, I would be gathering information about a business from passing it on the street and finding their contact details, online or otherwise. I would know if the business is real or not before adding. I don’t think or know if GDPR would apply for adding a business - no pii

If a business has a listing online with a phone number, email and website, there wouldn’t be copyright on contact details I’d assume..unless a blurb was written.

CeilingFly

Buttercake wrote: »

If a business has a listing online with a phone number, email and website, there wouldn’t be copyright on contact details I’d assume..unless a blurb was written.

Its nothing to do with copyright, its to do with a business owning its details and having a right to decided if they want to be an online directory.

If you had a directory on a sex toys site, would Veritas like to be listed?

You will probably run foul of gdpr regulations unless you word it correctly. "we have compiled the following directory from information gathered from Golden Pages"

But still you;d have to look at content of the site and whether these people want their details associated with the site


Good intentions, but a legal minefield and personally I think its a total waste of time.

lastusername

No point to this really, directories are all but gone and a simple Google search brings up everything you need with the info in answer boxes or in Google Map / Local packs.

tricky D

Search has been killing directories for over 20 years now. I used to run the Green Pages directory of Irish sites, but way back in 97 we realised that most of the new additions were being found via search, so back then search was the future, so we killed the directory. There is only one directory type of site that I know that has been viable which is whatclinic.com who make their revenue by getting into the middle of transactions to get a referral fee, which is counter to the huge trend toward search cutting out the middle, but they got there with lots of money and hard work.

jmcc

CeilingFly wrote: »

You will probably run foul of gdpr regulations unless you word it correctly. "we have compiled the following directory from information gathered from Golden Pages"

No.That would land you in trouble with Golden Pages and they'd probably win any legal action.

Regards...jmcc