How to Manage your Local Business Listings

How to Manage your Local Business Listings

Managing your local business listings can be a pain if you don't have a plan. There are many moving parts, and even a relatively small error can result in problems that can cost you in a rather expensive way.

In some ways managing your local busines listings is more work than a site serving globally. You need to make sure all your data is correct for each location and this can be challenging. Let's examine some of the essentials needed for good local listing management.

The basics: getting your local business listings in order

Here are some of the basics you need to take care of before trying to be a local superstar.

• The most essential aspect of managing your local business listings is to make sure your NAP data, that is your company's name, addresses and phone contact, (along with all your other data) is correct across all locations and platforms.
• Many times local companies make the mistake of lacking a phone contact number. Don't be that guy! Even if it is only a voicemail ensure your customers and prospects can reach you.
• Make sure to completely fill out any profiles online that contain your information. This is a simple way to get info out there about your business, and the more you can inform readers, the greater shot you'll have at getting that new lead.

Taking local business listings a step beyond

After you've got your business listings on your sites and local directories done, it's time to look into what you can reap from the many and varied local business sites designed to help you get noticed. Many of these won't charge a fee, but there are a few that are worth spending a few bucks on. What follows is a few ideas to get you going.

• Ensure that you have a local presence in Google, Yahoo and Bing.
• Look at local directories like Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, and Factual as aggregators like these provide data to mobile companies and search engines alike.
• Look into listings with properties like Yelp, Yext, Foursquare, Facebook. You'll realize that their local packages can be less than you might have thought, and can make a huge difference.
• Use tools like Bright Local, Moz Local or Whitespark to monitor your citations and track your progress. This will be an ongoing process, as you'll want to keep getting more and more citations that will give your business even greater reputation.