Local Directory / Marketplace
Our Local RI
A free Rhode Island business directory that hit #1 on Google for local directory searches within six months, with 170 businesses listed in its first three months.
- Services
- Web Design, Custom Development, On-Page SEO, Local SEO, Content Strategy, Directory Architecture, Coupon System, Events System
- Location
- Rhode Island
About this project
OurLocalRI.com is a free local business directory built exclusively for Rhode Island. The goal was straightforward: give Rhode Islanders one clean, fast place to find restaurants, shops, contractors and service providers, and give local business owners a free listing they could actually claim and manage.
The site was designed and built as a custom platform rather than an off-the-shelf directory template, with search by name, category and town, an interactive map of Rhode Island listings, business owner login, and a category structure planned around real local search demand. The full technical SEO foundation was in place before launch: clean architecture, internal linking, structured data, sitemaps, fast pages and locally targeted metadata.
The results came quickly. Within three months the directory had 170 local businesses listed. An aggressive SEO campaign on top of that foundation pushed the site to the number one organic position on Google and Yahoo for local directory searches, and individual category pages began ranking on their own, compounding the site's growth. As of November 1, 2026, OurLocalRI.com is also being surfaced in Google's AI Overview for the term, ahead of chambers of commerce and national directory brands.
The site has since grown into a broader local resource with a coupon system, an events calendar and an extensive blog, all designed to bring people back and keep the site earning traffic between searches. It is a clear demonstration of what a properly built, coded and optimised website can do as a core business strategy, not just an online brochure.
Key website features
- Custom-built directory platform
- Purpose-built listing, search and category architecture instead of a stock directory theme.
- Search by name, category & town
- Three-part search with Rhode Island town filtering built for local intent.
- Interactive Rhode Island map
- Every listing mapped across the state with clustered pins and selected-listing highlighting.
- Free business listings
- Rhode Island owners add and claim their own listing at no cost.
- Business owner login & listing management
- Owners manage their own details without contacting the site.
- Category page architecture
- Purpose-planned category pages targeting specific local searches, now ranking on their own.
- Technical SEO foundation at launch
- Structured data, sitemaps, metadata, internal linking and fast pages set up before day one.
- Local SEO campaign
- Targeted optimisation and link building that took the site to #1 on Google and Yahoo.
- Google AI Overview visibility
- Named first in Google’s AI Overview for local directory searches.
- Coupon system
- Local deals and offers from listed businesses, adding a repeat-visit reason to the directory.
- Events calendar
- Statewide events listings that broaden the site beyond business discovery.
- Extensive blog section
- Local guides and spotlights built to capture long-tail search traffic.
- Fully responsive
- Optimised for phones, tablets and desktop.
Services provided
- Web Design
- Custom Development
- On-Page SEO
- Local SEO
- Content Strategy
- Directory Architecture
- Coupon System
- Events System
