How to Create a Business Listing Site

digital marketing

First and foremost, a business listing is crucial for helping businesses thrive in the online landscape. How often do you come across a business listed on Google with no reviews, minimal images, and very little information about its services? Would you trust that business with your time, or better yet, your money?

Definitely not.

Business listings are key for enhancing visibility for local businesses and enabling them to trudge to the front of the line with up-to-date information, images that pop, and legit reviews. In turn, all this helps the business funnel its traffic into customers who pay because they trust the listing.

Let’s check out how you can get this done for your business in a few crisp pointers:

Utilize Channels for Maximum Reach

We can’t stress this enough. Having a prominent channel to highlight your business is crucial. Especially when there are so many other businesses that a potential customer could go to instead. Check out a bunch of the main ones:

  • Google My Business: The number one place to get started if you’re looking to create a business listing. Google is the best listing site in the world so if you’re going to get your business to pick up steam, it’s ideal to start here.
  • Bing Places: Even though Bing may not have as vast a reach as Google, it still has about 6% of the global market in its grasp. Which is a lot. If you’re going to make sure all potential audiences flock to your listing, it’s best to give Bing a tap too.
  • Yelp: Probably the most well-known business review site in the U.S., Yelp is a fantastic option for those looking to fast track their business and help make it more visible to a wider audience. Reviews for businesses listed on Yelp can expedite customer purchases so much that even same-day shopping is possible.

Setting Up Your Business Profile

The point to note is that every business listing site has a different procedure for setting up your business profile. Since Google My Business has the largest audience currently, let’s go ahead and use that as an example. 

Firstly, you’d want to locate your business by looking it up. For example, if you’re the owner of “Mandy’s Crusty Pies” you’d want to look it up, and if it’s already listed, then simply go ahead and choose the Own this business option.

If someone already owns the business, then you can request an ownership transfer. 

Once you’re done with the entire listing procedure—filling in your details and providing the necessary information on your business—allow the website a few days to verify the information and make the appropriate changes. Once that is done, you’re good to go!

When it comes to Google My Business, you don’t have to worry about the money involved because it’s a free business listing site and all it will require is information.

Optimize Your Business For SEO

A business is only as credible as the information it uses to define itself. Make sure, when you’re making a listing, it has all the necessary and relevant keywords required to make it shine in its respective department. 

If you list a food business but stuff keywords in there that are more aligned with a book sale business, you’re not going to attract the necessary traffic. Here are some more in-depth pointers to consider.

Make Sure Contact Info Is In Order

If your business is appearing in relevant search results, then your audience will be looking for ways to reach out to it. Typically, if you have a brick-and-mortar store, they’d like to know its operating hours. Or, if your preferred way of communication is online, you’d want your email or phone number to be listed there.

Additionally, links to social profiles, photos of your business, and website link(s) are a welcome addition. 

Final Words

That’s a wrap on the main chunks necessary to lift your business off the ground. Remember, a good business listing uses the online space to maximize its outreach. If you want the big numbers to be flowing in, then make sure you’re putting in the effort to chisel your business listing on all the main platforms.