Industrial Directories

Industrial directories are online resources that can help you maximize productivity and profitability for your business.

Most of these industrial directories offer free listings so there is no reason you can’t have some kind of online presence in all of them. Whether it is a free listing, enhanced list or online advertising there are different options for every business.

If you are in the industrial marketplace you can get some free exposure by putting your products, services, catalogs or profile in these industrial directories for consumers and prospective customers to find you.

1. ThomasNet

ThomasNet (or Thomas Registry) has been around in the manufacturing and industrial industry for decades. They are one of the largest industrial directories. They offer an online buying guide for companies to find products, services, specs and manufacturers. Their online database includes catalogs, CAD drawings, white papers, press releases and blogs.

For manufacturers, ThomasNet offers a lot of opportunities:

Free supplier profiles
Product/Supplier sourcing
Digital newsletter ($)
Advertising opportunities ($)
Basic marketing services ($)
Request for Information (RFI) ($)

2. Mfg.com

Sourcing professionals and manufacturers use Mfg.com to do business in the industrial marketplace. You can connect with buyers, engineers, and purchasing professionals at no charge. This industrial registry has manufacturers pay an annual subscription to have access to request for quotations bids (RFQ) issued by purchasers.

Opportunities on Mfg.com for industrial sourcing companies:

Free account creation
Free sourcing
Request for Quote (RFQ) bidding ($)
Banner advertisements ($)
RFQ management ($)

3. IQS Directory

IQS Directory is a hybrid between online search engine and industrial directory. Unlike search based directories, IQS Directory lists companies according to their level of engagement with the website. This means the companies that pay for premium listings show up first for their chosen categories while companies that pay for standard listings show up further down on the search results.

IQS Directory offers the following opportunities:

Free online listings
Standard/Premium listings ($)
Rollover Banner Ads for premium listings ($)
Basic marketing services ($)
Video/Article/Press release on profile ($)

4. MacRAE’s Blue Book

MacRAE focuses exclusively on North America and boasts over 2 million product listings and 1.2 million industrial companies in its directory database. MacRAE is one of the oldest directories in the manufacturing and industrial industry.

Here are some of the opportunities on MacRAE’s:

Free company listings
Premium listings ($)
Advertising opportunities ($)
News distribution ($)
Basic marketing services ($)

5. IHS Engineering360

IHS started as a catalog product database for aerospace engineers. Now IHS encompasses nearly all of engineering and serves as an online search engine that indexes industrial products. IHS focuses on industrial companies looking to be found online.

Some of IHS’ most beneficial opportunities:

Industrial search engine
Free online listings
Industry news and analysis
Standards and reference libraries
Email Newsletter Ads ($)
Banner advertisements ($)
Basic marketing services ($)
Custom webinars ($)

6. Zycon

Zycon is known for being one of the most affordable directories when it comes to premium listing opportunities. For businesses trying to get more exposure, it is important to know all links not associated with a premium account are “nofollow” links. This means your site won’t get the maximum search engine optimization benefit with a free account so it might be worth the investment to upgrade to premium listings.

Here are the opportunities available to you through Zycon:

Free listings
Premium listings (one-time $100 fee)
Category specifications (up to 3 for standard and 5 for premium)
Company news posts
Revamped marketing services ($)

7. Kompass

While Kompass may not be as large as some of the other directories, it differentiates itself by focusing on the global B2B marketplace.

Here are some of the opportunities Kompass offers the industrial industry:

Free listings
Enhanced listings ($)
Online advertising ($)
News, video, and picture publication ($)
Limited product profiles
Unlimited product profiles ($)
Full product catalog inclusion ($)

8. ProcessRegister

The big appeal of ProcessRegister for industrial marketers is the site’s traffic. ProcessRegister has nearly 20,000 unique visitors each day, that’s roughly 7 million visits per year.

ProcessRegister’s opportunities include:

Free listings
Enhanced listings ($)
Banner ads ($)
Product images ($)