4 Reasons To Claim Your Local Business Listing on the Web

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Remember the yellow pages not too long ago, when nearly every business could be found all in one place?

Well, now we have online yellow pages, in a sense.

If your business does not have a website, isn’t active on social media, and you aren’t listed in any directories, then you are virtually non-existent on the web. Even when you do have a website, being listing will dramatically increase traffic to this website as you will be able to highlight it in the directory.

So how much did that yellow page add cost you? Well guess what? Most of the directories are F-R-E-E, yes those lovely word every business owner loves to hear. Best of the Web is $149.99/yearly. But the other 5 sites I share below are free.

So, wait no longer and get listed today!

Here are the top 4 reasons you need to list your business online:

1. It will give you control over how the search engines index you.

2. It will prevent spammers from hijacking your business.

3. It will improve your SEO rankings-the more directories Google can find you at, the better. Search engines favor directory sites.

4. Increase web and foot traffic to your business. Your business listing allows you to add detailed information about your business, including your website URL as well as photos and sometimes video.

Most directories allow for reviews of your business, but don’t let that stop you from getting listed. Look at it this way, if someone posts a negative review about you, you can’t stop it, they are going to whether you have your business listed or not. However, if your business is listed, you will have a better chance of defending your good name. (Learn how Reputation Management can help you with this.)

Here are 6 of the top places on the web where you can claim your business listing, click on the website name and it will direct you to the proper location:

Check out our other blog posts on Yelp and Google Places for more information on these sites.

If you enjoyed this post and found value in it, please comment below and/or share with your social networks.

To Your Social Success,

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http://www.RealLifeInternetMarketing.com Eric Bonnici

Hi Renee, great post you have here.

Something that businesses should also realize is that the mobile web is growing incredibly fast. And consumers are using geo-location and maps on their smart phones to locate the products and services they are looking for.

These “mobile” prospects have a much higher level of buyer intent than people sitting at home on their PC. So when businesses get listed on places like Google Places/Google Maps and the others you listed above, it gives them a better chance to get found by potential customers.

Talk to you soon,
Eric Bonnici
- http://Bee-Social.com Renee Harrison
  
  Eric, I totally agree with you. Mobile web is exploding and every business owner should get on board with this incredible marketing opportunity. They need to also make sure their websites are mobile-friendly. Thanks for the comment!
  - http://www.facebook.com/chrisaarhus Chris Aarhus
    
    Being a bit new out here, I’ll have to look into the above thanks Renee. Any suggestions on who has the most current info on the mobile marketing? Figuring many are just new dipping their toe in it but I would like to learn a bit right from the start since I know it is going to grow and I heard the ad costs are super low right now to get people on board. ( hmm , this doesn’t let you post from your FB ‘page’ : ) Chris
    - http://Bee-Social.com Renee Harrison
      
      Chris, all very true about mobile. I am actually delving into this myself from a service standpoint and in a course to learn how to offer mobile marketing to clients. I typically try to blog about information that I come across that would be helpful to business owners. So hopefully soon I will be sharing an informative post on the topic as well as some recommended resources and platforms to be on. Thanks for your comment, you are smart to be thinking mobile and getting one step ahead of your competition!
http://twitter.com/SmrtHealthShop Smart Health Shop

these are also great business directories for seo…they give authority to your domain.
- http://Bee-Social.com Renee Harrison
  
  Good point! SEO is definitely enhanced by being listed in business directories.
Dentalgil

Hi Renee,

Good article. I have claimed all except BOW, I just can’t justify the cost in my mind. I have run into a couple of “concerns” with some of the sites, in that they have duplicate listings which often have incorrect information. So, I am constantly trying to get these removed. The other is the influx of new directories that you need to claim–some of which are very difficult to figure out how to claim. Hotfrog, which you list, is one of the best and easiest to claim, and it lets you add an enormous amount of information to your listing, such as Twitter and Face Book links, as well as videos. Also, they send a frequently update of how many “hits” you get on your listing. Kuduz is one newer site where we have received several nice testimonials.
- http://Bee-Social.com Renee Harrison
  
  Great advice! Appreciate the feedback. I will definitely check out Kuduz
alohafamilymoving

I can mention I will be really fascinated combined with approach anyone effectively web site plus your content are usually and for that reason beneficial.
Serv Pro

Thanks buddy. I will try this list for my business.