When Google first started adding local listings to its regular display of search results, the bugs were numerous and the listings were few. Now, Google’s system for delivering the most applicable location based search results is better than ever. Unsurprisingly, local search on Google has become the most common way for people to find nearby businesses and services. When was the last time you actually used the physical Yellow Pages? My personal guess would probably be around 2006.
But even though it’s already been this way for years, I often find myself searching for local businesses only to find their local listings to be confusing and inadequate. Here are the top three reasons to get a handle on your local listings:
Boost your SEO
While it might be tough to get on the front page of search results when someone searches only for your industry, getting on the front page in cases when someone adds a city name into the search bar can be surprisingly attainable. Adding your address to the Google Places directory is the first step in optimizing for local search, and it’s totally free. Next, adding a business profile with your address to as many directories as possible boosts your SEO by creating links back to your website. This increase in “back-links” increases your site’s search authority and can bump you up to a higher position in search rankings.
Market Your Business Competitively
If you haven’t strategically optimized your listings, it’s likely that you currently have a smattering of different profiles on sites like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, all with slightly different information. Maybe you’ve even changed phone numbers, URL’s, or official business titles in between creating these various profiles. Streamlining them to contain the same information across platforms not only helps in returning organized search results, but it also helps you to portray a professional, corporate personality for your business that potential clients can perceive and trust.
Acquire Clients
In sum, the goal of any kind of listing is to acquire more business. Potential clients search locally, and when you show up in local search, you’re automatically in the running for obtaining their business. As new directory services are constantly being added to the web, there are literally hundreds of directories that can help you optimize your local listings and show up closer to the top of Google’s results.
So, isn’t it time you updated your local search listings? At Brady Mills, we have recently created a new service package to help you optimize your listings. Get in touch to learn more.
Like us on Facebook to download a useful infographic on “Understanding Consumers’ Local Search Behavior” below!
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