Local business listings
Gone are the days when people used to open the shop and wait for the customers to find them. All they had to do is spread the word through relatives or friends or distribute templates and let people find them. But now when people find local stores through the internet how can you refrain from joining local listings.
In this article, we have shared the benefits of local business listings and explained why it is important for your business. You are going to lose your customers to your competition by not getting on local business directories.
Before we begin with the advantages of joining local business directories, let’s talk about the importance of joining them and which are the best free and paid options available for you.
Importance of local business Listings
46% of Google searches have local intent. People look for services or shops or restaurants through mobile phones using keywords like “cafe near me”, “book store near me” and many more. By not optimizing your business for these keywords you lose many customers. It does not only help you in becoming visible but also adds to the reputation of your business.
People start considering your business credible if they find you on the internet with good reviews. Having good reviews on local business listings is important as negative ones can harm the reputation of your business.
By using catchy images and descriptions, you can attract local customers to your business. Often, small and medium businesses consider this strategy irrelevant but that’s the finest mistake they make in their marketing strategy building.
You can avoid this by getting yourself listed on local business directories. Getting listed on these directories is not enough. You have to optimize your business for the right keywords to get visible. The internet is flooded with local business directories but often people make accounts on Google MyBusiness.
In the next section, we have shared a list of local business listings that serve as an alternate to Google MyBusiness and are free.
Best Local Business Listing Directories
These are some of the best local business listing directories that are free. Small businesses looking for affordable options to promote their businesses. So, these are some of the best local business directories apart from Google.
- Yelp
- Moz
- Angie’s List
- Foursquare
- Superpages
- Yahoo Local!
- City-Data
- MapQuest
- Better Business Bureau
- Local Guides
- Bing
No! I didn’t type Facebook by mistake. You can list yourself on Facebook as well and become visible to your local customers.
So, let’s begin with the benefits of local business listings.
Advantages of local business listings
Add-on to your online presence
Local business listings are an important part of Local SEO. When you get yourself listed on online business directories, you get a fair opportunity to become visible when searches of local intent are made. And if your business is not listed with local business directories, Google wants to show you in the list of local searches.
It does not only help you increase traffic on your website but increases footfall on your store. People who are not aware of your existence come to know about you. As we already said, 46% of Google searches are made with local intent that means almost half. So, you cannot afford to avoid local business listings for the local growth of your business.
It benefits your search results as search engines do not have to collect information from multiple sources about your business. they can rely on the information provided by you on listing. This improves your ranking on SERP.
Improved Reputation of your business
Getting yourself listed on local business directories improves the reputation of your business. Nowadays people trust search engines more than their best friends. 64% of consumers rely on your business if they find you on search engines. They start digging to know about your products and services.
Make sure you collect good reviews for your business on search engines as new consumers consider reviews of old ones as a personal recommendation. It adds to the credibility of your business and you can increase online as well as offline sales.
A well-described presence on online directories imbibes trust in the minds of customers. They start considering your business as a valuable entity. Mention your name, address, services, images and other important details your customer should know.
Customer feedback Sharing
This is a great platform to get feedback from your customer and display the same to new ones. It was surveyed that people read reviews in a range of one and ten while 12% of consumers read more than 10 online reviews to make a purchase. On listing directories, you can mention reviews of your old customers and convince the new ones.
Make sure you are getting honest reviews and not fake ones. When a business’s profile is suffused with positive reviews, people start doubting the credibility of that business. they start thinking that reviews are not the real ones. So, let your customers share their reviews and you better focus on providing quality.
Respect their feedback and try to improve their services. It also increases customer interaction and you can build links with your customers. Businesses that have friendly connections with customers are likely to generate 23% more revenue than those who don’t have connections.
Today everything is about networking. If you please your customer, understand their problems, provide solutions and respect their effort to give feedback they will start feeling connected with your business. They will give positive reviews and it is going to pull new customers as well.
Improves ranking
Local business listings can also improve your ranking. We know your competition is already there in local business listings but by making the right placement you can beat them. You can even compete with big businesses by getting yourself registered with online directories.
You can provide better descriptions, images and presentations on online directories and lure your consumers. This is a great way to steal consumers from your competition. Local business listings can help you in ranking better than your competition.
Great Way to advertise your business in your area
Small businesses try to cut their cost by using affordable marketing strategies. This is a free method of promoting your small business in local areas. All you need to do is get yourself registered on local business directories and when searches of local intent will be made your business will become visible.
You don’t have to put extra effort into promoting your business if you are listing on online business directories. I’m not saying local business listings are enough but yes they can promote your business for free.
Key Takeaway
Local business listings are more than important if you want to survive in the local market as most of your competitors are already generating revenue from customers who found them on the internet.
Conclusion
Now you must have understood the benefits of local business listings for your business. It is advisable to reach professionals if you don’t know much about local business listings and local SEO. A professional team will guide you with the entire local SEO concept and local business listings.
You can get local SEO services if your plan and budget allows it. Do not choose a company blindly and rely on them for the local SEO of your business. Go for a company that can explain the concept, understand your needs and requirements and deal flexibly with your business.
Are you going to get your business listed with local business directories?
