Does Your Business Have An Accurate Directory Listings Profile
Most business owners find that creating an accurate, consistent directory listings profile is too overwhelming a project to complete. No one enjoys going through a ‘directory listing website’ verification process only to receive their advertising sales calls and email. And while no one signal wins the competitive local SEO battle, an accurate directory listing(s) profile matters!
It is important to understand that information inconsistency a) will often confuse consumers and b) be counted negatively by search engines. Listings are an important local search ranking signal, but often they are left untouched due to the overwhelming task at hand. One must work through each, then be prepared for an ongoing (one-by-one) management process. So get your NAP/ business name, address, phone, website link, and even hours of operation consistent between the website and the relevant business listings. By doing so, your online presence will present as reliable to search engine algorithms. That’s right, search engines cross-reference information on directory listings they trust with your website.
Four out of five consumers search locally (according to Google), so listings and citations matter when it comes to your business being found. NAP stands for name, address, and phone number, but at minimum, also assume that it includes a website link and hours of operation. Listing sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp.com, and/or others can matter! In fact, anywhere your NAP is mentioned – that is considered a citation. If your NAP is on a town or an association website – that is a citation.
Accurate Directory Listing Profile / Citations
Maintaining a consistent, accurate directory listing profile is time-consuming. Going through each listing one by one and completing what follows can take more time than most business owners have or wish to commit. What’s more, it puts the in view of each listing website’s advertising sales department. To accomplish an accurate directory listing profile/citation profile, you’ll need to:
- Create business listings at leading directory sites, one by one, including verification processes.
- Create a Google Business Profile listing, which is the no. 1 most important listing!
- Create a Facebook business page.
- Create a Bing Places account, including a listing.
- Clean up any inconsistencies in any existing listing/citations.
- Prepare to manage these listings, one by one, as necessary.
- Find and build niche (e.g., your associations) and/or location-specific citations (e.g., town directories).
- OR, if budget allows, find a service that offers Search & Directory Listings Management.
Directory Listings & Citations Pay Off
While it can be a long and tedious project (or an outsourced cost), having a complete, accurate directory listing and citation profile is good for business! It’s certainly not the whole picture, not even hyper-locally and so far as search engines go, but your business will see an improvement in local visibility and rankings once everything is in order.
The Importance Of Directory Listings Is Clear
So if it wasn’t clear before, accurate business listings are valuable signals in the local ranking of your business. The competition is always coming online, so it is necessary to consider getting an accurate listing/citation profile. If the time necessary is too much, we can help with Listing Plans, Fundamental Local SEO, and broader SEO Plans. If listings are all that is needed, have a look at our Kinetic Knowledge Search & Directory Listings Management Plan
- To get the most important citations accurate & consistent
- To gather website back-links
- To generate review alerts
- To be able to update or change information immediately across all listings when things change
- To add enhanced service & management profiles, including images and back-links AND
- More… have a look, and please do not hesitate to ask any questions at all.
