Local Business Listings: Why They Matter & How to Get Them Right
If you’re a business that serves a local area, then you’ve probably heard of local business listings. These are very important pieces of information for your customers and your business! People rely on their smartphones to find the information they need on any subject, including products and services they’re looking for locally. Therefore, your business listings are crucial! So, let’s break down local business listings and how to make the most of them.
Examples of Local Business Listings
You may have seen the acronym “NAP” when discussing business listings. That stands for name, address, phone number, which are the foundations of an excellent local business listing. In this day and age, however, it goes deeper. Here are the most critical pieces of information to include in your local business listings.
- Business Name: Obviously, the most important listing is your business name. This is critical for search engines to connect searchers with your business!
- Hours of Operation: People search for hours of operation more than anything else with local businesses. Be specific and clear with your hours of operation, especially if they differ day to day.
- Address: For a local business, address is everything so the customer can find you.
- Website: If someone found your business listing on a search engine or local directory, including your website boosts your credibility with the customer and search engines.
- Phone Number: Last but not least, always include a phone number because potential customers who call you are more likely to purchase.
So, where can potential customers find your local business listings? You can find business listings on search engines, business directories, online maps, and social media sites. Make sure you include all of these pieces of information at a minimum when adding your listings and including more details is even better!
Why Local Business Listings Matter
When people search or seek out your business listings, they are very serious about contacting or visiting your store to make a purchase. This also provides value to customers because the information is readily available to them. In addition, if the potential customer performs a local search on Google, it can display your business listings even if they aren’t specifically looking for your business. For example, searching for “lawn care company near me” could generate business listings for local lawn care companies. So if you’re a local lawn care company, this is a great opportunity for your own business listing to show up. This is just one example of the many opportunities your local business listings can make a difference across various platforms.
On the flip side, if your local business listings are incomplete or worse, inaccurate, then that could turn off the potential customer. A potential customer may lose trust in a business if their phone number is invalid or their address is old. So, let’s avoid that with some practical tips below on maximizing your local business listings.
How to Maximize Your Local Business Listings
Correct & Consistent
Remember these two C’s with local business listings, correct and consistent. Business listings only work if your listings are correct and consistent across all platforms. When all directories, search engines, maps, and social media websites have the same information, it builds trust with the searcher and may boost your credibility with search engines.
One vital thing to double-check is your business address. Many search engines rely on USPS data to verify business addresses, so make sure your address is correct with the USPS in case any search engines or directories override your input with the official one on file.
Mobile Friendly
Everyone is searching from a phone or tablet these days, so make sure your website and business listings are friendly for computers and mobile devices. Features like “Google My Business” make business listings very user-friendly on all devices. If potential customers can easily navigate from the phone number to hours of operation to address, they are more likely to visit you!
Add to Various Places
Google and search engines are important but don’t forget about online maps, business directories like Yelp, and social media sites. The more places your listings are (but remember to keep them correct and consistent), the higher chance for improved Google ranking. Plus, people aren’t just using Google anymore to find local businesses. Yelp and other directories are increasingly popular because people can see reviews in the same place. Also, if someone stumbles upon your Facebook page, having your business listings on your page makes it easier for everyone.
Prioritize Website SEO
If you want your local business listings to get more views, prioritize your website’s overall SEO. These will help each other. Accurate business listings will help SEO, and an optimized website will help your business listings. SEO is definitely multi-layered, with technical SEO and more content-based SEO, but just start somewhere, like with the most recent SEO changes.
SEO & Digital Marketing Expert Help
Getting your local business listings consistent and correct is just one piece of an overall digital marketing strategy. If you’re unsure where your listings stand or need help with the bigger picture, the marketing experts at Suite Edge can guide you. We specialize in ecommerce websites, digital marketing, content marketing, SEO, and more. Our goal and passion are to make your business WIN! Contact us today to see how we can help.
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