Did you know that 46% of Google searches include a location? That means that nearly half of what people are looking up is for something in their area.
This alone is enough to prove the importance of local business listings. That’s just the start of what local SEO can do for you and your business, though.
If you’re serious about your business thriving in your community, you must consider local listings. Let’s dig in a bit deeper to find out how tools like a Google local business listing can help take your business to the next level.
What Are Local Business Listings?
To understand how local business listings can boost your business, it helps to have an understanding of what a local business listing is.
A local business listing is a listing for a business on a directory site like Google My Business. A Google local business listing will usually include info like a business’s address, phone number, and website.
Google My Business is just one business directory, though. Yelp and Angie’s List are both quite popular and can be major sources of business and website traffic, especially when the business listing is filled out correctly.
There are local business directories for specific industries, as well. Considering how difficult it is to get inbound links these days, it’s to your benefit to find every applicable directory for your business.
Advantages Of Local Business Listings
Local business listings extends far beyond the search engine results pages (SERPs). There’s plenty to be said for that incentive alone, though, considering how difficult it is to get to page one on Google.
Local business listings lets your business listing show up on other platforms like Bing or Yahoo! Business. These listings can help your business get noticed by local news, websites, and bloggers, as well.
It’s so important for your business to get noticed especially when you’re just starting out. Every single person who encounters your business has the potential to become a loyal, lifelong customer.
Taking control of your local business listings ensures that no one else can, as one final benefit. Local business listings can sometimes include incorrect info, which can have disastrous results if left unchecked.
As business and website owners, it’s important to consider every opportunity at our disposal. The internet has made it possible to achieve success previously unimaginable 20 years ago. It’s got to be handled properly, though.
Local business listings optimize your business for SEO, as well. It ensures you’ll show up when someone’s looking up ‘business near me.’
Working with a local business listing service gives you all of the perks with none of the drawbacks. It’s a win-win, for all parties concerned!
