STEP 2 · WEBSITE, BUT NO CUSTOMERS
A customer in Jamaica who needs a plumber, a cake, a car or a lawyer does one of three things: types it into Google, asks on WhatsApp, or scrolls Instagram. Free listings put your business in front of all three, before you spend a dollar on a website or an ad. Most businesses do one of these and wonder why the phone is quiet. Here are the seven, in the order that matters, with exactly what to put on each.
1. Google Business Profile (do this today)
This is the free listing that answers "near me" searches and shows the map, the phone button and the reviews. Create or claim it at google.com/business. Pick the most specific category you can ("Bakery", not "Food"), add your town, hours, services with prices, and ten real photos. Then ask your next three customers for a review — a profile with reviews outranks one without, every time.
If you only do one thing from this list, do this one. Our free course Get Found on Google walks through it lesson by lesson.
2. WhatsApp Business (same number, free)
Switch your number to WhatsApp Business. Fill the profile — name, hours, address, a line about what you do — and build the catalog with prices. Half of Jamaica buys over WhatsApp; a catalog means you stop typing prices twenty times a day and your "listing" travels every time someone forwards your number.
3. The Jamaica Business Directory (your own page, free)
The Jamaica Business Directory on ezywebpro.com gives your business its own page — name, category, parish, description, a link to your website or Instagram — on a site Google already ranks for "free Jamaica business directory". Every listing is checked by a person, so it is not full of spam, and it is live within a day. Businesses in the directory also appear inside the guides people read for that industry (a bakery shows up on the "how to start a bakery" guide).
It takes two minutes: name, category, parish, website or Instagram, one line. No card, and the free listing never expires. Paid placements with a WhatsApp button exist from J$5,000 a month, but the free one is a real listing, not a teaser.
4. A Facebook Page (not just your personal profile)
Jamaica still runs on Facebook. A Page gives you a phone button, a WhatsApp button, reviews, and the ability to post in community groups as the business. Match the name and number to Google exactly. Post real work, not logos.
5. Instagram business account
Switch to a business account so you get the contact buttons and insights. The bio is a listing: what you do, where, and one link. Use the link for your directory page or website — not a page that asks people to click again.
6. Map apps: Apple Maps and Waze
Fewer people, but the ones who use them are driving to you. Apple Business Connect and the Waze business listing are free and take ten minutes. If you have a physical location, do them.
7. Your parish
People search by place: "barber in May Pen", "catering Montego Bay". Say the town and parish on every listing, and get into the parish page of the directory — all 14 parishes are here. If your parish has nobody listed yet, you are first, which is the best place to be.
- Same business name (no extra words on one and not the other).
- Same phone number, written the same way.
- Same town and parish.
- Same one-line description.
- A real photo of your work, not a stock image.
What a listing cannot do
A listing gets you found. It does not take the booking, hold the deposit, or answer the questions at 11pm. When the listings are working and the WhatsApp is busy, that is when a website with booking or ordering built in pays for itself — a turnkey site is J$35,000 with the software, hosting and support on a plan from J$4,500 a month. Do the free seven first.
Not sure which step you're on? Book a growth call — fifteen minutes with Lee, no pressure, no obligation. You leave with the step, the first fix and the price.
Frequently asked
Is the Jamaica Business Directory really free?
Yes. The free listing is a full listing — your own page, a link, your category and parish — and it never expires. Paid placements with a WhatsApp button and top position are optional, from J$5,000 a month.
How long does it take to be listed?
Google Business Profile can take a few days to verify. The Jamaica Business Directory is checked by a person and usually live within one working day. WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram are instant.
Do I need a website to be listed?
No. A directory listing can link to your Instagram or Facebook page. Get listed first; the website comes when the first customers are paying.
Which listing brings the most customers in Jamaica?
Google Business Profile for "near me" searches, WhatsApp for referrals, and the directory for people reading guides about your industry. Do all three; they feed each other.