You shouldn’t simply create a local listing for your Michigan City business and call it a day. Like any other component of your digital marketing strategy (such as your website, social media accounts, or paid search campaign), your local listings require ongoing management to be profitable.
Roughly 40-60 billion searches are happening on Google in the United States each month, and almost half of these searches have local intent. As such, you should do two things if you want those searchers to find your Michigan City business: make sure that your listings show up on local search results, and make sure that the information in the listings is accurate and up to date.
Making sure your information is up to date and correct entails constantly reviewing and maintaining your listings. If your local listings and all other mentions of your business are not correctly managed, you might be missing out on a sizable portion of potential customers. As a small business that relies heavily on local searches to attract new customers, having accurate business information should not be thought of as optional — it should be a must.
How to manage your business listings?
There are three primary ways you can stay on top of your Michigan City business listings. Let’s take a closer look at them…
1. Ramp up your local citations.
A local citation is any mention of your company’s name, address, and phone number (or NAP), as well as other contact information on the Internet. Think of all the places your business listings appear online (your website, social profiles, Yelp, Google My Business, and so on); these are all your local citations. Local citations are crucial for small businesses in Michigan City because they serve as additional locations where your contact information can be found, and they provide a way for more local customers to find you. Therefore, you should strive for as many local citations as you can get across the web.
2. Keep your listings detailed.
Local listings are increasingly being boosted by online directories such as Google My Business as a way for customers to contact local businesses directly rather than through their websites. You can now add more information about your Michigan City business — such as hours of operation, address, short posts, action links (reserving an appointment or ordering online), FAQs, media, and much more — that your potential customers may find helpful. Of course, this information needs to be updated regularly so that customers have the best possible user experience, which will help you keep your business in Google’s good graces.
3. Manage your online reviews.
Online reviews are an essential aspect of every modern online marketing strategy. If you manage your reviews well, you can appear more trustworthy in front of your target customers. Encouraging reviews not only adds more depth to your business’s online listing, but it also allows you to interact with your customers. By encouraging and staying on top of your customers’ reviews, you can keep your local listing fresh and create an additional marketing opportunity.
So, there you have it: the main reasons why local listing management is essential for your Michigan City business, and three ways to effectively manage your listings.
Are You Looking for a Listings Management Agency in Michigan City, Indiana?
The more you put into your local listing management efforts, the more you will get out of it. If you are looking for a listings management agency in Michigan City, Indiana to help you keep your listings updated with correct information, you can trust Digital Destination. Call us at (312) 933-6806 or contact us online to request a free quote!