GoSite offers a search engine listing manager that helps businesses get discovered across all the major local SEO directories. With this nifty tool, you can optimize your listings and easily set up and manage your information in one central dashboard.
Claiming your listings is the only way you can get full control over managing your business information. The reality is that many people add business locations to help others find businesses they might be looking for. If you’ve not searched for your business on the leading directories, you might find that you already have a listing that you need to claim, verify, or both.
Choosing the wrong categories can make it difficult for customers to find your business online. When choosing categories, you’ll want to be as relevant and specific as possible.
Google Business is arguably the best platform for local businesses to connect with potential customers. If you’re strapped on both cash and time, then invest it into making your Google Business profile airtight.
Verifying your Google My Business listing is essential to show that you’re a legitimate business. Doing it by postcard is the most secure and accurate way, as it serves as a physical copy of your verification, helps prevent fraud, and ensures Google has the right business address on file.
Relevant industry and geo-specific keywords drive more targeted traffic to your website and increase your chances of converting those visitors into customers.
Not tracking how a listing is doing prevents businesses from understanding how they’re performing in terms of visibility, engagement, and conversions. They may miss out on valuable insights that can help them improve their local SEO and increase sales.
Ignoring customer inquiries can have a negative impact on your reputation and success. With customers expecting quick responses when they reach out to businesses online, it can frustrate potential leads and possibly mean missing out on potential revenue.
Reviews can build credibility for a business. If a business has few or no reviews, customers may be less likely to trust the business. You also want to avoid imbalanced feedback, where only negative feedback is displayed online. Encourage happy customers to share their experiences online to help improve your presence.
Responding to both positive and negative reviews shows that you value your customers' feedback and are committed to providing excellent customer service.
Throughout this guide, we’ve covered a range of best practices and common mistakes to avoid in local listing management. From maintaining accurate business information to prioritizing your Google My Business profile and responding to customer reviews, there are many factors that can impact your success in local search. By following these tips and strategies, you can stay ahead of the competition and ensure that your business is well-represented online.
All you have to do is list your business in online local directories such as Yellow Pages, Manta, and more. This is called building citations, and it’s a critical piece of a local marketing strategy.
By building citations, you can make sure that you appear in local packs when people look for businesses like yours in their area. Business directories may seem like a thing of the past, but they’re a great way to grow your presence online.
In this post, we go over everything you need to know about creating business listings and why they’re so valuable, even in the age of social media and other marketing tactics.
A business directory is an online list of businesses within a particular niche, location, or category. One way local businesses can get found by online searchers is through inclusion in business directories.
Promoting a local business isn’t easy these days. Whether it’s because of oversaturation or complicated search engine algorithms, it’s all too easy to feel like no one will find your business in the local search results.
Today, Google is inserting itself between consumer and local business websites much more often. For proof, you need to look no further than Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), featured snippets, and most importantly, local packs.
You can improve visibility in local packs by listing your local business' NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) on directories, online business listing sites, and citation sites. Aside from improving your local SEO, these can also improve your rankings on search engines because the listings usually link back to your site.
A business listing is your company’s profile page in an online directory site, which typically includes your business name, address, and phone number (NAP). Some business directories allow you to include a link back to your website, an image of your logo, and even a list of your services.
Yellow Pages Phone Number KarachiWhen I was a local SEO specialist at my previous company, I spent much of my time finding new business listing opportunities to build citations and generate backlinks for our local websites. This allowed us to rank not only in the local packs, but in the main SERPs, too.
I have a few tips to help you out. Make sure your company listing has the following information once you add it to a directory:
Consistent NAP. If you add or update your business on multiple business listing sites, make sure you're providing the same company information across each directory.
A link to your website. Backlinks — also known as inbound links — are crucial to your company website's Domain Rating. Consider adding a tracking link at the end of this URL as well, so you can see how much traffic your website specifically gets from the business directories that are linking to it.
Multimedia. Give company searchers a visual taste of your business with a picture or video of your office, your employees, or your daily business operations.
There are plenty of location-specific and industry-specific business listing sites where you can submit your data. To start promoting your local business, however, you should start with the big sites and slowly work your way toward the more niche directories.
I used to build citations for my former company, and I can tell you with full confidence that there are many, many business directories out there — and not all of them are good.
I used to build citations for my former company, and I can tell you with full confidence that there are many, many business directories out there — and not all of them are good.
Domain rating is a score that’s given to websites to reflect how well they rank on Google based on their backlink profile. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 100. Domain rating is similar, but not the same as, domain authority.
The minimum required domain rating for the directories on this list was 50. I gathered the data from Ahrefs, but you can also double-check using your preferred SEO tool.
I compiled this list for use by any business. Regardless of your industry or target market, you can submit your business to the directories below. To make it onto this list, the directory had to be categorized as General.
I’ve included traffic numbers for your reference, but in reality, they’re not that important. Local citations help you build consistent references to your NAP information online. Whether or not an organic website visitor sees that information isn’t too important.
The below business listing sites made it onto the list because they’re free and also offer an easy process for claiming or creating your profile.
Some online business directories require phone verification or extra steps, but the below options are relatively simple to sign up on. These ten business listings are a great place to start before signing up on more industry-specific listing sites.
Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) directly lists you on Google’s local pack and search results. A Google Business Profile includes your NAP, business hours, services, customer reviews, photos, and much more.
Superpages is a general online directory site for a wide variety of local business categories. A Superpages listing includes your NAP, business hours, and website.
Better Business Bureau is an online directory site for a wide variety of local business categories. A Better Business Bureau listing includes your NAP, company history, company email, and website. You may also apply for optional accreditation.