The Ultimate Guide to Business Listings
What are Local Business ListingS?
Local business listings, also known as local citations, are online profiles that provide essential details about your business, including your name, address, phone number (NAP), website, and hours of operation. These listings appear on directory sites, social media platforms, blogs, and mobile apps, making them a key part of your online presence.
Having consistent and accurate listings across multiple platforms helps potential customers find you more easily, whether they are searching on Google, browsing social media, or using a maps app. It also signals to search engines that your business is legitimate and trustworthy, which can improve your local rankings. Inaccurate or inconsistent listings, on the other hand, can create confusion and make it harder for customers to reach you.
Keeping track of multiple listings can be time-consuming, but that’s where Salem Surround comes in. We help businesses manage their local listings, ensuring that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and optimized for search engines. With our expertise, your business stays visible in local searches, attracts more customers, and builds trust with both search engines and your audience.
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4 Reasons why local business listings are important for growing your business
- Online visibility: Local business listings are essential for helping your business expand by increasing your web presence. In today's digital era, most consumers use the internet to look for local services and products. Having your company information posted in several web directories boosts your chances of getting discovered by potential consumers. The more places where your company is mentioned, the stronger your web visibility. This visibility steadily increases website traffic, phone inquiries, and foot traffic to your business, all of which are critical to success.
- Make your business easy to find by local seekers: Another reason local listings are important is that they make it simple for local customers to locate your business. Whether a consumer is looking for a local service, product, or restaurant, having your company appropriately listed allows you to appear in search results when they are ready to buy. When your contact information is easy to find and consistent across platforms, you are more likely to attract local clients who are actively looking for what you have to offer.
- Credibility and trustworthiness: Local business listings help to improve credibility and reliability. When potential clients find your company listed in many reliable directories, this develops trust. Consistent and accurate listings indicate to search engines and users that your business is reputable and professional. When clients discover you on trustworthy networks such as Google My Business or Yelp, it supports your company's dependability, making them more inclined to select your business instead of your competition.
- Growing your business: Finally, local business listings contribute to the general growth of your company. By boosting your exposure and reputation, you will automatically attract more consumers, resulting in more sales and greater brand awareness in your neighborhood. As more people learn about your company, you're likely to receive more favorable feedback, which may help you build your reputation and attract more clients in the future. In short, accurate and well-managed local listings are an affordable approach to promote consistent, long-term growth and revenue for your company.
So How do I Get Business Listings?
Getting your company listed on a variety of networks is simple, and most are free. Here's a brief rundown:
Google Business Profile: Go to Google Business Profile online and establish an account. Once you've entered your company information, you'll need to confirm your listing via mail, phone, or email. This is essential for showing up in local search results and on Google Maps.
Yelp: Go to Yelp for Business and claim your listing if it already exists, or create a new one. Fill out your information and wait for Yelp to validate your listing. Once authorized, you may begin responding to reviews and modifying your profile.
Bing: Similar to Google, go to Bing Places for Business, join up, and enter your business information. To go live, you'll also need to authenticate your listing via mail or phone.
Foursquare: Sign up for Foursquare for Business to claim or add your business. This platform is more specialized, but still useful for location-based searches.
Angi (previously Angie's List): If your business provides services such as home repair or professional services, create an Angi profile. There is a verification procedure here as well, but it's an excellent platform for service-oriented enterprises.
Manta: Manta is another business directory website. To get listed, simply go to Manta, sign up, and provide your company information.
Apple Maps/Apps: To have your business appear on Apple Maps, you'll need to use Apple Business Connect. Sign up, provide your information, and authenticate so that Apple users can quickly discover you.
These listings require some effort to set up, but the benefits of increased exposure and reaching more local consumers make the extra effort worthwhile.
What’s the right type of local business listing for me?
Local business listings are classified into three types: directories, platforms, and tools. Each performs a distinct function in directing customers to your business.
Directories are classic listing sites such as Yelp, Angi, and Manta. These are websites that showcase companies by category, allowing visitors to easily search for services or products in their region.
Platforms are larger, multi-functional systems such as Google, Bing, or Apple Maps that allow users to discover companies while also receiving directions, ratings, and contact information. These platforms are important because they interact with search engines and navigation tools, making it extremely simple for clients to locate you.
Tools are services that allow you to maintain and update your listings across several directories and platforms at once. Instead of navigating to each site manually, technologies like Yext or Moz Local allow you to maintain all of your business information keeping it consistent across the board with a few clicks. By combining all three categories, you can ensure that your company is visible, simple to discover, and trustworthy to potential clients.
7 Tips for Listing Your Business
Here are a few strategies for having your business listed online so it stands out and is easy for clients to find:
- Keep your business information up to date: It may seem simple, but keep your phone number, location, and business hours up to date. It's also a good idea to call a local number rather than a toll-free one. It improves your visibility in local searches while also making your business feel more personable.
- Use relevant keywords: While filling up your listings, add keywords that consumers may use while seeking for your services. Consider what your consumers would put in, and make sure those terms appear in your business description.
- Include photographs: People enjoy visuals, so include high-quality photos of your company, products, or services. This attracts more attention and provides potential clients an idea of what to expect.
- Include video: Photos are great but including a video or two is even better. Shoot a panorama video of your store or installation of a product or service. Encourage current customers to upload a testimonial video to boost your profile.
- Find local directories: There are other smaller, local directories that cater to your specific location or industry. Adding your business to these lists allows you to reach more local clients and improves your local Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Maintain local directories: Make sure you're taking full advantage of these resources. Fill out every detail, reply to reviews, and remain active. The more thorough and entertaining your profile, the higher your chances of getting discovered.
- Optimize your Google Business Profile: Make sure your Google Business Profile is replete with your information, keywords, photographs, and posts. Respond to feedback, keep your hours current, and publish changes or special deals on a frequent basis to keep things fresh and engaging.
Why Local Business Listings are important for seo
Local listings are important for SEO because they help drive high authority backlinks to your site and increase the visibility of your company in search engine results pages (SERP's).
- Boosts Local Search Rankings – Search engines use local listings to determine your relevance, helping you rank higher in local search results.
- Enhances Brand Consistency – Keeping your details uniform across multiple platforms reinforces your brand’s legitimacy.
- Drives More Website Traffic and Leads – The more places your business is listed, the more opportunities you have to attract potential customers.
Lost in the Listings? Let Salem Surround Put You on the Map!
Don't let outdated or inconsistent listings send your customers on a wild goose chase! With Salem Surround, we’ll keep your business information accurate, up-to-date, and easy to find across all major platforms. Let us handle the details so you can focus on what you do best, running your business!
