How To Set Up A Local Business Listing And Why You Should {Local SEO}

Any time a consumer conducts a “ businesses near me ” type search like the example above, they get to see local businesses with proper citations and reviews. If you scroll down Google results, you will start to see other business directories and social media sites in the results. Sites like SPN . That shows you the importance of local citations and reviews on sites like this one, Google, or Bing .

Along with Google, business review sites like Yelp , Tripadvisor , and SPN are essential for organic search due to their citations and domain authority . Yea, our domain authority is also getting up there.

This has to do with our online reviews as well as all the content we have been sharing. Your reviews, online photos and videos paint a picture for consumers to make buying decisions with. Ask your customers and colleagues to leave you testimonials or business reviews anywhere you can. When you trying to build a business, use every tool that you can to help your cause. Use listing sites like SPN and the others on this list to build your web, so you can catch as many opportunities as possible. 

How to set up local business listings

When you decide to add your listing to a listing website or business directory like Google or SPN, you’ll need to share your business information. The more information you share the better your results will be. Ask people to leave some reviews. Share some pictures and videos on your listing. Use as much space as possible to give people a reason to choose doing business with you.

You want to be consistent when sharing information online. Use sites like Moz to manage as many business listings as possible. We use them to monitor a lot our listings and online footprint. It is so much easier to automate as much as possible and Moz provides a great service at an affordable rate. We are not their affiliate, so this is just an SEO tip. 

You can also use Moz Pro to do keyword research to further build your web and drive more traffic. Take advantage of their 7 day free trial. 

What information to put in your local business listing

If you want to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) results, you need to first adjust your SEO strategy to fall in line with the best practices according to Google. They are the world’s biggest search engine and source of traffic for most websites so they make the rules.

If you want to dominate the local search market for your business, you have to ensure that all your local citations are consistent with your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business or GMB).

Here are details you should make sure are on your business listings:

• Business Name – Make sure it matches the sign outside your business.
• Business Address – Do not use a PO box or other location.
• Phone Number
• Website URL

Additional information you should include in your local listings include:

• Description
• Tagline/Motto
• Social media profiles
• Media – drop plenty of photos and videos in your listing.
• Reviews – customer reviews and professional testimonials drive buying decisions.

Your number one objective after listing your business anywhere should be getting a couple real reviews from real customers. The business reviews are what drive the most traffic and customers to your business.

All the real beneficial local business directories come with a customer review section. That means you do open your business up to receiving negative or defamatory reviews, so it’s essential to monitor reviews and come prepared with a response strategy. It’s part of the way the business world works now.

A negative review with a great response from the business owner can also produce positive results. Therefore, you shouldn’t worry about negative reviews as much as you might think. 

The Top Local Listing Websites

There are tons of platforms that service as a business directory, so you can get your links out in a lot of places around the web with a little effort. However, there are also a lot of reasons to focus on the top local listing websites.

Google

Google is still the world’s top search engine, so it is the obvious place to start. 90% of the world searches on Google. Most of the people that are searching Google find their answers on the top of page of Google, so it is important for any business to be there.

Bing

Make up about 6% of the remaining global search market, so you want to make sure your Bing listing is on point too. 6% of billions of daily searches is a lot of people. Bing is also the default search engine for Edge browsers (Internet Explorer). IE is a Microsoft product so they dominate the desktop search results.

Yelp

Yelp is a giant in the local listing and citations market due to their traffic and domain authority. Their local citations help a business even if that business doesn’t have any reviews. If a consumer finds your business on Yelp, they are more likely to become a customer.

Yelp offers free local business listings like SPN, but you can also upgrade to their paid features. This will help you get more customers from Yelp at a cost, but it also helps with your local search engine results to some degree.

Nextdoor

Nextdoor is also a business directory slash social networking site like SPN. They have over 260k local communities worldwide. Nextdoor also has sections for customer reviews.

Where to find the best local SEO companies

If anyone asks me where to find the best local SEO companies near them, I’d tell them to click this SEO Companies Near Me link of course. However, on a serious note, I would also tell them to do their research before spending any money.

Part of the reason why I originally made this site had to being taken advantage of an SEO company myself. In fact, I’ve been taken advantage by many different types of SEO, web development, and digital marketing companies over the years, which is also why I tell people to do their research.

You should check around multiple places to find all the information you can on any digital marketing company before you start investing your marketing money with them. Checking out their own domain authority and website traffic also will tell you a lot about their business. Don’t trust an SEO company that has a weak domain authority or lack of real traffic.

Wrapping it up

Get a few free consultations and have an idea what to expect before you commit to any digital marketing service. Check reviews and don’t be afraid to ask for hard data and Domain Authority (DA) scores or traffic reports.

I hope this information helps you understand why and how you should go about getting your business out there online a little better.