Business listings consist of online profiles with your business information across a multitude of online directories—such as Google and Yelp—, review sites, social media profiles, as well as maps and GPS platforms.
Business listings are absolutely necessary for local businesses that provide products and services to customers in a geographical area. Having your business information listed on these channels provides the opportunity to gain those customers searching for the products and services you offer in your community. Included within business listings is your contact information, products/services, and other important information about your business, allowing potential customers to easily understand what you offer and contact you directly. Millions of consumers search these online channels every day. Failure to ensure your accurate business information is listed across all of these platforms will result in losing business from potential customers searching for your products and services.
Your accurate and updated local listing plays an integral role in local SEO. Search engines like Google and Bing populate the sites at the top of their organic search results when a user is searching with a local intent. But if you haven't claimed your local directory listings, then there is a good chance that they have inaccurate or missing information about your business. This can result in search engines not being able to tell who you really are and prevent your business to rank high on local online searches.
What's even more important, many local consumers use search engines like Google and Bing, as well as Yelp directly on their phone, tablet, and PCs to find local businesses in their area. No matter how consumers are finding your listings, you need to make sure they provide the most accurate, compelling information possible to turn those searchers into leads.
At Ovalmint, our local marketing team claims, cleans and maintains online listings for all your business locations across the entire search ecosystem—including local, national and industry-specific online directories.