We’ve all heard the term local listing, but do you know what it means? Or how it is affecting your business? Local listings play a big part in a business's online presence. It is meant to make your business listing more accurate and searchable online. So, what does a local listing consist of.
What Is In a Local Listing?
A local listing is an online entry that makes information regarding your business easily accessible. Most local listing services are free to use, but users must enter all business information manually to claim the business. Each listing contains different data including the business name, address, phone number, any line extensions, photos of the business, and any ratings or reviews. Some examples of local listings include Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook, Trip Advisor, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
How Does it Affect Your Online Presence?
Your business listings affect your business because they give you an online presence to begin with. It allows those looking to find your business, its location or any other information about it easily. The good thing about these listings is that they help you earn trust from customers. By providing online reviews and photos of your business, customers begin to build a bond with your business before they even walk in the door. They also help you get discovered by potential customers using search engines. A local listing will impact your ranking in local search results based on reviews, social media activity, links, user actions and more. The more places you are listed online, with correct and consistent information, the more discoverable you are to potential new customers.
The downside to this is that should these listings be done incorrectly, they can make your business difficult to find and will negatively impact the business’ SEPR- Search Engine Page Ranking. For example, if a business moves, and does not update the address on a local listing, a customer could potentially have a difficult time finding it and opt for a closer find. Additionally, if the information is incorrect or inconsistent, it will make it harder for a customer to be able to get into contact with your business.
The other potentially harmful side to local listings comes from the ratings. You cannot control reviews posted, and bad reviews will lower your ranking. Bad reviews, reputations, and rankings will not only lower the listing within a search engine but will also be visible to the public, therefore making it less likely for a customer to visit if the business has a lower score.
How Can I Use Local Listings Correctly?
Our first suggestion for using local listings correctly is to set them up correctly. Make sure to include as much information about your business as possible under its entry. Not only the name and address but also a link to your website with any menus or other essential information. The more information a client can find about you online the better. Often people do not want to pick up the phone to figure out if you offer something specific they are looking for. Our next suggestion would be to encourage satisfied customers to leave a review and any photos from their experience for potential new customers to view and explore. Through using organic and positive reactions, you are more likely to tap into the trust of those searching for your business. If a business has no reviews and only photos that they have posted, it makes a customer wonder why there is nothing from actual visitors to this business.
A Final Word on Local Listings
Our last suggestion is to let Skigital handle all your SEO marketing needs. Any business with a low online review score, an unfair bad review, or an ongoing desire to showcase 5-star reviews will benefit from our reputation management. Reviews validate your services, and multiple reviews increase your google search ranking (SEO). Accurate business information, through power listings, is also a big driver for SEO. We’ll ensure that your business can be found everywhere through our SEO power pack. For more information about our power pack, click here or contact us today at 484-259-7772.