Are you considering starting a local directory website like Yelp with articles, reviews and other features? If so, you could be on the track; Yelp gets bad publicity from business owners who find their advertising more like extortion. Consumers also don't trust Yelp reviews all the time so they may prefer a local site devoted to just their community.
A person creating a local directory could create more useful articles than the general ones found on nationwide directories. Landscape articles could talk about the specific types of grass, trees and flowers found in the community and articles about restaurants could mention local favorite dishes. If you can create enough interesting articles to have your directory show up near the top of the SERPs, you can then charge for paid listings or banner ads.
WordPress has a number of themes where you can easily create full featured directories with monetization options. These can save you a great deal of money as opposed to having a developer create one for you. If you have a large Spanish or ethnic minority population in your community, look for a theme or plug-in with translation options.
The most important thing is a directory needs is to be user friendly. Otherwise, no one has any reason to use it. Study Yelp and other directories to see how user-friendly they are and where they need improvement. Check local directories in your community. If there are already several local directories with useful information, reconsider your plan. A small to medium size community does not need multiple directories. If your community is already saturated with directories, considering neighboring communities.
Competing with nationwide directories, such as Yelp, is challenging, but it can be done. Don't expect overnight results; promote your site to get traffic. Use social media, local newspaper ads and your local chamber of commerce to drum up interest. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/ealyqw/howdifficultwoulditbetooutrankyelpif_i/.