Local listings are the modern day equivalent of the yellow pages. Now, instead of flipping through the hefty doorstop of a book for a company, consumers visit online sites such as Google and Yelp for an instant list of local options. These local listings, or online profiles, can provide important information about a business, such as their address, phone number, business hours and website address. Making your presence known online through local listings is a vital part of building a thriving business.
Here are four ways that managing your local listings can help improve your business’s web presence.
1. It Helps Drive Visits & Contacts
The presence of your business on a local listing site is significant, but it is even more important that your business information listed online is accurate and up to date. Nothing is more frustrating for a consumer than an incorrect phone number or location for a business. Sites like Google and Yelp may have information about your business already online, so frequently double check that the information is accurate so you can guarantee potential customers are able to contact your business easily.
2. It Helps Get You in Front of Social Media Users
Local listings are a great way to steer potential customers to your social media accounts. Including your Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram profiles on a local listing will invite customers to connect with your company more often and on a more personal level. Through these sites, customers can learn more about the heart and mission of your business.
Social media is also an effective way to stay connected with customers, old and new, through seasonal content, company updates and office events. Be sure to post often and stay on top follower engagement so your business will stay on the minds of your customers.
3. It Helps Your Online Reputation
In an online world full of review sites and social media platforms, your business might be on the tips of many people’s fingertips at any time. While being a part of many different local listings is important, it is just as important to maintain and manage those listings to build a positive online reputation. Customers put a lot of stock in customer reviews and how a business responds to both positive and negative comments.
A healthy supply of positive reviews helps convince customers to give you a try. And seeing a positive reply directly from the business helps validate a review. But even negative reviews can have an upside. Consistently responding to online complaints in a timely, professional manner allows consumers to see you take customer satisfaction seriously, which may lead to them giving you a chance. Seeing how you respond to feedback about changes and improvements will also help boost your online reputation.
One way to check on your online reputation is to Google your business name, your business name plus reviews, and your business name plus complaints. You will see what your customers are saying about you online and can keep tabs on your web presence.
4. It Improves SEO
It is important to make sure your business is present as much as possible online. By making sure you are a part of as many business listings as you can, the more opportunities you will have to appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Local listings are also a key way to improve your business’s SEO or search engine optimization. Keeping your business listings up to date including consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) will allow your listings to be looked on more favorably by search engines.
We Can Help You Build Your Online Presence
Running a business while keeping up with your online listings can be overwhelming and confusing. At DZ & Associates we will help you build your online presence and create a solid SEO strategy for your business. Learn more at our website.
Source: https://blog.reachlocal.com/how-local-listings-can-improve-your-web-presence-4-benefits
