The complete directory business. In a single plugin.
A WordPress plugin for building local business directories that earn from listings and ads. The free plugin has no listing cap. Paid tiers add bulk import of up to 50,000 listings, Stripe billing, ad zones and advanced SEO, replacing $2,000+/yr of separate tools.
Illustrative model with conservative defaults. Real results depend on your niche, competition, and SEO execution — this is a planning tool, not an earnings promise.
"With just a few clicks, my entire directory with 27,000 listings was built and fully functional."
"The schema, perfect URL structure, and monetization options are exactly what Google values."
"It took literally 3 clicks to install and I'm already getting clicks after only two weeks."
Disclosure: customers who submit a video testimonial receive a 30% discount code whether the testimonial is positive or negative. Results shown are individual; typical results vary.
Pick your niche. We'll send you the business plan to start it.
Your niche in numbers: search demand, who already ranks, and the revenue math for a directory in it
A step-by-step plan to build it, price it and bring in your first traffic
10% off a TurnKey Directories license with your own single-use code, valid for 72 hours
You'll also get product updates and the occasional subscriber-only discount. Unsubscribe anytime.
Three fields · about 20 seconds
Not in your inbox within 2 minutes? Check Promotions or spam.
The economics01
01The real comparison
You're not buying a directory plugin. You're building a directory business.
Most directory plugins stop at listings. Running one as a business also takes billing, indexing, rank tracking, schema and backlinks, each usually bought from a separate vendor. TurnKey Directories covers all of it: the basics in the free plugin, the rest in one paid license.
A · The typical SaaS stack
$2,646 — $5,709 first year
Directory plugin
GeoDirectory + add-ons
$229 — $400
Subscription billing
MemberPress + WC Subs
$200 — $680
Keyword rank tracking
SE Ranking · Semrush Lite
$1,238 — $1,550
Multi-engine indexing
IndexMeNow · RapidURLIndexer
$300 — $600
Schema markup
Schema Pro
$79
Customer claim portal
BizProfile or custom build
$600 — $2,400
Citation network
Manual outreach
100s of hours
Vendor list prices, checked 16 October 2026. MemberPress entry tier adds a 4.9% transaction fee; renewal prices shown where intro pricing differs.
Built around the three things that decide whether a directory makes money — scale, traffic, revenue.
Illustrative
50,000 virtual pages
1.5s LCP
Pillar 01 · Scale
Built for big directories.
Listing pages render on request instead of being stored as posts, so the database stays lean as you grow. Our public demo runs 50,000 listings, each schema-marked and indexable.
50K tested90+ PageSpeed1.5s LCPno post bloat
Organic impressions · monthlyIllustrativeM1 → M10
1.84M
+38% / 28 days
Pillar 02 · Traffic
Built for the SEO long game.
Search Console and GA4 inside WordPress, plus schema on every URL, all in the free plugin. Paid tiers add automatic indexing, a rank tracker and the Network Hub.
Connect your own Stripe account and sell paid listing plans (from Starter) and à la carte upgrades (from Growth). Businesses pay you directly and we take no cut; only Stripe's fees apply.
Stripe-direct100% revenue5 ad zonesunlimited plans · Growth+
Setup wizard
Connect Google, turn on Mapillary street view, add your data and launch. Paid tiers add column mapping for bulk files.
Customer portal
Business owners log in to their own branded portal to edit their listing and pay you. They never see wp-admin. Starter and up.
Looks like your brand
Set one accent color. Buttons, links, portal, dashboard — everything inherits it.
Your directory is your homepage
The search page is a normal WordPress page. Set it as your homepage and add your own content above and below the listings in the block editor.
03How it works
03From install to income
Live in an afternoon. Literally.
Three steps from a blank WordPress site to a directory that takes payments. The free plugin covers setup and adding listings by hand; bulk import and payments come with a paid tier. No code, no agency.
01~10 min
Install & connect
Install the free plugin from WordPress.org and run the setup wizard: connect Search Console and GA4, switch on Mapillary street view. Your own API keys: your Google and Mapillary data comes straight to your site.
02~20 min
Import listings
Add listings one at a time on the free plugin, with no limit. To load thousands at once, a paid license adds CSV/XLSX import (10K, 30K or 50K by tier) and, from Growth, an Outscraper scrape of Google Maps inside the wizard. Every listing gets its own URL, LocalBusiness schema and a sitemap entry. Imports run in the background.
03same afternoon
Monetize
Connect your Stripe account, set your plan prices and switch on the ad zones. Business owners claim their listing and pay you through their own portal. Included from Starter, $299 once.
Run any of these through PageSpeed Insights yourself.Desktop 90+/100 on standard $7.99/mo cloud hosting — run it yourself. Mobile scores lower, as JS-rich directory pages do.
Everything you'd otherwise stitch together from a $2,000+/yr SaaS stack — directory engine, rank tracker, analytics, indexer, schema, Stripe billing, customer portal, and a backlink network — shipped inside one WordPress plugin you own forever.
01Foundationthe bedrock
CORE · v2.0
CORE · DIRECTORY ENGINE
All systems nominal
The complete local-SEO
directory business in a plugin.
Replaces GeoDirectory / Directorist (the directory), SE Ranking / Semrush Lite (the rank tracker), MemberPress + WooCommerce Subscriptions (the billing), Schema Pro (the markup), and IndexMeNow (the indexer) — under one license, on one WordPress install.
50Klistings
ceiling per site
90+/100
pagespeed @ 50K
1.5s LCP
field measurement
0%
cut of your Stripe sales
ENGINE · VIRTUAL PAGES
50K @ 90+/100
Virtual page technology
All listing URLs rendered dynamically — not stored as wp_posts. The reason a 50,000-listing site still loads in 1.5 seconds.
/niche/country/state/city/business/ — every level a real, indexable page
SETUP · WIZARD
~10 min
Guided setup wizard
01Welcome
02Google · GSC + GA4 + Indexing API
03Mapillary · free street view
04Data import · 3 vectors
05Column mapping
06Launch
INGEST · DATA-IN
3 vectors
Three import vectors
A
CSV / XLSX upload
your own data, your own format
manual
B
Outscraper · in-wizard
Google Maps scrape · pay direct, no markup
$0.60 / 100
C
Manual entry
one at a time, unlimited, on the free tier
free
MEDIA · FEATURED IMAGES
3 fallback tiers
Mapillary street view, free
Replaces v1's paid Google Street View. Patchy coverage falls back to an auto-generated card with the business name + address. Owner can override with a custom upload at any time.
Edit phone, website, description, socials, featured images — one listing at a time, or across 1,000 at once. v1 required a full CSV re-upload; v2 doesn't.
SITEMAP · AUTO-GEN
auto-regen
XML + HTML, auto-ping
XML for engines
HTML for users
Auto-regen on edit
GSC submission
IndexNow ping
robots.txt managed
ANALYTICS · GSC + GA4
7D · 28D · 90D · custom
Native traffic + search dashboard
Direct GSC + Analytics 4 connection — no third-party tool. Visitors, sessions, pageviews, bounce, clicks, impressions, avg CTR, avg position — with trend charts and a demo-data toggle for empty states.
KEYWORDS · GSC-NATIVE
$0 / mo · free quota
Rank tracker · opportunities · cannibalization
Seven tabs: Overview, Keywords, Pages, Listings, Opportunities, Cannibalization, Index Status. Opportunities math impressions × CTR-gap to surface underperforming Page 1–2 terms. Cannibalization flags the same keyword across 2+ URLs in top 50.
150 URLs / batch to Google Indexing API + IndexNowGSC keyword snapshot & ranking deltasPartner-directory liveness pingSubscription renewal sweep
04Frontendwhat visitors see
SEARCH · FACETED DISCOVERY
doubles as homepage
Search page · Leaflet map · filter chips
Keyword + location search
Add-filters drawer
Top Rated · Open Now
Highest Rated · Most Reviews
Leaflet / OpenStreetMap
Marker clustering
Sponsored / Verified / Claimed badges
Pagination + page-size
Owner Login floating CTA
Gutenberg blocks before/after
LISTING · 18-BLOCK ANATOMY
virtual page
Eighteen blocks per listing — every one optional
2× sidebar ad slots
3× leaderboard ads (728×90)
Breadcrumb + name
Star rating + reviews
Status badges row
Featured image
Quick actions
Working hours (live)
Contact · click-to-call
Map embed
CTA banner
Business highlights
Photo gallery
Video embed
Reviews · Google + on-site
Recommendations
Schema markup
Owner login CTA
RUNTIME · LIVE STATUS
real-time
Live working hours
Each listing displays a real-time Open / Closed indicator computed from the business's per-day hours. Always accurate at the moment of pageview.
MEDIA · GALLERY + VIDEO
plan-gated
Owner-managed photo gallery
Drag-reorder
50 MB / image cap
Per-plan slot count
Single video embed
Premium slideshow
Lazy-loaded
REVIEWS · DUAL-SOURCE
moderation
Google reviews import + on-site reviews
Import existing Google My Business reviews. Visitors leave new on-site reviews. Owner moderates from the customer portal — approve / pending / reject / delete with full audit trail.
05Customer Portalfor the listed businesses
PORTAL · CLIENT-OS
standalone auth
A full SaaS-style dashboard for every listed business
Separate authentication from wp_users. SHA-256 hashed tokens, 30-day session cookie, email-enumeration-safe password recovery. End-business-owners log in, claim, edit, pay — without ever touching wp-admin.
Eleven listing features you can bundle into your subscription tiers, sell one at a time, or both. Seven ship pre-priced on install — change the prices, rename them, or add your own.
Verified Badge
Priority in Search
Sponsored Placement
Hide Competitors
Ad-Free Listing
Enhanced Photos
Video Support
Analytics Dashboard
Review Management
Business Highlights
CTA Banner
REVENUE · MOAT ECONOMICS
owner keeps 100%
Five revenue vectors, one owner
Display ads · 5 zones
Subscription plans
À la carte upgrades
Sponsored placement · rank-and-rent
NAP citation services
No platform cut. No transaction fee. The plugin never sits between you and Stripe.
BILLING · STRIPE BRIDGE
test + live mode
Connect your own Stripe account
Publishable key · secret key · webhook secret · webhook URL — all configured from one screen. Test mode for development, live mode for production. Sync plans to Stripe with one click, then accept subscriptions, one-off upgrades, and renewals on autopilot.
07Network & Platformthe moat + integrations
NETWORK · /partners/ HUB
heartbeat live
Niche-isolated backlink network · the moat
YOUR SITEroofers-deroofers-ukroofers-auroofers-ca
Site reachable
/partners/ returns 200
Verification marker present
≥ 10 published listings
Plugin heartbeat < 7 days
Niche isolation · Discord community · owner-to-owner DMs
Your API keys, your billing accounts, your data. The plugin orchestrates — it never proxies, marks up, or sits between you and the services you pay for.
BRAND · COLOR SYSTEM
CSS vars
Branding color · semantic colors locked
Customize the accent — primary CTAs, navigation, search button, hover states. Semantic colors (Call green, Website blue, ratings gold, Open / Closed badges) stay locked so UX patterns survive any rebrand.
Every other directory plugin sells you a tool. TurnKey Directories gives you a tool and a network. Each new directory joins because the ones before it strengthen its rankings.v2 launches with the Network Hub open to founding members — the earliest directories in each niche take the strongest positions as it fills.This is not a PBN: every link is editorial, niche-isolated, and verification-gated — sites must be live, populated, and heartbeat-healthy to stay in. No link farms, no off-niche links, no shared footprint.
your directory
/partners/
roofers-tx.com
flatroof-pros.io
metal-roofing.org
cedar-roof.net
roof-ca.com
peak-roof.co
shingle-pros.net
slate-roof.io
Founding cohort
Forming now
Niche-isolated
By design
Step 01
Opt in
Configure your niche, expose the partners page, install the verification marker. Leave anytime — no lock-in.
Included on Growth and above. Always opt-in — the plugin works fully without it.
Step 02
Get verified
Five-point health check: site reachable, partners page returns 200, marker present, 10+ listings, plugin heartbeat active.
Step 03
Compound authority
Receive editorial backlinks from niche-relevant directories. As the network grows, so does your authority.
You build niche directories, rank them, then either monetize through ads, lease them to locals, or sell qualified leads. You need scale, speed, and SEO infrastructure.
Rank-and-rent operators
Affiliate niche site builders
Programmatic SEO portfolios
B · Local SEO Agencies
For agencies serving small businesses.
You build directory sites for clients in specific cities or niches. You need a turnkey solution — not a six-tool SaaS stack you have to explain.
Local SEO agencies
White-label resellers
WordPress freelancers
C · Niche Entrepreneurs
For directory businesses.
You're building a single focused directory — your city, your niche. You need real billing, not "post ads on the side." Predictable monthly revenue.
City or regional directories
Niche industry directories
Lead-gen operators
08Customer voices
08Customer voices
Real operators. In their own words.
Customer stories
Video testimonials
Video testimonial·Side hustle · 2 weeks
"
01 / 05
Disclosure: customers who submit a video testimonial receive a 30% discount code whether the testimonial is positive or negative. Results shown are individual; typical results vary.
The free plugin has no listing limit and no time limit. Paid tiers add bulk import, Stripe billing and ad zones, advanced SEO and, from Growth, the Network Hub. Pay once for lifetime updates, or yearly to start smaller.
Tier 00 · FreeWordPress.org
A complete directory, free.
Unlimited manual listings, on as many sites as you like. Connect Search Console and GA4 and watch real impressions land in your dashboard.
$0forever
no credit card needed · no time limit · live on WordPress.org
Need bulk import, billing, advanced SEO or the Network Hub? The tiers below add them to this same install. Your listings stay put.
Paid tiers · the ladder
When you're ready to monetize.
Prices below follow the toggle; you choose one-time or yearly at checkout. On a yearly plan, switch tiers any time from your billing portal. Go lifetime within your first year and your last annual payment is credited toward the one-time price.
Build your directory in public and get the Pro license free for 12 months. Post one update a month; finish and it becomes lifetime Pro. You cover your own domain, hosting and listing data.
Tap the lifetime tier you own. Every higher tier shows its upgrade quote — your earlier purchase is credited toward it.
I own
Already paidYou pay
Starter → Growth → Pro costs $250 + $350. Jumping straight to Pro? Also $600. The path never changes the price.
On a yearly plan? Do it yourself in the billing portal → your subscription → Update subscription. Prorated automatically, applied instantly. Cancelling lives in the same place.
On a lifetime plan? One-time purchases can't auto-prorate, so it's one extra click: in the plugin, TurnKey Directories → Upgrade → Request upgrade. We email you a personal link for the difference shown here.
Lifetime upgrade quotes · requested from the plugin
01StarterYours$299 paid · credited
02GrowthYours+$250$549
03ProYours+$600$899
04AgencyYours+$1,200$1,499
After you buy
Three places, one you'll actually revisit.
Checkout runs on Lemon Squeezy, so the receipt and the downloads live there. Everything you change later lives in the billing portal.
01Your email receipt
Arrives seconds after payment with your license key and a link to your order page. Paste the key into TurnKey Directories → License.
02Your order page
Every plugin file your tier includes, re-downloadable whenever you need it — a new site, a rebuild, a fresh install.
03Your billing portal
Change tier, update your card, pull invoices, cancel a yearly plan. Sign in with the email you bought with — you get a one-time magic link, no password.
A reading toolbar for your articles: text-to-speech, dark mode, translate and share. Free on WordPress.org. The Pro add-on comes with TurnKey Directories Pro and Agency.
I wasn't supposed to make it. Born in the poorest corner of communist Romania — a forgotten kid with failing lungs, raised by a grandmother who spent the last of her heart on me. The world made it clear it didn't want a weed among the tomatoes. So I stopped trying to be one — and built anyway.
You don't need perfect soil. You don't need permission. You grow anyway. That's what this is for.
Is the free plugin really free, and what do paid tiers add?
Yes. The free plugin on WordPress.org runs a complete directory with unlimited manual listings, on unlimited sites, with no time limit and no card. Paid tiers add bulk CSV/XLSX import, Stripe billing, claimable listings, reviews and ad zones, advanced SEO tools and, from Growth, the Network Hub. You upgrade on the same site and your listings stay where they are. See what Free includes.
Is this one-time or a subscription?
The flagship is the one-time payment: buy once, own it, lifetime updates. If you'd rather not commit upfront, every tier also has an annual plan — and if you switch to lifetime within your first year, your last annual payment is credited toward the one-time price. Either way: no per-site SaaS, no "active install" tax.
What does "lifetime updates" mean?
For as long as TurnKey Directories exists, you get all updates to your tier — bug fixes, new features, major versions. We commit to maintaining the plugin actively, not the "lifetime deal that dies after 18 months" pattern.
What's the refund policy?
30-day money-back guarantee on paid tiers. If TurnKey Directories doesn't fit your project, email us within 30 days — full refund, no friction. The free tier removes the risk before you buy; this removes it after. Full terms: refund policy.
Can I upgrade tiers later?
On a yearly plan? Switch tiers any time, in either direction, yourself: shop.turnkeydirectories.com/billing → your subscription → Update subscription. Prorated automatically, applied instantly, no email to anyone.
On a lifetime plan? One-time purchases can't auto-prorate, so it takes one extra click: in the plugin, TurnKey Directories → Upgrade → Request upgrade. We email you a personal link for the difference — never the full price again. The amounts:
Starter → Growth$250
Starter → Pro$600
Starter → Agency$1,200
Growth → Pro$350
Growth → Agency$950
Pro → Agency$600
Want to switch from yearly to lifetime? Contact support within your first year and we'll credit your last annual payment toward the one-time price. Going from Free to paid happens on the same site: install the paid add-on, paste your license key, and your listings and settings stay where they are.
Where do I manage billing?
At shop.turnkeydirectories.com/billing. Sign in with the email you bought with and you get a one-time magic link — there's no password to keep track of.
Everything self-serve lives there: change tier (yearly plans, prorated instantly), update your card, download invoices and billing history, and cancel a yearly plan. Nothing needs an email to us.
A one-time license has nothing to cancel — it's yours permanently, and the portal just holds your invoices and payment method. Full walkthrough on the getting started page.
What happens to my directory if TurnKey Directories shuts down?
Nothing dramatic. TurnKey Directories is a standard GPL WordPress plugin running on your server with your data in your database. It doesn't phone home to function — the only feature that depends on our infrastructure is the opt-in Network Hub. Your directory, your billing, and your content keep running.
Is the annual price locked, or does renewal cost more?
Locked. The price you sign up at is the price you renew at. Want lifetime instead? Switch within your first year and your last annual payment is credited toward the one-time price.
Technical
Does it work with my WordPress theme?
Yes. Theme-agnostic and tested with Astra, Kadence, GeneratePress, Blocksy, Hello Elementor, and the default WordPress block themes. The plugin renders its own templates and inherits typography from your theme.
Hosting requirements?
Standard WordPress hosting up to 10K listings. For 30K+ we recommend 4GB RAM and PHP 8.0+. The 50K-listing demo runs on a $7.99/month cloud plan — we use Hostinger Cloud Startup(affiliate).
What happens when I reach my tier's import limit?
The free plugin has no listing limit. Paid tiers include bulk import up to 10,000, 30,000 or 50,000 listings (50,000 per site on Agency). At 95% you get a warning in the admin. At the limit, new imports stop until you upgrade, and every existing listing keeps serving. Upgrading raises the limit in place, with no re-import.
I've never built a directory — where do the actual business listings come from?
Three ways. On any tier, including Free, add listings one at a time with no limit. From Starter, import a list you already have (CSV or XLSX) with the visual column mapper. From Growth, the setup wizard pulls real businesses from Google Maps through Outscraper: pick a category and a place ("roofers in Texas") and it fetches names, addresses, phones, hours and ratings, ready to publish with schema on every page.
What is Outscraper, and is it included?
Outscraper is a data service that collects public business information from Google Maps — names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, hours, ratings. On Growth and above, TurnKey Directories wires it directly into the import wizard so you can pull listings without leaving the plugin. On Starter, export from Outscraper and import the file as CSV. It's a separate, pay-as-you-go service (you create your own Outscraper account and pay Outscraper only for what you pull — there are free credits to test it first), not part of your TurnKey Directories license. Prefer not to use it? Import your own CSV instead — the choice is yours. Get started with Outscraper here → outscraper.com(affiliate)
How much does the listing data cost?
Outscraper is pay-as-you-go — you pay per record pulled, only for what you actually scrape, with free credits to start. A focused first directory (a few thousand listings in one niche and region) costs very little; the price scales with how much data you pull. Check Outscraper's current rates for exact numbers. Importantly, it's a one-time data pull that's yours to keep — not a recurring data subscription.
Is scraping business data from Google legal, and will it get my directory penalized?
The data is public business information — the same name, address, and phone you'd see on any Google Maps listing — and building directories this way is a long-established practice. Outscraper collects it under its own terms; follow those and the rules where you operate (this isn't legal advice). Google rewards directories that add value: schema on every listing, fast pages, search and filters, reviews, and claimable listings that owners keep current. That's what the plugin builds.
How many listings do I need to launch?
Fewer than you'd think. You don't need 50,000 on day one — a focused directory in a single niche and region (a few thousand listings) is plenty to launch, start ranking, and earn from, and you grow it over time. Starter bulk-imports up to 10,000 listings, which is more than enough for most first directories.
I already have my own data — what format does it need to be in?
A CSV or XLSX file. Bulk import is on Starter and above: the wizard's visual column mapper lets you point each column at the matching field (name, address, phone, category and so on). No fixed template, no code. On Free you add listings one at a time, as many as you like.
Does the keyword tracker need paid SEO APIs?
No. It pulls from Google Search Console — free for any GSC-connected site. No Ahrefs API, no Semrush bill, no DataForSEO. The tracker module ships on Growth and above (base tabs), with Opportunity scoring and cannibalization detection on Pro and above — all of it running on that free GSC data, so your only cost is the license you already have.
Can I migrate from GeoDirectory, Directorist, or Brilliant Directories?
Yes. Export your listings to CSV from your current platform and bring them in with the column-mapping import (Starter and above). Set up redirects from your old URLs to keep your rankings.
Setup & support
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Setup is a wizard, imports are CSV with visual column mapping, and branding is a color picker. If you can run WordPress, you can run TurnKey Directories.
What support comes with each tier?
Documentation and the community Discord are open to everyone. Paid tiers climb a ladder: email support from Starter, priority email from Growth, direct Discord DMs with the team + priority roadmap input on Pro, and a dedicated agency queue on Agency.
Network hub
Will joining the Network Hub get my site penalized?
No — the network is designed specifically to avoid PBN footprint. Links are niche-isolated, verification-gated, heartbeat-monitored, and editorial in nature.
Is the Network Hub mandatory?
No — it's opt-in. The plugin works fully without it. Available on Growth and above.
Business model
How does the customer billing work?
You connect your own Stripe account. You set the tier prices. Listed businesses pay you directly through Stripe — TurnKey Directories never touches the money, never takes a cut.
Where does my customers' data live? (GDPR)
On your server and in your own Stripe account. TurnKey Directories never sits between you and your listing owners' data, and you remain the data controller. Integrations you choose to connect (Google Search Console, GA4, Mapillary, Outscraper, the Network Hub) are covered by their own terms. Cookie consent and your privacy policy remain your responsibility as the operator.
Can I run ads alongside the subscription tiers?
Yes. Five ad zones per listing — three in-content leaderboards and two sticky sidebars — for AdSense, affiliate banners, sponsored content, or custom HTML/JS. Available on Starter and above.
What is the business plan, and how often will you email me?
Pick your niche and we email you a personalised page: real search demand and competition for that niche, the revenue math, a step-by-step playbook, and a single-use 10% discount code valid for 72 hours. You also join our list for occasional product updates and subscriber-only discounts. No fixed schedule; unsubscribe in one click. Get yours.
What is the Open Build Program?
A program for builders who build a directory in public. You get the Pro license free for 12 months, post one update a month, and the license becomes lifetime Pro when you finish. You pay your own domain, hosting and listing data. Details, and the application or waitlist, are on the Open Build page.
Stop renting your directory infrastructure.
Start free. Pay once when you need bulk import or billing. We never take a cut of what your directory earns.