When it comes to free business listing directories, you might have heard a lot about Google my Business, Yelp, BBB, and much more. But, what exactly are these sites for and how can they benefit your small or medium-scaled business brand is the real question!
In this article, we'll be discussing what a business listing platform is all about, the impact of business listings on your business, the importance of local SEO tactics, and last but not the least, the different SEO strategies you need to opt if you wish to see your business brand outshine among your competitors.
So guys, grab a cup of your favorite coffee and read on until the end of this article as we’ve got a lot of things that you can benefit from.
Table of Contents
What Are Local Business Listings?
Any free business directory listing in USA is considered to be an online platform that contains your basic business information such as name, address, contact details, and sometimes even a logo. Just think of a business directory to be a traditional telephone directory but on steroids.
The primary objective of a free business listing in USA is to make small businesses more searchable and accurate. Keep in mind that business brands who have their basic information and images well-optimized on the internet are likely to rank better on search engines such as Google and Bing. This is because search engines start to consider the business brand more credible and legit.
Note: Just make sure that whenever you claim a listing on a free business directory listing in USA, your information ought to be accurate and highly informative. Or else, you can expect little or no organic reach at all.
The Impact Of Business Listings For Your Business
The local business listings such as HighFive Listings help businesses improve their organic reach and also make it easy for prospective customers to find your business brand. This is why it is highly recommended that you invest much time and upload only the right information on such platforms. Uploading basic business information on such sites will not only help you in getting discovered easily, but it will also enhance your local SEO, add more authority, and generate more leads. (Don't miss out on our blog on some amazing lead generation strategies).
You can claim listings on as much as free business listing directories as possible, but make sure that there is no duplication of your brand or its information on the internet. This will not only create confusion for the customers but Google will penalize your website and your website’s ranking will drop significantly.
Just ensure that incomplete profiles are both completed and then uploaded, or they are deleted permanently.
What Is Local SEO And What Is Its Importance?
As mentioned above, free local business directories house the information of businesses, right? But, what’s the use of uploading information when you can’t use it? This is where local SEO or local searches come in handy.
Let’s suppose that you’ve moved to a new city, and the moment you’ve reached your house, you manage to lock yourself out of the car. The car key is still in the ignition and the keys of the house are still inside the car. What will be your first move? Well, you need to take out your phone and search for “the best automotive locksmith near me”. Remember that local searches work the best when you type a query with “near me” at the end.
Local SEO is often known as a local search as well. This method is considered to be one of the most effective and cost-savvy ways to market your business brand on the internet. Why is effective? This is because it aids businesses to market their products and services to prospective customers who are near them.
Did you know that more than 70% of the searches conducted on Google are from mobile phone users? This implies that most of the searches have a local intent. So, if you have not yet optimized your website for mobile users or for local SEO, you are without a doubt missing on a big chunk of getting discovered by potential customers.
How To Optimize Your Business For Local SEO?
If you’d know that your prospective customers want to hire and work with someone near to them and are also using the search engines to find such a business brand, you need to pay a lot of attention to the below given local SEO tactics. If you’ve claimed a listing on free business directory listing in the USA and think that it's enough, then you need to rethink your statement again!
Keep in mind the below-given tips and tricks of optimizing your business for local SEO and reap its benefits in the long run.
1- Claim Listing On Business Listing
Regardless of whether you are running a small business in multiple locations, your online business directory profile is the most significant piece of your local SEO tactic. Claiming and setting up your business profile on a renowned business listing directory is a genuinely straight forward way and it allows you to make sure that all your information is as accurate as it can be.
You won’t believe what number of companies have inaccurate or missing business listing information. To be honest, it's evaluated that almost $10.5 billion worth of sales are being lost each year in light of inaccurate and inconsistent free business directory listing in USA.
This is why it is highly suggested that you review your profile consistently to ensure everything is precise and up to date. Not just that, remain dynamic with your business listing. For example, go into your HighFive Listings and upload new images. On the off chance that you have specific working hours on some occasions, make certain to highlight them into your listing. At the point when you get customer reviews or get questions that are related to your business listing, sign in, and answer to those too.
Pro Tip: The more dynamic you are with your professional business listing page and the more frequently you update it, the better rankings your business will have with local SEO or local search.
When you have your business listings profile setup, it's imperative that you deal with getting references for your business brand that complements the information you provided for your online business profile. Because you state that is your location, doesn't mean that the search engines will consider it legit.
References are an approach to help fabricate certainty with the search engines that your business is found where you mention. A reference is a posting on another site that lists your business name, your full address, contact information, and so on. It's significant that the information posted on these sites is the same from what you have listed on the free business listing in USA.
2- Reviews
Another imperative piece to your local SEO tactic for your business is successfully dealing with your customer review and testimonials. Answering to customer reviews is probably the best thing a business can accomplish for their presence online. By answering to both negative and positive customer reviews, in addition to the fact that it shows clients you give it a second thought, however it likewise has been demonstrated that it will expand your search rating and rankings.
Likewise of significant note, it is alright to ask your customers for reviews. Truth be told, don't skirt the real issue with regards to requesting reviews. Send an email legitimately to your customer explicitly requesting an honest review. Not just that, do it directly after you complete an exchange with them. By then, you are new in their psyche. Presently is a fortunate and entirely satisfactory chance to request a review.
3- Social Media
The social media platforms are an extraordinary route for your business to pick up brand mindfulness on the internet. Brands with extraordinary social media presence are probably going to get more customers than those who don’t. Effectively posting and drawing in with customers on the different social media platforms is perhaps the most ideal approach to develop brand awareness and loyalty.
The more you cooperate with your adherents and clients, the more probable you are to change over them into brand evangelists for your business, prodding them to suggest you online through a review or in any event, sharing your social media posts with their friends and family members. Both these exercises identify with commitment, which is a piece of what the search engines investigate when they are ranking local businesses.
Conclusion
The conspicuous objective of your local SEO is to improve your business online rankings, right? With regards to local searches, if your business isn't in the above 3, you're not relevant for the search engines. Battling for that best position isn't simple even if you’ve managed to get listed on a high authoritative free business listing in USA, which is the reason it's so essential to consider these three variables when arranging the best practice-driven local SEO techniques.
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