85% of Local Businesses are Doing This Wrong

3 Important (but easy!) Steps for Making the Most of Local Listings

 

When it comes to spreading the word about your local business, you'll take all the help you can get.  And that includes the local listings that offer up your name, address, phone number, and other details usually at no cost to you. 

So if local listings are out there helping you reach potential customers, what's not to love about them?  Well unfortunately those local listings can be filled with inaccuracies. 

In fact, a recent survey by Brightlocal revealed that 85% of consumers have found incorrect or incomplete information about a business on a local listing site within the last 12 months. 

What's worse?  63% of those local consumers say that finding incorrect information on a business listing would stop them from using that business.

HOW TO MANAGE LOCAL LISTINGS

Given the high stakes associated with local listings, what should a business do? 

1. Identify
The first step is to identify all the places online where your business is listed.  You can start with a simple Google search to find all the directories your business appears.

2. Update
Next, you'll check the listings and make sure the information is accurate. If it's not, update it but be sure to keep everything consistent between listings - don't abbreviate part of your name on one listing and not on the other.  Consistency matters!

3. Plan
Finally, set up a plan to check in on your listings regularly and keep them updated.  Taking a few minutes on a regular basis will save lots of headaches down the road.

FREE TOOLS TO HELP MANAGE LOCAL LISTINGS

There are a number of free tools available to help businesses identify their local listings and check their accuracy including:

➡️ Moz Local Listing Score

➡️ Brightlocal Local Listings Health Scanner

➡️ SEMRush Listing Management

Find the one that works best for you and put it to work in your business finding local listings and keeping them updated.

Local listings can be a valuable tool in your online marketing arsenal.  Make sure they're working for you not against you. 

Accurate information on local listings can help bring more potential customers to your door and give you a leg up on the competition so start managing yours today.