How To Optimize Your Online Listings
In a previous post we previously touched upon some essential business directories and how to claim them. As we have already talked about, claiming and optimizing online business directories can give your company an SEO boost and will help you come up more frequently on search. One way to track the effectiveness of your efforts is to keep an eye on your Alexa ranking. Managing your company’s online listings can unfortunately be a little tedious and time consuming. For the unexperienced, this task may seem daunting and make “Power Listing” services like Yext attractive. But with a little time and effort, you can do a lot to clean up your SEO effectively and inexpensively.
What Sites Should I Claim?
The easy answer is all of them. Obviously this is almost impossible due to the amount of seemingly endless online listing directories out there. There are a core group of major players and a few worthwhile minor ones that are worth looking into. Do a simple Google search of your company’s name and city and take note of any that you find. If you have ever changed locations or phone numbers you may want to search for your outdated information so you can correct any incorrect listings you may find. Here are a few of the listing pages that we like to focus on at Dallas Riffle Media:
- Yahoo
- Bing
- Yelp
- Foursquare
- YP
- ExpressUpdate
- Acxiom
- Factual
- Localeze
- Superpages
- Citysearch
- Merchant Circle
- Manta
- Tripadvisor
- Angie’s List
- Hotfrog
- Kudzu
- eLocal
- ShowMeLocal
- EzLocal
- Yellowbook
- GetFave
How Do I Get Started?
Having a designated email address especially for listings can help keep SPAM emails out of your folder. Unfortunately, after claiming your listings, you are bound to get SPAM emails and sales calls about “marketing services”. You can typically ignore these unless you are interested in further advertising through one of the companies. After setting up your email, you will want to locate all of your existing listings on as many directories as you can. For this, free listing scans offered by services like Yext or other similar services can be quite useful. Just be sure to expect a sales call from them afterwards.
After finding as many listings as you can, it is time to start claiming them. The majority of directory sites will have a link that says “Claim My Business” or “Business Owners Update Information.” If you cannot find this link on your company profile, try visit looking for a link that says “Business Login” or “Get My Free Listing” on the home page or footer of the website. All listing sites have their own quirks which can make it time consuming for the unexperienced. You will then be prompted to create an account, edit your information and go through some sort of verification process. Keep in mind that the first listing you should claim should always be Google.
What Information Do I Need?
Compiling all of your information beforehand can save you a lot of time. Set up a Word Document that contains all necessary information about your company. This includes your Business Name, Phone Number, Address, Website, Email, Fax Number, Customer Service Email, etc. Include URLs to any of your social media accounts, because some listings offer businesses to include links to these pages. Make sure to keep your information uniform with what is on Google, because doing so will increase your search relevancy.
Along with all of your general information, create a comprehensive list of products/services that your company offers. It is also helpful to create a full list of keywords that you’d like to be found under on search. Then use these keywords to create a keyword rich description of your business. Try to keep your description between 3-4 paragraphs, because most listing sites have a character limit for business descriptions.
Also include a list of your business hours, payment options, professional organizations that your company belongs to, amenities (Wi-Fi, free parking, etc), awards your company has won, certifications your company has, license numbers, etc. Each listing pages has different categories for information so it is important to keep your bases covered. Also compile a business logo and 6-10 photos of your business or the products you carry. When claiming your listings, try to fill out every piece of information.
Do you need help with your company’s web presence? Dallas Riffle Media is a full-service marketing agency in Cleveland, OH that services companies across the country. We offer mobile friendly responsive corporate websites, SEO optimization, content creation, corporate video products, copywriting, PR, email marketing and much more. Visit our website to see how we have helped many companies grow their business. For a free consultation give us a call at (330) 274-7658 or send us an email.
