If you do not know what a business listing directory is, what is its importance for small businesses, and how to complete a valid profile on such listings, you don’t need to worry about it, because in this article, we’ve got you covered. However, that’s not only you’ll get to learn, we’ve also mentioned the top 10 online free local listings where you can claim your listings and reap its benefits in the long run.
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What Is A Local Business Listing?
A local business listing directory, such as Washington state business directory is a professional website or you can say a platform that houses the information of 1000+ businesses of different niches. That’s correct. Each business is listed by its category, area of service, size, and provision of work.
You can say that business listing directories are the automated version of traditional yellow pages or the telephone directory. But, because of the automation, you will not need to flip through a lot of pages in order to get information from different companies.
We’ve all seen that a lot of businesses have started to set their base on the internet because of the on-going pandemic, right? A free local listing will help the company stay visible and more reachable among its competitors.
The consumer just needs to enter the zip code and area where he/she wants to hire a company, and the business listing directory will aid the user to find and hire a company in a more targeted way.
The Importance Of Business Listing Directory
Did you know that nowadays, more than 80% of the consumers do research on the internet for a product or a service before making a sound choice? Since free local listings have basic business information such as contact details, name, and address of your company, your business listing will pop up on the search engine results page whenever someone types in your focused keyword. Thus, you get a higher chance of getting hired.
Keep in mind that online visibility is everything in today’s era. In order to generate more leads and sales, you need to get visible as much as possible on the internet. This is a sure way to gain the attention of prospective customers and also provide them great user experience.
So, if you are running a small or a medium-scaled business, it is vital that you get listed on as many business listing directories right away. Not only will you get discovered much easily, but you’ll be able to generate more sales and leads for your business as well.
Top 10 Free Local Listings
Are you having a hard time finding the top free business listings for your brand? Don’t sweat! Below we’ve managed to compile a list of the top Washington state business directories that you can opt for without any stress.
#1: Google My Business
#2: Bing
#3: Yelp
#4: Foursquare
#5: HubSpot
#6: HighFive Listings
#7: Facebook
#8: UsCity
#9: Angie’s List
#10: CitySearch
Now that you’ve learned the importance of a business listing platform and the top 10 Washington state business directories, it is time for you to learn how to properly complete a business listing profile. For that, you need to read until the end of the article.
How to Complete A Business Listing
The above-mentioned business directories are considered to be the best for small and medium-scaled business brands. With the help of these free local listings, you will be assisting the potential customers in a lot of ways.
We’ve compiled a list of the right ways to complete a business listings profile. Although getting listing on such a platform seems easy, a lot of people still manage to get things wrong.
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Business Name Should Be Entered Correctly
Your business name on the free local listing should be the same as on the legal document and all the social media platforms. Remember that consistency is the key to improved brand awareness and online presence.
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Choose The Category Wisely
Don’t be afraid to be specific when it comes to choosing business categories. A lot of business directories have a wide range of categories that you can choose from. You just need to pick the most correct one for your business brand.
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Business Hours Should Be Accurate
If the listings state that your brand is open, only then the people will be able to get connected to you. Updating business hours creates an opportunity to say whether you will be offering services during holiday or not.
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Carefully Verify The Listing
Once you’ve uploaded basic business information on the business directory, you now need to verify the listing as well. You can either verify it by email, phone number, or a code.
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Write A Brief Business Description
You will only get 244 characters for the business description. It is highly suggested that you choose your words wisely. Be concise but make sure that the audience is compelled to read the rest of it too.
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Get Links To Your Website
The URL you’ve uploaded on the business listing should be of your website’s homepage and not of your social media profile or any other page. The link shouldn’t redirect the customers to a PDF file or any other page.
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Don’t Forget To Add Photos
Textual content is important. However, image content is also considered to be an imperative part of SEO. Make sure that the Alt text is relatable and the images are relevant to the text.
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Answer Questions!
Most customers will ask questions before they finally make a sound choice. This is why it is highly suggested that you stay active and answer all the related questions in the best possible way.
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Create Local Informative Content
Content is the King! And there is no doubt about it. If you want to retain the attention of the audience, it is recommended that you create content that is informative yet it addresses the issues and concerns of the customers.
Bottom Line
Claiming free local listings on an online business directory will not only help you in generating more leads for your business but also help you get discovered easily. Just make sure that you always follow the above steps to complete your business listing profile.
