As a small business owner, you want to build a reputation as a dependable, consistent and accurate company. The same should be true of your local listings (ie. online business profiles). Local business listings are any online mention of your business such as local listings, review sites (ie. Yelp) and your listing on Google.
Google factors in various criteria when deciding what sites to show in its search results. One such criteria is whether a company has consistent and accurate local listings. Google looks for businesses that clearly show a consistent presence across the web in order to present searchers with the highest quality search results. They look for consistency and accuracy in such places as a business’s local listings and review sites.
Utilizing Google My Business
A majority of consumers turn to Google to search for the right company to meet their current needs. A Google listing allows the consumer to locate business options quickly. One of the most valuable listings for your online presence, Google My Business is an online tool that helps a business create a free profile of their company in order to show business products, services and details (ie. company name, address, operating hours and website). With Google My Business your profile allows customers to do business with you easily and directly. You can share photos and logos of your business and even add business attributes such as black-owned or veteran-owned.
Below are some ways you can use your Google My Business listing to positively effect your SEO (search engine optimization) and present clear and accurate information about your business to local searchers.
Why Are Listings Important to Local SEO?
As you create business listings for your company, it’s crucial that your business information is consistent with each listing across the web. Double check that your business information, such as name, address, phone number, hours of operation and website are accurate.
When you create consistent listings, it shows Google that the information on each site is trustworthy and creates a more user-friendly experience. If information is inconsistent, Google may not display your business listings in their search results. This could cause you to miss out on many potential customers and revenue.
Having consistent listings will prevent a potential customer from receiving conflicting information about your company from different sites. For instance, the frustration of finding a different phone number listed for your business on Google, Yelp and CitySearch may lead to a person choosing a different company over yours.
How Can Google My Business Help Your Local SEO?
Just creating business listings is not enough. You also need to make sure you verify your business through Google My Business in order to tell Google your business information is correct on both Google Maps and Google search results. Doing so will expose your company to all of the consumers actively searching for businesses online and is a good start to maintaining consistent listings across all your local listings.
What Does It Mean to Have Consistent Listings?
Consistency for search engines means more than just listing your business’s correct phone number and business hours. Punctuation and descriptors play an important role as well. Ensure that everything is listed the same way on your Google My Business dashboard and other local listings. For example, verify that your business name perfectly matches what is on your website, including descriptors like “Inc.” or “Co.” and if the address on your website has “Ave.” instead of “Avenue”, make sure it’s written the same across listings.
Get Help with Google My Business
At DZ & Associates, we are here to help you grow your business and navigate your way through Google My Business and local listings. Contact us today to learn more.
Source: https://blog.reachlocal.com/seo-local-listings-how-google-my-business-helps-you-get-found
