Applying the most effective tips for local listing management is crucial to brand success online. Of particular importance is your brand’s Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business listing).
Google’s position as the top search engine in the world means that a well-managed listing on the site can provide benefits for your brand, such as improved visibility in search, better customer acquisition and retention, and potentially more traffic and sales.
Whether you have one or multiple business locations, you can get started by following these tips for local listing management:
- Update and maintain brand information
- Monitor and respond to online reviews
- Reinforce brand SEO strategy where possible
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Tips for Local Listing Management #1: Update and Maintain Brand Information
Consumers are using Google and local listings to conduct research before making a purchase decision, which makes it crucial for brands to keep the information on their listings as updated as possible.
At the top of the list of updated items should be the address, operating hours, and phone number. Missing out on updating these items can mean losing customers before they even walk in the door. Furthermore, incorrect information can reduce brand trust. If people already know that your listed hours are wrong or if the phone number is incorrect, then they won’t consider you in subsequent searches.
Taking the time to not just update the vital pieces of your listing, in addition to monitoring the listing for any major changes, puts any team in a prime position to make a great first impression in the customer experience journey.
Tips for Local Listing Management #2: Monitor and Respond to Reviews
Online reviews are a crucial part of any local listing. They’re the pieces of social proof that consumers need to make and reinforce their purchase decision. Reviews also allow brands to shine and show others that the company values positive and negative feedback and engages with customers to address issues.
While a simple “thank you” will suffice for a high rating or a positive review, the art of knowing how to respond to negative reviews is what can differentiate a company. Consumers want to know that someone from the brand will listen if they have a complaint about their experience. Responding in a professional manner and taking the conversation offline if needed is a great place to start when responding to negative feedback.
It’s important to keep an eye on reviews whenever they come in and respond in a timely manner. Doing so shows consumers that their feedback is being heard, which can help with your customer retention strategies. Depending on your industry, response times can be a matter of days or weeks so check our online reputation analysis report to see how your brand stacks against others in your industry.
Tips for Local Listing Management #3: Reinforce Brand SEO Strategy Where Possible
Part of a company’s local success can be attributed to its local SEO (local search engine optimization) strategy. Listing managers can contribute easily to this by optimizing their online listings with information that will be useful to both consumers and search engines.
For instance, if the company specializes in selling computer parts, the description on your Google Business Profile can include the keyword “computer parts,” which can help it show up higher on search engine results pages when someone is using that term.
You can also use this tactic when responding to reviews, but you must do so in an organic way. If the reviewer enjoyed their experience at one of your business locations, you can respond with something like, “Thank you for trusting us with your computer part needs!” This tells the reviewer that you read their feedback and took the time to respond. From a local SEO standpoint, the response further strengthens the link between your brand and the keyword that you want consumers to associate with you.
Over time, you can also use other local listing management tools such as a local search rank checker to see how your SEO strategy and customer feedback management rank against nearby competitors.
Conclusion
Taking these tips for local listing management to heart can pave the way for a better online reputation. In time, this should help push your listings to the top of search results and your local audience. Having a dedicated team manage listings for multiple locations can be worth the investment, especially if it leads to a smoother and happier customer experience for consumers.
