Every City and Town is a Trade Area
Every city and town is a trade area in Canada. That is still the case. We temporarily experimented with Provincial Trade areas, but we reverted to city and town trade areas because consumers want to shop with and hire businesses in their local town or city. In addition, contractors must meet licensing requirements for their area and must know the appropriate building codes and other requirements.
The Professional Plan, in addition to 3 provincial trade areas and the Provincial Feature Listings area, also has an additional 20 City Trade Areas. A business must use its provincial trade areas with at least 1 in its province. The other two can be used in their province or any other trade area in Canada. This is ideal for businesses that sell products or services to other areas of Canada. It is not for contractors. Contractors must service provincial trade areas in their own province. For example, a business from Saskatchewan may be seen first in a trade area in Toronto.
The Advanced Plan has 1 provincial trade area and up to 10 City Trade Areas.
The Standard Plan has 1 provincial trade area and up to 5 City Trade Areas.
Provincial Trade Areas Across Canada
We have added Provincial Trade Areas called Featured Listings that will allow extra visibility for Professional Listings. All Professional Plan listings will automatically have this built in.
All listings have access to one Provincial Trade Area. The Professional Plan has access to three Provincial Trade Areas and is marked as a Featured Listing in the database.
Every Listing Plan Benefits
The move from City Trade Areas to Provincial Trade Areas benefits every listing plan offered by Safe and Trusted Canada.
Whether your business chooses a Basic, Plus, Standard, Advanced, or Professional Plan, every Provincial Trade Area now provides significantly greater visibility than a traditional City Trade Area because each Provincial Trade Area encompasses a much larger geographic region.
The Professional Plan continues to provide the greatest flexibility by including up to three Provincial Trade Areas. However, the advantages of Provincial Trade Areas extend beyond the Professional Plan—every listing plan benefits from the increased reach and visibility this new model provides.
The number of trade areas included with your plan may not have changed, but the reach and visibility of each Provincial Trade Area has increased dramatically.
Why We Made the Change
Our objective was simple: to create a better experience for both businesses and consumers.
Businesses receive broader visibility without needing to purchase numerous City Trade Areas. At the same time, consumers continue to search by city or town and enjoy more complete search results with fewer empty categories.
Provincial Trade Areas are among the most significant improvements to the Safe and Trusted Canada platform. They simplify how businesses reach new customers, increase the value of every listing plan, and create a stronger, more complete directory for consumers throughout Canada.
