As most of us know, local listings are making a huge impact on what users see first, who clicks what, conversion rates, and local business connectivity. If you aren’t listing your business on places like Google Places, Bing for Business, Yahoo Local, Yelp, Foursquare, and more – you are behind.
What are the most important parts of local listings? How should you go about introducing your business to your local online community? This article is going to assist you in accomplishing this goal and dive right into local marketing. Of course, these are the basics of what your listings should include – look out for a post in the near future about more advanced steps that you can take!
Let’s take a look at the most important information that you need to have on your local listings.
- ADDRESS
This is perhaps the single most important piece of information that you need to have on your local listings account. Make sure to use the correct address (you would be surprised how many people don’t). When search engines see your address across a plethora of local networks it is only a matter of time before you start ranking in the local carousal.
- PHONE NUMBER
Make sure to add all of the phone numbers that you can. For example, if you have a toll free phone number that people can reach you on, make sure that you add it in your listings! If you have a mobile phone that people can reach you at, you definitely want to add that. Obviously, make sure to add your main phone number as well.
- WEBSITE
Your website URL is extremely vital in local listings because it not only gives your website more authority, but it also let’s search engines know that your website is associated with your business name, phone number, and more. Utilizing local seo strategies will be crucial for 2015 marketing success.
- REVIEWS
Don’t underestimate how much difference a single review can make. Maybe offer your customers or clients a special discount if they give your business a review on places like Google+ and Yelp. The more natural reviews, the better! This shows search engines that your business is active and that people are enjoying the services that you provide.
- SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure that all of your accounts are linked together. You want to let people know that you are active online (of course it helps if you actually are). So, add your Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Google+ links in your local listings when you can!
BONUS
EVERYTHING SHOULD MATCH
It is extremely important that everything you enter in your listings match. You don’t want to have a variation of your address on Google Places, and your actual address on Bing for Business. Take the time to double check every single listing and clean them up if need be.
VERIFICATIONS
You need to verify your accounts. Whether it’s by postcard, email, or phone – get this done. This will allow your business to rank even higher on a local level.
MAKE SURE THE SAME INFORMATION IS ON YOUR WEBSITE
Don’t forgot to add your address, phone number, social media information, and anything else that’s listed on your local accounts. Remember – make sure that all of the information matches!
