You’ve likely heard of the big hitters in online directories such as Yelp, Google, and Bing. But what exactly are these platforms, and how do they impact your marketing?
What are Local Business Listings?
Local business listings are online portfolios that contain information about your business, such as your name, address, phone number, hours, and other data. Most platforms that provide this information are free to use, but users must manually add their information or claim their business.
The goal of local business listings is to make your business more accurate and searchable online. Businesses who have information and photos listed often have better search engine optimization and are seen as credible and authoritative on the Internet. In addition, many local business indexes share information with others, so if your information is incorrect it may translate onto other sites. This is one reason why it is important to update your business listings regularly.
How do Local Business Listings Impact my Marketing?
Local business listings are another way to increase your reach online and make it easier for clients and prospects to find you. By having the correct information across the many platforms and sites, you can increase your SEO, add to your authority, and show credibility in your business.
Each local business listing has different categories, but some data you want to make sure you include are:
- Business name
- Address
- Phone number, including toll free numbers, extensions, and fax numbers
- Photos
- Reviews and ratings
- Categories
In addition, you should make sure there are no duplicates of your business or information online. Often times, a business owner or assistant will create a profile, forget to finish it, and leave the information out in cyberspace. When trying to clean up these listings, make sure these incomplete profiles are either completed or deleted.
Because we have seen advisors struggle to update this information, we launched our newest product, FMG Local Listings. With FMG Local Listings, subscribers will have access to data on more than sixty location services sites and can easily update their correct information across all of them. Customers will be able to:
- Update clients rapidly about timely changes, such as hours or unforeseen closings
- Control the data Google receives about their locations and ensure that it is always consistent
- Save time and streamline data management processes with a single click and accessible dashboard
