If your business relies on customers from the local geographic area, then local directories offer a major opportunity to improve your ranking in local search engine results.
The Rise of Local Search
Local search has become a popular term in SEO circles in large part because Google and other major players are devoting more and more resources to local search. As I pointed to in my last post on optimizing for local search, SEMwinners.com reports that 40% of searches in the US have “local intent”. Search engines have also started serving different results depending on the IP address of the user in recent years in an effort to tailor results to the user’s location. Mobile searches can be done with even more accuracy if the user allows the location to be accessed on their device. Knowing this, businesses will want to have a listing in several different local directories to increase their visibility on local search SERPs.
Where and How
Claiming or creating your business profiles on search engines like Google (Google Places), Yahoo (Yahoo Local), Bing (Bing Local) and popular directory sites like Yelp is an important part of Local Search SEO/SEM. Having your information accurate and up to date is as important as having your business in the printed Yellow Pages used to be, but in this case it’s (almost always) free. The value and importance of different local search directories varies by region, and small metro areas like Burlington, Vermont rarely show active listings for many business types in all of the top 10 local search directories. (Rural and small city telephone books lacked the bulk of a New York City phone book too.)
Finding your existing business listings online is easy. Just do what one of your potential customers might do. Google your business name. You should also search for your address, phone number and most importantly, your competition. They may be listed on some websites that might not occur to you, and you might be able to get a listing for free.
Reviews Happen, Good and Bad
Like social media sites, many of these local listings will have an option for users to leave reviews. When there is an option for public input, there is always the possibility of negative reviews. Some reviews could be your competition disguised as an unhappy customer, but that’s nearly impossible to prevent. The advice from Yelp is for businesses to proactively monitor and respond to customers who leave feedback. If you have several glowing reviews and none that are average or bad, it may make some people question the integrity of the listing. The advice from searchenginewatch.com suggests the best way to counteract a bad review is to have a proactive marketing plan for encouraging positive reviews to show balance.
If you have a favorite local directory site, or a happy local search success story to share, please tell us about it in the comments box below.
