As a small business owner, one of the many nightmares you can face during any given work week is when you have an interested individual who contacts you with the wrong information about your business. In this blog, we go over how accurate business listings can prevent these situations from happening while also boosting your presence online!
What are Business Listings?
Business listings are the collection of your business’s information like name, address, phone number, and hours of operation that appear on directories and search engines. Your business listings play a vital role in your local SEO strategy because they provide searchers with the information they need to find your business offline and online.
If any of your business listing information is incorrect, it can lead to lost customers and leads. That’s why it’s important to regularly check and update your listings. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
1. Check Your Listings for Accuracy
The first step is to simply go through all of your listings and make sure that everything is accurate. This includes your NAP (name, address, and phone number) as well as your business hours, website URL, and any other relevant information. If you find any inaccurate information, you’ll need to update it.
2. Monitor Your Listings for Changes
It’s not enough to simply check your listings for accuracy once; you also need to monitor them on an ongoing basis to ensure that no changes have been made without your knowledge. This is especially important if you have multiple locations or if you move offices.
3. Update Your Listings Regularly
Even if everything in your listings is accurate, it’s still a good idea to update them on a regular basis. This helps to keep your information fresh and up-to-date, which can improve your ranking in search results. Some things you can do to update your listings include:
– Adding new photos
– Updating your business hours
– Adding new products or services
– Writing new descriptions
4. Claim and Optimize Your Local Listings
One of the best ways to improve your local SEO is by claiming and optimizing your local listings. This means creating listings on popular directories and search engines like Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places for Business. When you create a listing, be sure to include as much information as possible about your business, including your NAP, hours of operation, website URL, and photos. You should also take the time to write a compelling description that will help you stand out from your competitors.
5. Get Reviews
Another great way to improve your local SEO is by getting reviews from customers. These days, potential customers are more likely to trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. In fact, 72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more.
To encourage customers to leave reviews, you can send follow-up emails after they make a purchase or visit your business. You can also include links to your review sites on your website and social media profiles.
Keeping your business listings up-to-date is an important part of any local SEO strategy. By following the tips above, you can help ensure that your listings are accurate and up-to-date, which will help you attract more customers and grow your business.
Finding Company Success Through Updated Business Listings
For many small business owners, one of the most valuable aspects of your business is company time. Keeping your business listings updated all the time can save you hundreds of hours of confusion and frustration. One of the leading ways to stay on top of your business listings is to have a digital marketing team on top of it for you! Here at Localmize, we can provide you with the piece of mind you need so that you can worry about the more important aspects of your business, while your business listings stay accurate and fresh. Contact us today to learn more!
