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Submission Guidelines

South Africa Today – Business Directory Submission Guidelines & Policies

Last Updated: July 2026

Welcome to South Africa Today – Business Directory. Our mission is to provide users with the most accurate, high-quality, and trusted resource for businesses operating in South Africa and across the African continent.

To maintain the integrity, safety, and usefulness of our directory, we enforce strict submission guidelines. We prioritize quality and trust over quantity. By submitting a listing, you agree to adhere to the following rules. Failure to comply will result in immediate rejection or removal of your listing.

1. Click on “Sign in” to create a profile.

  • You must create a profile in order to submit your business listings.

2. Eligible Businesses

To be listed in South Africa Today – Business Directory, your business must:

  • Be a legitimate, real and currently operational business in South Africa or another recognized African nation.
  • Have a functioning, professional website or an active social media (Facebook) presence that clearly explains the products or services offered. A “Google walk” will be made at the address to see if it corresponds with an operational business.

3. Strictly Prohibited Content

We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for the following. Submissions containing any of these will be automatically rejected to protect our users from regional and global scams:

  • Lead Generation & Tender Scams: We do not accept middlemen, lead-gen pages, or fake “tender/bid” aggregation sites. You must be the actual service provider or legally authorized distributor.
  • Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) & Pyramid Schemes: Any business model reliant on recruiting rather than direct product/service sales.
  • “Made for Advertising” (MFA) Sites: Websites created solely to host ads, with little to no original content or actual business operations.
  • Keyword Stuffing: Business names or descriptions loaded with repetitive keywords (e.g., “Best Cheap Plumber Joburg Sandton Emergency”). Use your official legal or trading name only.
  • Duplicate Listings: Only one listing per physical location or distinct business entity is allowed. Each branch can be listed as you have a different address applicable here. You can make two listings at the same address if you have a hotel and restaurant there as an example.
  • Illegal Activities: Businesses operating in an illegal field or having illegal activities or products will be rejected.

4. Listing Data & Content Standards

All submitted information must be accurate, original, and formatted correctly to ensure searchability across the continent.

  • Language: All listing descriptions and categories must be submitted in English only.
  • Business Name: Must be your exact registered legal name or official “Trading As” name. No taglines, slogans, or locations in the name field. Locations can only be used if you list branches.
  • Business Description:
    • Must be between 300 and 600+ words.
    • Must be 100% original. Do not copy/paste text directly from your website or Facebook page.
    • Must be written for humans, not search engines.
    • Grammatically incoherent text will be rejected.
  • Categories: You must select from our predefined category list. Do not select irrelevant categories just to get more visibility. We have an option to request new categories, and this can be ticked and our editorial team will consider adding them.
  • Images:
    • Should be around 100KB and not more.
    • Must be original photos of your African business premises, team, or products. No generic stock photography.
    • No images with watermarks, heavy filters, or embedded contact information.
  • Contact Information:
    • Phone: Must and be a direct, working number.
    • Email: Must be a working email address. We strongly prefer domain-specific emails (e.g., hello@yourbusiness.co.za) over generic providers (e.g., yourbusiness@gmail.com).
  • Physical Address & Location:
    • Must be a physical, staffed location. P.O. Boxes are not permitted as primary addresses.
    • For areas without formal street names: If you are an online business with no address then you should tick this Category only.

5. Featured Listings (Premium Upgrade)

While standard listings are 100% free, a Featured Listing provides maximum visibility, credibility, and lead generation for your business.

Benefits of upgrading to a Featured Listing include:

  • Priority Placement: Your business appears at the very top of the front page on the website and your business will also feature on the Featured Listings tab on the menu.
  • “Verified & Featured” Trust Badge: Your business will receive a featured badge.
  • Access to Enhanced Profile Capabilities:
  • Videos on profile

6. The Review Process

  • Manual Review: Every submission is manually reviewed by our editorial team. Because we cover diverse regions across Africa, this process takes [3 to 5] business days.
  • No Guarantees: Submission does not guarantee approval. We reserve the right to reject any listing if we feel it does not align with the quality standards of our directory. In many cases our team will assist in making the listing as successful as possible by expanding on the content provided.
  • Rejections: If your listing is rejected, you will receive an email detailing the reason.

7. Ongoing Maintenance & Removal

  • Audits: We regularly audit our directory. If your website goes down and there is social inactivity your listing could be removed.
  • User Reports: If users report your listing as spam, inaccurate, or unresponsive, we will investigate. If the claims are validated, the listing will be removed.
  • Right to Refuse: South Africa Today – Business Directory reserves the right to modify, suspend, or remove any listing at our sole discretion, without prior notice, to maintain the quality of the platform.

Pre-Submission Checklist

Before you click “Submit,” please confirm the following:

  • My business is NOT involved in any illegal and unlawful activities.
  • My business name is my official legal/trading name.
  • My description is in English, original, between 300-500+ words, and free of keyword stuffing.
  • I did not copy the content from my website or Facebook page, it is unique.
  • I have uploaded original images of my actual business (no stock photos).
  • I have provided a direct and working phone number and email address.
  • I have provided a physical address or ticked Online Business category if it is online only.
  • I understand that my listing will be manually reviewed and is not guaranteed approval.
  • I understand that the content provided may be edited or expanded on by staff to be to give the listing the best chance to succeed.

Agreement

By checking the box below and clicking “Submit Listing,” you certify that the information provided is accurate, that you are an authorized representative of the business, and that you have read, understood, and agree to abide by the South Africa Today – Business Directory Submission Guidelines & Policies.

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