SEO is a term that is often mentioned, yet it is one that in many cases remains unexplained. A website designer or agency will tell you that you need to keep up with SEO, but then might fail to tell you what it is, and why. Search Engine Optimisation is ensuring that your website is recognised by the search engines, especially Google.
Google is the search engine that is most popular by far. To be SEO friendly for Google means having a quality website with relevant and regularly fresh copy, and plenty of backlinks. There is more to it, which is why an expert SEO agency will be worth working with.
Moving on, we’re here to talk about local SEO, and why local business listings are a great way of boosting your rankings on Google and elsewhere. What do we mean by local business listings? These are websites where you register your business among others, and that are used by people making local searches for specific market areas.
For example, if you run a beauty salon, you could list your salon on a local business listings site such as InCityLife and immediately become more noticeable than those that are not listed.
Where to Start
Now that we have an idea of what we’re here to talk about, let’s have a look at why local business listings are becoming more popular than ever.
There is one major driving factor involved in the growing interest in these platforms: the mobile smartphone. While you may use your laptop to browse and compare items you wish to buy, when you’re out and about you will undoubtedly use a smartphone.
Here’s how it works: an individual is in a certain town or city and needs to find, for example, a place to eat that night to entertain friends.
They search for ‘restaurants near me’ and press enter. What they get is a list of many restaurants. If your restaurant is listed on local business listings directories it will be easier to find.
When you’re looking for a hotel for your next vacation, where do you search? You probably use TripAdvisor or one of the other major travel sites, or perhaps Facebook which is also a form of business directory.
Having your business listed on the likes of InCityLife and similar local directories has that one advantage of being grouped locally. Viewers may get your address, phone number, website, and your social media pages.
They will probably then check you out on Instagram, on Twitter or Facebook. All of this is good for your SEO and helps boost our brand image across the various areas of digital marketing. You can see now why local business listings portals are a great way of enhancing your online exposure.
Cost Effective
Most local business listings pages will ask for a small fee, and we do recommend that you check the rates out before you commit. Nothing great is ever free, so factor in the cost to your marketing budget.
When we say small fee, we do mean small; it will be a barely noticeable payment that will be well worth the investment.
By making your business friendly and accessible for mobile searches you are tapping into a very big and growing market, and one that cannot be left alone. We will finish by saying that you need these listings pages because each time someone links back to your website from your listing, that’s an extra inbound link for you, and that’s what Google likes to see! Check them out now, and make sure you’re not losing out on potential business.