UBC News

Ohio Small Business Owners Share Why They Switched To Local Online Directories

Episode Summary

Small business owners across Southwest Ohio are moving away from national listing platforms toward regional directories that prioritize local connections. The shift reflects frustration with corporate-dominated search results and a desire to reach nearby customers. To learn more, visit https://miamivalleythrive.com/

Episode Notes

Something interesting is happening in Southwest Ohio right now. Small business owners across the Miami River Valley who spent years fighting for visibility on national directory sites are walking away. They're choosing regional platforms instead, and the reasons why tell us a lot about how local business is changing. Picture this. You run a family bakery in Dayton. You've been on Yelp for five years, paid for premium listings, responded to every review. But when someone searches for bakeries in your area, the results show three Panera locations and a grocery store chain before your name ever appears. You're buried under corporate brands with massive marketing budgets, and no matter how good your croissants are, customers never find you. That's the problem driving this shift. National directories serve every business everywhere, which sounds great until you realize you're competing with thousands of listings. The algorithms favor big brands with resources to game the system. Small businesses get lost in the noise. Regional directories flip this dynamic. When a platform focuses exclusively on one specific region, every person using it is already your neighbor. They're not scrolling past businesses in other states. They're looking right here in Southwest Ohio for services you actually provide. The geographic focus means your listing reaches people who can walk through your door today. There's another factor too. Many national platforms have become pay-to-play systems. Free listings barely get seen. Premium placements cost hundreds per month with no guarantee of results. Small business owners are tired of paying fees that mostly benefit the platform itself rather than driving actual customers. Regional directories built specifically to support local economies operate differently. The goal isn't extracting advertising dollars from struggling small businesses. The mission is strengthening the entire community by making independent businesses more visible. That philosophical difference matters when you're deciding where to invest your limited marketing time and budget. The Ourland Group recognized this gap when they built Miami Valley Thrive. They created a directory that deliberately excludes large corporations and franchises, giving independent businesses room to shine. Business owners throughout the region are claiming their spots because the platform was designed with their actual needs in mind rather than shareholder profits. If you're running a small business in Southwest Ohio and feeling invisible online, check out the link in the description to learn more about Miami Valley Thrive. Regional visibility might be exactly what your business needs to reach the customers already searching for you. Ourland Highroad, LLC City: Xenia Address: 1677 Rockwell Drive Website: https://www.ourlandhighroad.com Phone: +1 567 408 6361 Email: manager@ourlandhighroadLLC.com