Why You Should Claim Your Online Listings
There are several websites that allow users to create and manage listings for their businesses. Google, Yelp, and Bing are just a few that you’ve probably used to search for yourself. Why is it important for businesses to take the time to claim their listings?
Here’s why it’s essential to do so:
Verified listings establish trust with your audience
Having verified local listings in a consumer’s search results lets them know that this is a valid business and someone is making sure the information is accurate. More than likely, your business is already on the web, although the information may not be correct. Claiming your listing allows you to make sure that the most important information (name, address, and phone number) is correct. This also leads to a good experience with a potential customer. If they call a number and it is disconnected, they may go to a competitor who has their correct information listed. From there, you can optimize your listing with photos, logos, hours, categories, and other options. This rounds out your listing and looks more trustworthy in general.
Verified listings complement SEO
When your business has verified listings on several sites (think Google, Yelp, Bing, etc.) your own website link is readily available in more places on the web. This will help direct relevant traffic to your site. You can also use unique tracking URLs on each listing site to monitor where your traffic is coming from. Google My Business also provides downloadable analytics for your listings, including information such as:
- Direct and discovery searches
- Search views
- Map views
- Website actions
- Directions actions
- Phone call actions
Verified listings allow you to respond to reviews
While you can’t control what reviews people will leave on your business listing, you can control how you respond to them. By owning your verified listings, you have the option to respond to any review left on your listing. This is useful to show potential consumers that your business is responsive, whether the review is positive or negative.
Around 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, therefore, positive online reviews are a necessity to attract more customers. With your verified listings, you can be notified anytime a review is left on your listing. This allows you to be prompt in your response, and establishes your business as responsive and caring about your customers.
While verifying your business listings may seem insignificant or bothersome, there are many benefits to having claimed and verified listings on sites like Google, Yelp, and Bing. Establishing trust with your audience, complementing your SEO strategy, and being able to respond to reviews are components that are very beneficial to your online brand. Verifying your listings won’t take much time, and will have a big impact on your overall web presence in the long run.
