Introducing the New Search IT

Search IT has been rebuilt from the ground up. The new version is faster, works better on phones and gives businesses new tools to turn searches into customers: online booking, direct messages, offers and posts, Verified badges and insights, with plans from $0.99. If you already have an account or a listing, it has moved across with you.

This post explains why we rebuilt Search IT, what's new for customers and for businesses, how plans and pricing work, what happens to existing listings, and how to use our launch offer.

Why we rebuilt Search IT

Search IT started as a free directory and grew to hundreds of businesses across Asia, the Middle East, the UK, the US and Australia. Along the way, we learned what customers and business owners actually need, and where the old site fell short.

• Customers needed accurate information. On a free, unmoderated directory, listings go out of date and spam creeps in. That makes every listing less trustworthy.
• Businesses needed more than a page. A listing that only shows a phone number doesn't help a busy salon fill its diary or a plumber reply to enquiries.
• Everyone needed speed. Most people search on their phones, often on slow connections. Pages had to load quickly anywhere.

So we rebuilt Search IT around a few principles: accuracy beats volume, trust must be earned, small businesses deserve big reach, and speed matters. Every listing is now reviewed by a real person before it goes live, and plans start at less than a dollar so any business can take part.

What's new for customers

If you use Search IT to find businesses, here's what's changed:

• Faster pages built to load quickly on any phone.
• Better search. Search by what you need and where, filter by category and location, and switch to a map view on Explore to see businesses near you.
• "Open now" at a glance. Listings show whether a business is open now, closed, or when it next opens, in the business's local time.
• Book appointments online. Request an appointment from a business's listing, and get an email when it's confirmed, with a calendar invite and a reminder.
• Message businesses directly. Send a message from the listing. You don't need an account; we'll just confirm your email with a short code.
• Offers. See current deals from local businesses.
• Verified badges. A blue badge shows that our team has checked documents confirming the business is genuine and managed by its owner.
• Genuine reviews. Only signed-in members with a verified email can leave reviews, and every review is checked before it's published.

Searching, browsing and contacting businesses is free, and there are no booking fees. You deal directly with the business.

What's new for businesses

For business owners, the new Search IT is designed to bring you customers, not just display your details:

• A complete listing: photos, services and prices, opening hours with holiday hours, a menu section for restaurants, FAQs, health and safety information and a completeness meter showing what's missing.
• Online appointment booking on every plan. Set your services, availability, buffer times and notice periods. Customers request a time, you confirm or decline from your dashboard.
• Direct messages. Customers can message you from your listing. You're notified by email and can reply from your dashboard or by replying to the email.
• Posts and offers. Share news, events and deals on your listing.
• Review replies. Reply publicly to every review from your dashboard.
• Insights. See views, clicks and bookings, with full analytics on Premium.
• Verified badge. Premium listings can earn the badge after a quick document check.
• Priority placement. Paid listings appear above free ones, and Premium listings are featured on the homepage and at the top of their category.

Every new listing is reviewed by our team before it goes live, usually within 1–2 hours and often within minutes. See how it works for the full process.

Plans and pricing

Creating an account is free. Publishing a listing requires a paid package:

• Starter, $0.99 one-time: one listing, visible for 7 days, with online booking, up to 5 photos, 2 posts, 1 active offer and direct messages. A low-cost way to try Search IT or claim your existing listing.
• Advanced, $4.99/month: up to 5 listings with no expiry while subscribed, priority placement in your category, engagement insights, up to 15 photos per listing, 4 posts a month and 3 active offers.
• Premium, $9.99/month: up to 10 listings, the Verified badge (after a document check), homepage and top-of-category placement, a custom banner or video, full analytics, up to 30 photos per listing, and unlimited posts and offers.

Prices are shown in your local currency where available, and the price you see is the price you pay. Payments are processed securely by Stripe. You can cancel subscriptions at any time from your dashboard, and your listings stay live until the end of the period you've paid for. If our team doesn't approve your listing, you get a full refund automatically. Need more than 10 listings? Email [email protected] about a custom plan.

Full details are on our pricing page.

What happens to existing listings

If you had an account on the old Search IT, it has moved across. Sign in with your usual email and password. The first time, we'll send you a code to confirm your email.

Listings from the old site have moved across as free Legacy listings and are still live. Legacy listings show your basic details and can still receive reviews. They don't include booking, messages, offers, posts, insights or the Verified badge, and they appear below listings on a paid plan.

To unlock the new features and appear higher in search, choose any package. If your business was listed on the old site by someone else, tap Claim this business on the listing to take control of it. Claiming requires any package, starting at $0.99, and if we can't confirm your claim, we refund you in full.

We've also tidied up: test pages, duplicates and empty placeholder content have been removed or merged, so customers see accurate information.

Launch offer (LAUNCH50)

To celebrate the new Search IT, use code LAUNCH50 at checkout for 50% off your first month of Advanced or Premium. The offer is available for a limited time after launch.

Here's how to get started:

1. Create a free account, or sign in if you already have one.
2. Add your business, or find your existing listing and tap Claim this business.
3. Choose Advanced or Premium and enter LAUNCH50 at checkout.
4. Our team reviews your listing, usually within 1–2 hours.

Thank you to every business and customer who used Search IT while we built this. We'd love to hear what you think. Email [email protected] or message us on WhatsApp at +44 7988 748570.