Guides & Articles on Citations & Listings

Local SEO for Small Businesses that Works: Practical Tactics for SMBs in the Age of AI

Emily Brady — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:16:27 +0000

What Does “Local SEO” Mean These Days?

Local SEO can mean a lot of things. For the sake of this article, it refers to organic visibility in Google Maps via the Local Pack. Or, more plainly, your Google Business Profile (GBP).

GBP is particularly relevant today because small businesses are losing organic clicks from top and mid-funnel queries to AI Overviews (AIO). For any business or marketer, fewer clicks means less data. For these small businesses, it can mean fewer leads, too.

In other words, showing up for bottom-of-funnel search queries is more important than ever. For local businesses, those queries are the ones driving prospective customers to the Local Pack.

How AIOs Impact SMBs: A Quick Look at 2025

For a lot of businesses, clicks go down as AIOs take over relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). This is true even if the business ranks well in the overviews, as the business referenced below does. While some AIO citations result in clicks, many do not.

Correlation is not causation, but this is not an isolated example. SMBs are seeing fewer clicks across the board, and it’s not difficult to guess why.

GBP is a Critical Source of Leads for SMBs

The bright side is this: GBP remains a critical source of leads for SMBs. In fact, I’ve seen about 10-15% more calls come through GBP compared to pre-AIO times.

Additionally, first-time calls to businesses with aggressive marketing packages saw their Google listings start to drive more leads than their organic website traffic (which was unusual for the businesses I work with, historically).

With the advent of AIOs, GBP has overtaken organic search for phone calls by a margin of about 12%.

Note: This data is taken from a 3-month period after AIOs rolled out in this given client set’s industry, compared to the previous period, and cross-referenced against the previous year.

Small Business Local SEO 101: Make Patterns, Not Big Changes

SMBs need an actionable and consistent approach to GBP. We’ll dive into tactics in a minute, but for now, I want to focus on the right approach: Don’t look for one “big” change to fix everything. Look for small improvements and iterate on them.

Google actually encourages this approach with on-site SEO in its SEO Starter guide. It says “…if you’re not satisfied with your results and your business strategies allow it, try iterating with the changes and see if they make a difference.”

This statement isn’t about GBP, but the same principle applies. Don’t chase the big fixes; instead, iterate on the small ones to create a positive pattern.

This includes things like:

Posting regularly, in a natural cadence that reflects your business’s updates, events, specials, etc.
Gathering reviews over time, naturally, and in a way that reflects customer experience
Consistently reviewing changes to your GBP data and keeping it fresh, accurate, and updated
Responding to reviews consistently, over time
Responding to customer questions in the Q&A section as they are asked
Keeping your website updated with relevant content and information

Try our Free Local Lead Conversion Checklist

Make sure every local lead counts. This checklist walks you through key steps to turn Google Business Profile visibility into real customer conversions.

Download the Template

Let’s Talk Strategy: Tactics that Customers (and Google!) Love

So, what patterns should you create? And which tactics create them? The simple answer is this: Focus on the things you can control, or at least try to.

Below, I’ve listed what I consider the more important local SEO tactics for small businesses. Some of them may seem obvious; others not. But they’re all important, especially when taken as part of a larger strategy.

Keep Your Profile Updated & Accurate

This one’s pretty obvious: it’s important to keep your business information updated and accurate. Not because it’ll help you rank, but because it’s a good customer experience. (And because customers will get annoyed if your information is wrong.)

A 2023 study from BrightLocal found that 62% of consumers would not use a business if they found incorrect information about them online.

It’s also completely within your control and could impact whether or not a customer is able to find or call you. Thus, it’s worth noting.

Describe Your Business Accurately (Don’t worry about the SEO)

As a general rule of thumb, make sure your GBP accurately reflects your business as customers experience it in the real world. This means filling out every field in your profile and adding as much detail as GBP allows, including your business description.

Here are a few best practices for the description:

DO fill out your business description with as much helpful information as possible, so customers can see what you’re about.
DON’T use keywords in your description or try to cater to what you think Google wants.

Keep Your Photos Updated (and Helpful)

Include photos of your business storefront so customers know what it looks like from the street or parking lot. Add pictures of the inside, too, so they know what to expect when they get there.

Update images if something changes. This is especially relevant for businesses (such as restaurants) that change their menu frequently. Service-based businesses, such as law firms, may not need to update their photos as often unless something at the business location changes.

A few things to avoid:

Stock photos
Geo-tagging your images
Low-quality images
Outdated images

Remember: You don’t need a professional photoshoot to give customers an idea of what your business is about. And for some business types, customer photos will do just fine!

Show Customers What You Have to Offer

If it’s available for your business type, add products and services to your listing.

Products are detailed snapshots of what you offer; services are more like a menu of what you do.

I find the products feature particularly valuable because you can add a detailed description, image, and link to a related page on your website from the product listing. Even for service-based businesses (like law firms or dentists), “products” are a great way to give customers more information about how you can help them.

Prep for GBP Suspensions Before They Happen

Google Business Profile suspensions are a hassle. Prepare for them in advance. There are two types of suspensions: hard and soft suspensions. A soft suspension keeps you from editing your business information; a hard suspension completely removes it from SERPs.

If your listing gets suspended, you can appeal it and submit evidence for reinstatement.

Here’s a quick list of what you should have on file to make sure you can appeal your listing quickly in the unfortunate event of a suspension:

Business registration
Business license
Tax certificates
Utility bills (Internet, phone, water, etc.)

I also recommend keeping a picture of their storefront with signage on hand as well.

Note: Some documents, like tax information, may contain sensitive information. You can redact personal information and still demonstrate that the business is legitimate. I’ve done this for clients in the past, and the appeal has gone through just fine. The key is to make sure the business name and address match the documentation that you submit in the event of a suspension and an appeal.

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

Treat reviews like an ongoing part of your business operations and request them consistently.

The number of reviews and average star rating are important, but velocity (how often people review your business) is also important. If you can, I recommend using review management software, such as BrightLocal, GatherUp, or Podium, to request reviews.

A few best practices and notes regarding reviews:

It’s okay if your star rating isn’t 5/5. People know you’re not perfect, and a 4.8/5 can look more authentic to customers anyway.
Respond to reviews. Be kind and don’t get defensive. If you’re able, offer to fix the problem. If not, let the customer know you’ll do better next time.
If a review is fake or harassment, do not respond to it; instead, report it to Google so it can be removed.
Do not have your employees leave reviews! Only reviews from real customers count.

Perfect Your Intake (Make Every Lead Count)

It’s easy to treat your digital marketing as something separate from your business’s day-to-day operations. Once you get a lead or someone walks through the door, your Google Listing has done its job, right?

Kind of. The next step is just as important, though. When you get a lead (call, form, text), you need to make sure that prospective customers have the same helpful experience they got online. If you can, audit your intake (you’ll need call tracking for this!) and coach your team on how to work with prospective customers/clients when they reach out.

The goal is to turn leads into revenue, and that only happens when the lead converts.

Track everything really well (call Tracking, UTM codes, etc.)

Speaking of call tracking, if your business gets leads over the phone, use call tracking software on your website and your Google listing. Call data is part of your local SEO Strategy.

Set up call recording (if permitted by local laws) and pay attention to the origin of your calls.

Additionally, make sure to add UTM tracking codes to your Google listing and any links on it (appointment link, product link, website link, etc.). I won’t go into too much detail here, but this resource from Claire Carlile has everything you need to know (including a template!).

What about directory listings (other than GBP)?

“Local SEO” used to be synonymous with “directory listings,” and the general rule of thumb was this: The more, the merrier! Today, it’s more closely associated with Google Maps optimization, and it’s worth asking whether other directories are worth the time and money it takes to stay listed in them.

Not long ago, I revised my approach to these third-party listings and removed clients from many of them. Here’s what happened:

Rankings did not go down (they went up, on average, for important terms)
Leads did not go down (they went up, on average, for most clients)

This doesn’t mean directories don’t have their place, but syndicating your business information to 80+ listings that will never be indexed or seen by humans simply is not needed to achieve local SEO success.

My advice is this: Be judicious about what listings you put your business in, and focus on the ones you know will bring value. Google, Yelp, and Bing are the first three you’ll want to focus on. Some industries (legal and medical, for instance) may have niche, industry-specific listings that are still relevant (Findlaw, Zocdoc, etc.)

A good way to check if a niche listing is relevant is to do a few searches for keywords your customers might look for (local ones) and see if those directories show up on the first page of SERPs.

Those are the listings that matter.

Finally, unless you are doing your directory management manually, I recommend working with a provider who knows SEO and understands the value of listings. I prefer BrightLocal’s Citation Builder, but there are a few solid options out there to choose from, so do a little research and see what suits your needs.

When Third-party Directory Listings Really Matter

Local SEO is still SEO, so “it depends” applies even to third-party directory listings. There are a few technical instances in which directories are relevant, and not just for your ideal clients:

New Businesses

I’ve worked with some new businesses that struggle to get their Google listing verified because they are so new.

If your business falls into this category, consider getting it listed in more directories than I recommended above. Listings that come with a unique profile that Google can index are best. Syndicating your data to many publishers is one way you can show search engines that your business is, in fact, “legit” and has some semblance of an online footprint.

Website Indexation

The same goes for new websites (often associated with new businesses).

In recent years, I’ve seen new domains struggle to get indexed without the help of some third-party mentions. Directory listings are one way to encourage crawlers to engage with your site.

Of course, your website needs to include some kind of value and helpful content, too, but getting onto directory listings can help move the indexation process along.

Address Changes

Changing an address in GBP can be really easy, but it can also be tough if Google deems the change unreliable. Having additional listings (ones that are easier to update, ideally) with the new address in place can increase the likelihood of Google accepting the change quickly.

LLMs Use Listings for Business Information

Kate Herbert-Smith, Digital Learning Manager at BrightLocal

BrightLocal’s research from July 2025 found that AI has bought citations and listings back into a more prominent position. While their importance had been waning for a few years, LLMs now use them as a regular source of information for your brand.

A few of our findings:

Yelp is used as a source in a third of all searches, and often multiple times in one search.
LLMs use reviews from Yelp, Google Business Profile, and other sources to get additional rich information.
LLMs also take information from social media channels.
Businesses own websites are incredibly important sources for LLMs.
Industry niche directories are a regular source of information.

Read the full study

Your On-site SEO Matters, Too!

Your website is part of your local SEO strategy, too. Not only because it can rank for local queries, but also because your website optimization can impact your performance in Google Maps.

It goes without saying that for your GBP to reap the benefits of an optimized and authoritative website, you need a live website to optimize. But research shows that only 40% of SMBs said they had a dedicated website for their business.

Here’s an example of how an active website can impact your local SEO:

I encountered a business not too long ago that wasn’t new, wasn’t indexed except for the home page. Additionally, Google refused to display their website on GBP (would deny the update every time). Initially, the clear problem was thin content. However, the site encountered the same issues after that was fixed.

After checking the site’s technical elements (robots.txt, internal links, etc.), I noticed unsavory backlinks in the client’s backlink profile and submitted a disavow file.

Within two weeks, the site was indexed, and the firm’s visibility in Google Maps increased by 44%. Calls followed a similar pattern:

In short, the relevance of your website impacts the relevance of your Google listing.

If you’re interested in how to structure your website for local success and how to optimize your service pages, check out my course on mastering service page optimization from BrightLocal Academy.

Conclusion

SEO is iterative, and local SEO is no exception. Don’t look for one big lever you can pull and walk away. GBP isn’t a slot machine. If you treat it like one, you’ll end up disappointed. Look for the little things you can do consistently (and well!) that pile up over time. That’s how you win.

What is Local Citation Building?

Stephanie Newton — Thu, 05 May 2022 13:34:45 +0000

If you’re familiar with link building, you may fear citation building is similarly time-consuming, challenging, and frustrating.

Luckily, it’s not quite as resource-draining as link building. In fact, building and managing local citations is easy to get to grips with. Though it’s not complex, the actual time taken to build citations can be a barrier, which is where listing management tools can come in handy. More on that later.

A citation is a mention of your business information shared online. Citation building is simply the process of creating more of these citations across the web.

The best kinds of mentions include your business name, address, and phone number (NAP), along with any supplementary information that may be relevant. This could be your opening hours, web address, or email, depending on where the mention is going to exist online.

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

You could have built local citations without even realizing it, such as through:

Social media profiles
Directory listings
Event listings
Review profiles
Articles
Aggregators or booking websites

Each accurate, high-quality citation is a valuable piece of your local SEO strategy.

Because of this, many purposefully set out to grow their current profile by searching for local directories, niche industry sites, social media platforms, and so on, to share their business details. This process, though time-consuming, is well worth it, which is why many businesses choose to utilize citation-building tools in order to create a robust portfolio across the web (without spending hours creating it).

Related: How to Master Local Link Building – Free Online Course

How many should you aim to build?

As with links, there’s no magic number that you should target. It’s more often helpful to focus instead on consistently building as many good quality, accurate citations as possible.

The bigger your pool of high-quality, accurate, and consistent mentions, the better for your search visibility and consumer discovery.

That being said, the more citations you have, the harder they are to keep track of—dozens of citations do nothing if they all contain outdated, mismatched information. Citation tracking methods and tools come in handy for this exact reason.

Another helpful tip is to benchmark your count against your competitors. We know citations are a top local search ranking factor, so you should aim for as many local citations—if not more—as your biggest competitor.

Overall, building and managing high-quality, accurate citations is a key building block of your local SEO strategy. Luckily, you can find a host of tools to help maximize the benefit of the process.

AI Search Makes Local Listings More Important Than Ever

Kate Herbert-Smith — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 07:20:20 +0000

Thanks to AI, the world of online search is changing fast. With large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity becoming more common, how businesses get found online is evolving. This shift is bringing a fresh focus to some local SEO basics that you might have been overlooking recently: citations and local listings.

Citations and local listings are back in the spotlight

There’s been a lot of talk about citations in the context of AI search. For traditional SEOs, citations mean unlinked brand mentions, i.e., your business being mentioned in a news article, blog post, or PR, but without a direct link back to your site. While these have always been part of a solid online presence, now these unlinked mentions, along with local citations and listings, are being seen as key for ranking in AI searches.

Obviously, for local SEOs, citations are something we’ve been using for years.

Citations in the form of local listings and aggregators used to be absolutely vital for local visibility. In recent years, they have become more of a foundational task. But with AI-driven search on the rise, they’re making a big comeback, often being referenced directly by these new AI platforms.

For example, Data Axle points out how crucial it is to get your locations synced with major voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri, and to ensure accuracy for GPS services like Uber. If your business doesn’t refresh and rebuild its listings and citations for this new AI-driven world, it’s definitely going to miss out.

Foursquare’s surprising role with ChatGPT

Here’s a real head-scratcher that shows just how important diverse local data sources are: the partnership between Foursquare and ChatGPT. A few months ago, Foursquare teamed up directly with ChatGPT, meaning Foursquare’s location data is now powering many of the AI’s responses.

What’s really wild about this is that Foursquare has pretty much retired its consumer-facing apps and websites. Yet, it’s now a key aggregator for AI search. It’s important to note that Foursquare isn’t necessarily appearing as a directly linked source in the way other citation or listing sites might. Instead, AI models are pulling information straight from their vast database. Reports suggest that a significant 60% and 70% of local results on ChatGPT come straight from Foursquare’s city guide listings, especially for smaller towns or niche businesses.

This really hammers home that listings beyond just Google Business Profile (GBP) and Yelp have real value. If ChatGPT doesn’t find enough info on Foursquare, then it turns to other sources, including Google Business Profile. With over 100 million points of interest in more than 200 countries, Foursquare’s database is a surprisingly powerful player in the AI search game.

Source

What we’re seeing in AI search: All LLMs are using directories for sources, and Yelp is prevalent

From what we’re observing across various AI search platforms, there’s a clear shift in how local business info is being pulled and presented. We did some real-world searching and found the following.

Methodology

We performed 20 different searches across 10 different industry niches. Each search was repeated on Google AI Mode, Google Gemini, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT Search to see where they got their local information.

In each industry, we did:

a basic search for a specific business type in an area, e.g., ‘best dentist in Denver’ or ‘self-storage business in Hoboken’.
an additional search to ask a specific question about one business, e.g., ‘does Odd Pet Vet offer 24-hour emergency service?’ or ‘Does Evans Family Law Group offer free consultations?’

We then collected the sources the AIs listed for each search, regardless of whether they were used in the final result.

Directories are key for AI search

All LLMs are using directories and citations for business information across every industry.

Platforms like MapQuest were frequently leveraged by both Google AI Mode and Perplexity, demonstrating that even long-standing directories remain highly influential in the AI ecosystem.
For specialized sectors, AI models exhibit a strong preference for industry-specific directories.
- In our dentistry searches, for example, ChatGPT exclusively sourced information from ten different dental directories. Toprateddentist.com appeared as a key source for Gemini, AI Mode, and ChatGPT across these searches.
- Similarly, sites like Superlawyers.com and Findlaw.com were heavily relied upon by ChatGPT and Perplexity for legal-related queries. This emphasizes the need to be present and accurate within your specific industry’s leading directories.

Yelp is a strong influence

Despite a fluctuating reputation among some users, Yelp remains an undeniable force in AI search:

Yelp was used as a source in 33% of our overall searches. Perplexity notably used Yelp in every single industry we investigated, though not for every individual search within those industries.
While Google Gemini was the only LLM that did not directly cite Yelp, Google AI Mode still pulled information from Yelp for multiple industries, including dental, hospitality, and fitness.
LLMs utilized Yelp not only to extract specific business information but also, crucially, to surface and summarize customer reviews.

Google Business Profile is still essential for Google’s LLMs

Unsurprisingly, Google’s own AI models heavily favor Google Business Profile listings:

Even in instances where GBP wasn’t the main cited source, AI Mode would still display GBP information within its results. It often summarizes key details via text alongside data from other sources before presenting the full GBP listing further down. This highlights its importance for visibility within Google’s AI environment.

Your business website really matters

Perhaps the most reassuring finding for businesses is the continued importance of their own websites.

In our previous ChatGPT source study in December 2024, we found that ChatGPT used business websites as a source 58% of the time. This continues to be the case.

The vast majority of sources across every single LLM and industry were businesses’ own websites. This finding really highlights just how critical it is to have your own, well-maintained website. Your website serves as the ultimate authoritative source for LLMs seeking the most accurate and complete information.

Other notable findings

While directories and your website form the backbone, our research also points to other content types and platforms influencing AI search results:

For industries like hospitality, blogs and lifestyle-oriented websites frequently appeared as sources, indicating the value of content marketing and partnerships beyond traditional listings.
Social platforms are increasingly contributing to the AI search landscape.
- Instagram was cited as a source by both Google AI Mode and Perplexity.
- Facebook was used by Google AI Mode and ChatGPT.
- YouTube content influenced results for both Gemini and Perplexity.

This shows your business needs a complete online presence with accurate information, good review management, and engaging content on many different platforms to help AI find you easily.

What this means for your business

The rise of AI search is a game-changer for how your business needs to approach getting found online. To make sure your business stays in the running in this new era, here’s what you need to focus on in terms of citations and listings:

1. Build and optimize your foundational citations (including niche and key directories)

Our research clearly shows that directories are key for AI search. LLMs are extensively using them across every industry. This means actively working on getting your business mentioned across all sorts of online platforms, both broad and niche-specific.

Platforms like MapQuest were frequently cited, highlighting the continued importance of even long-standing directories. Also, for specialized sectors like dentistry (where Toprateddentist.com was a key source) or legal (with Superlawyers.com and Findlaw.com), AI models show a strong preference for industry-specific directories.

Our Citation Builder service can streamline this process. Our team of experts finds and builds high-quality citations on relevant directories for you. You can also use our Citation Tracker tool to keep an eye on your existing citations, helping you spot inconsistencies or new opportunities that can boost your online authority.

2. Prioritize Google Business Profile

Google AI Mode consistently relied on GBP as a primary information source, often summarizing its details even when other sources were also used. This highlights that a complete, accurate, and optimized GBP is non-negotiable for visibility within Google’s AI environment.

3. Optimize your website

Our findings show that your business’s own website is often the dominant source for LLMs. This means your website is truly your most important online asset. Ensure it’s up-to-date with essential information, including your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP), detailed services offered, current opening hours, compelling photos, answers to FAQs, customer reviews (and links to review platforms), and comprehensive business descriptions.

4. Leverage data aggregators

Platforms like Data Axle, Foursquare, Neustar, and others are crucial for making sure your business info gets shared across AI search engines, voice assistants, and navigation systems. These aggregators push your core data out widely, ensuring LLMs have access to consistent information.

As part of our Citation Builder service, we offer direct submissions to the five major Data Aggregator Networks (including Data Axle, Foursquare, and Neustar). This ensures your core business information is pushed out to thousands of directories, apps, and mapping services, widening your reach to where AI models get their data.

5. Stay on top of your listings management

Our research, particularly on Yelp, demonstrates the strong influence of review platforms. Yelp was a source in a significant 33% of our searches, used not just for business info but crucially, to summarize customer reviews. This underscores the need to make absolutely sure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are identical across all your online listings, your website, Google Business Profile, Foursquare, Apple Maps, and social media.

Keep all your profiles complete, accurate, and up-to-date with details like categories, hours, and photos. And don’t forget to actively manage customer reviews; they play a big part in how AI pulls together information and ranks businesses. Also, using strategic keywords in your listings can help improve their performance in local searches.

Our Active Sync tool ensures your most important business information is consistent and accurate across major platforms like Google, Facebook, Apple Maps, and Bing. It helps prevent unwanted edits and quickly pushes out updates.

With our Reputation Manager tool, you can monitor reviews across 80+ sites, get notified of new feedback, and even generate more positive reviews, all helping to build the strong online presence AI algorithms are looking for.

6. Cultivate local mentions and PR

Beyond directories and your website, our findings show that other content types and platforms are influencing AI search. For instance, content and lifestyle sites were sources for hospitality queries, with reputable lifestyle publications like Time Out and smaller, more location—or industry-specific blogs.

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube were also cited by various LLMs.

Cultivating local mentions and securing links from local news sites, community blogs, and other authoritative online sources is increasingly important. Our research into AI sources shows that these types of online local mentions are key signals in the eyes of AI algorithms. So, investing time in local public relations and actively seeking out these non-directory mentions will play a crucial role in your success.

AI search isn’t something that’s coming; it’s here now. Adapting your local SEO strategies to fit this new AI landscape will put you in the best position to get seen by customers, no matter where they’re looking.

How to Manage Business Listings Properly

Kate Herbert-Smith — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 08:05:45 +0000

In today’s digital-first world, your local business listings are more than just an online address book entry; they are powerful tools for visibility, customer engagement, and ultimately, growth. But what exactly does listings management entail, and why is it so crucial for your local SEO success?

What is listings management?

Listings management is the process of creating, updating, and optimizing your business information across a multitude of online platforms. This includes major search engines like Google, Bing, and Apple Maps, social media sites like Facebook, and countless online directories and review sites.

The goal is to ensure that your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are consistent and accurate everywhere your business is found online, along with other important details such as opening hours, services, photos, and customer reviews.

Listings management also includes monitoring suggested edits, tracking performance, and proactively responding to customer interactions, helping you to present a reliable and trustworthy brand.

How it Differs from Building Citations

While often used interchangeably, ‘listings management’ and ‘citation building’ are two different but related practices.

Citation building primarily focuses on creating new citations (mentions of your business’s NAP) on various directories and platforms. It’s about establishing a foundational presence and expanding your reach.

Listings management, on the other hand, is an ongoing, proactive activity. It includes not only building new citations but also monitoring existing ones, ensuring their accuracy, optimizing them for search, responding to reviews, and managing any suggested or external edits that may arise.

In short, citation building is one of the activities involved in listings management.

Why You Need It

Proper listings management isn’t just a best practice; it’s necessary for any local business aiming to thrive online. Here’s why:

Boosts Search Visibility: Accurate and optimized listings show search engines that your business is legitimate and trustworthy, leading to higher rankings in local search results and maps. Plus, AI search engines use these as sources for information, too.
Helps New Customer Discovery: When potential customers search for businesses, complete and optimized listings make it easier for them to find you, understand what you offer, and choose you over competitors.
For example, according to our Local Business Discovery and Trust Report, 61% of consumers use business information sites to discover new local businesses.

Provides Essential Customer Information: Online listings give potential customers key information like your hours, phone number, and location, making it easier for them to decide to become customers.
Enhances Customer Trust and Experience: Inaccurate information can frustrate customers and damage your reputation. In fact, BrightLocal’s Local Business Discovery and Trust Report 2023 reveals that 62% of consumers would avoid using a business if they found incorrect information online. Consistent and reliable listings build trust and provide a seamless experience, whether they are looking for your phone number or checking if you offer curbside pickup.
Improves Local SEO Performance: Search engines prioritize businesses with accurate and consistent information. By actively managing your listings, you provide clear signals that improve your overall local SEO position.

Not All Listings Sites Are Equal

While there are thousands of listing sites out there, your focus should be on these four powerhouses:

Google Maps
Apple Maps
Bing
Facebook

Why? Because together, they capture the vast majority of local consumer engagement, meaning that’s where your customers are looking.

Now, imagine the holidays are coming up, and your opening hours are changing. You need to update them across every single platform where your business is listed, especially those crucial four. Going to each site manually to make those changes is a time-consuming headache.

Centralizing it is a much better option.

Tools like BrightLocal’s Active Sync act like a central control panel for all your business information, saving you valuable time and ensuring consistency. Here’s what it does:

Keeps everything correct and consistent: You tell Active Sync your business details once, and it automatically makes sure that the same correct information is on all the important websites where your business is listed.
Makes updates easy: If your hours change or you get a new phone number, you just update it in Active Sync. It then pushes that change out to all your connected listings, saving you a lot of time and hassle.
Give more control: It directly connects to big sites like Google Business Profile and Apple Maps, giving you more power over how your business appears there.
Monitors external edits: Many listing platforms, including Google and Bing, allow consumers or other data sources to suggest edits to your business information. These external changes, if incorrect, can negatively impact your local search visibility and customer experience.
Active Sync helps monitor your listings, so if someone tries to change your information incorrectly (like a wrong phone number), it will alert you so you can catch it and fix it.

Things to Consider for Effective Listings Management

To truly master your business listings, consider the following key things:

Crafting a Business Description

Your business description is often the first impression a new customer has. It should be clear, succinct, and highlight your unique selling points, products, and services. Keep character limits in mind for platforms like: Google (750 characters) and Apple Maps (500 characters), and always avoid keyword stuffing. Active Sync can help you manage and update these descriptions efficiently across platforms.

Using Phone Tracking Numbers or URLs

While most major platforms don’t strictly prohibit tracking numbers or URLs, be cautious when using them. Google, Apple, and Bing generally allow them as long as they connect directly to your business location and you have direct control.

However, consistency is key: using different tracking numbers can confuse both consumers and search engines.

How Frequently to Update and Optimize Your Listing

Your listings should be living documents, updated as often as necessary to reflect any changes in your business. This includes:

Seasonal or special opening hours
Changes to products, services, or pricing
New payment methods
Updates to contact information
Adding new photos and responding to reviews (at least weekly for Google Business Profile)

As mentioned, Active Sync enables you to push these critical updates instantly, ensuring your information is always current across all synced listings without having to update each platform manually.

The Smarter Way to Manage Listings

Discover a cutting-edge solution for effective listings management

Get Started with Listings Management _{Start Your Free Account}

Monitor and Audit Listings

Regularly auditing your business listings is a crucial yet often overlooked step. Over time, your business information can become outdated, duplicated, or even (as mentioned earlier) altered by third-party sources. If left unchecked, these inconsistencies can hurt your visibility, confuse customers, and destroy trust.

By making listing audits a regular part of your local SEO strategy, we’d suggest quarterly at minimum, you maintain control over how your business is represented online and ensure customers always find the right information when they need it.

Scan for and Eliminate Duplicate Listings

So, at least every quarter, scan for duplicates. Duplicate listings, especially on platforms like Google, Bing, and Yelp, can split your ranking power, confuse search engines, and send mixed signals about your business. Identifying and removing or merging them ensures you maintain a single, authoritative version of your business information across every directory.

Double-check Your Map Pins and Address Formatting

Next, verify the accuracy of your listing details, especially your map pins. A misplaced location pin on Google Maps or Apple Maps can send customers to the wrong place, leading to missed opportunities and frustration. Manually check that your business appears correctly on each platform and that the address formatting is consistent.

Use Tools to Monitor and Maintain Listing Health

Finally, use reliable tools to uncover issues and track your listing’s health. BrightLocal’s Citation Tracker can quickly highlight inconsistencies, duplicates, and missing information across major platforms. Tools like Active Sync not only help you manage updates but also monitor your listings in real time, flagging issues before they escalate.

Monitor Google Business Profile Insights and Use UTM Tracking

Keeping tabs on how your listings are performing is just as important as managing the information they contain. Google Business Profile (GBP) provides valuable insights that show how customers are interacting with your listing, and these metrics can help guide your optimization efforts.

Here’s what you should be monitoring regularly:

Website Clicks: See how many people are visiting your site directly from your GBP. If clicks are low, it might be time to refine your description, add clearer calls to action, or improve your images.
Direction Requests: A high number of requests suggests strong local interest. If these numbers drop suddenly, it may signal that there’s an issue with your map pin or location info.
Phone Calls: GBP Insights show when and how often people call your business. Use this data to track trends over time and see if certain days or promotions are generating more inquiries.
Search Impressions: This shows how often your business appears in local search results. If you see a drop in these numbers it may indicate listing or SEO issues.

Tip: Our Google Business Profile Audit tool pulls key performance metrics directly from GBP and presents them in one clear, easy-to-read dashboard, helping you spot trends, diagnose problems, and track improvement over time.

Additionally, to gain even more granular data on website traffic originating from your GBP, implementing UTM tracking is highly recommended. UTMs are simple code snippets you can add to the end of your URLs. When someone clicks a link with a UTM code, it sends specific information back to your Google Analytics (or other analytics tool), allowing you to see exactly where your website visitors came from and what campaign drove them.

For your GBP website link, you might use UTM parameters like:

utm_source=google_my_business
utm_medium=organic
utm_campaign=gmb_listing

This allows you to differentiate traffic from your GBP from other organic search traffic, providing a clearer picture of your listing’s performance in driving website visits.

Monitor and Respond to Reviews

Online reviews are more than just feedback; they’re one of the most influential trust signals for local consumers and search engines. When someone looks up your business on Google, Yelp, or Facebook, reviews are front and center. That makes review monitoring and responding a core part of effective listings management.

Ignoring your reviews (even the positive ones) means missing out on the chance to build stronger customer relationships, enhance your reputation, and boost your visibility in local search. In fact, 89% of consumers expect business owners to respond to all types of reviews, according to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey.

Best Practices for Review Management

Monitor Reviews Across All Platforms
Keep an eye on your reviews. Each listing is a customer touchpoint that influences perception and buying decisions.

Tip: Use our Reputation Manager tool to monitor, manage, and respond to reviews across multiple platforms from one centralized dashboard.
Respond Promptly and Professionally
Make it a habit to respond to every review—positive or negative—ideally within 24–48 hours. Thank customers for kind words and address any issues in a polite, constructive manner. This not only reassures the original reviewer but also shows potential customers that you value feedback.
Spot Trends and Take Action
Pay attention to recurring themes in reviews. Are customers frequently mentioning slow service, unclear directions, or outdated business hours? These insights can signal problems in your operations or your listings that need addressing.
Encourage New Reviews
A steady stream of recent reviews signals to both customers and Google that your business is active and relevant. Make it easy for happy customers to leave reviews by sharing direct links, adding reminders in post-service emails, or using in-store signage.

Tip: With our Get Reviews feature, you can send review requests by email or SMS and direct happy customers to your preferred platforms.

How Abbreviations Affect NAP Consistency

NAP consistency is essential for local SEO. While Google and Bing are often smart enough to understand common abbreviations (e.g., ‘St.’ for ‘Street’), it’s best practice to maintain exact consistency across all listings. If you choose an abbreviation, stick to it everywhere. As mentioned already, Active Sync can help keep all your business info the same everywhere online. This stops confusing differences that could make it harder for people to find you in searches.

How to Manage Multiple Business Listings at the Same Time

Managing listings for a single business location is already a significant task, but when you operate multiple branches or franchise locations, that complexity multiplies. Each location may have unique hours, services, contact details, and reviews to manage. Without the right systems in place, things can quickly spiral into inconsistency and confusion.

Here’s how to effectively manage multiple business listings without losing control:

Use a Centralized Listings Management Platform

The key to managing multiple locations efficiently is centralization. A tool like Active Sync becomes indispensable when handling multiple listings. It allows you to:

Control all listings from one dashboard: Manage every location’s information from a single interface instead of logging into separate accounts
Maintain location-specific information: Even with centralized management, you can customize descriptions, categories, and attributes for each location to reflect local differences.
Stay on top of suggested edits and duplicates: Active Sync monitors each listing for third-party edits or duplicate entries, alerting you so you can act before issues impact your visibility.

Centralize Review Management

With multiple listings, reviews can come in from many platforms and locations simultaneously. Using a tool like Reputation Manager, you can:

Aggregate and track reviews from all major platforms
Get notified of new reviews in real-time
Respond quickly and consistently, maintaining a strong brand voice across all locations

This central approach helps to ensure no customer feedback slips through the cracks and reinforces trust with both search engines and potential customers.

Leverage Google Business Profile Manager

For businesses with multiple locations on Google, the Google Business Profile Manager is essential. It allows you to:

Create and manage profiles in bulk
Organize listings using business groups
Apply updates across multiple locations simultaneously
Share access with team members or franchise managers, with controlled permissions

This ensures your presence on Google remains consistent, accurate, and easy to manage at scale.

Assign Roles and Responsibilities

If multiple team members are involved in listings management, clearly define who’s responsible for what. Whether it’s updating business hours, responding to reviews, or conducting regular audits, assigning specific tasks ensures:

Accountability
Timely updates
Fewer errors or oversights

Monitor Performance Across All Locations

Tracking performance by location helps you understand what’s working and where improvements are needed. Use tools like BrightLocal, Google Business Profile Insights, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to monitor key metrics such as:

Website clicks: To measure engagement and conversion potential
Direction requests: To track local demand
Call volume: To identify peaks in customer interest
Search impressions: To evaluate overall local visibility

This data enables you to identify top-performing branches, optimize underperforming listings, and catch issues like outdated info or negative reviews before they impact your reputation.

Conclusion

Managing your business listings properly is an ongoing process that requires attention to detail and consistent effort. By understanding the nuances of listings management, differentiating it from simple citation building, and leveraging powerful tools like BrightLocal’s Active Sync, you can ensure your business information is always accurate, optimized, and working hard to attract and retain local customers.

What Is Local Search?

Jamie Banks — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 09:00:05 +0000

If you’re just getting started with local SEO, or figuring out how to get more visibility for a local business, welcome!

Our guide to Google local search is jargon-free, up to date, explains everything in plain English, and is packed with easy-to-action tips.

We’ll touch on the essential local SEO tools you’ll need to make your life easier and provide you with a complete overview of which areas you need to focus on to make your business more visible to local customers. So, let’s get started!

The Basics: Why local search?

If you’re new to Google local search or have come over from traditional SEO, you may wonder where it’s come from and why it’s so important to local businesses everywhere. The answer to this question lies with a piece of tech that you likely have in your pocket, in your hands, or on your desk right now—your smartphone.

The widespread availability of mobile technology has seriously changed how we behave as consumers. We can now hop online at any time, from any location, and search for something we need or want. That means that anything from the nearest pizza place to the pet grooming parlor (plus any product or service you can think of in between) is just a few taps on your smartphone screen away.

Constant connectivity equals convenience, so more and more, everyday shoppers are heading to Google on their phones when they need to find something. According to BrightLocal’s own Local Consumer Review Survey, 21% of consumers go online to find a local business every day, 77% search for a local business at least once per week, and 91% look online for local businesses at least once a month.

It’s easy to see how appearing prominently on Google when local people search for your kind of service can be lucrative!

What is a ‘local search’? How does it differ from a normal search?

A local search is perhaps best described with an example:

You’re driving in town and have a flat tire. You pull out your smartphone, head to your web browser, and type ‘mechanic’ into Google.

Whether or not you add ‘near me’, you’re still performing a local search as you’re looking for a specific service in your local area.

Thanks to modern technology, and provided you’ve allowed for this in your privacy settings, Google can accurately pinpoint your location. It can use your Wi-Fi connection or GPS, for example, to get an idea of where you are and then return results for products, services, and merchants that are in close proximity to your location.

Without getting too technical, proximity between searcher and business is one of the three key pillars of local search (along with relevance and prominence) for businesses looking to get their web presence seen by the right people at the right time.

Google will calculate the distance from the search user to a local business when deciding how to rank search results. It knows that, more often than not, search users need a solution that is close to them—especially when searching on a mobile device.

Is local search just “a Google thing”?

Absolutely not. At the time of writing this, Google still has a 90% market share of internet searches, but that has dipped in recent years.

What’s gaining ground on Google? First, social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have excellent search and business discovery mechanisms. Then, we have the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT, which are taking their share of people fed up with years of unreliable or clunky Google results who just want a straight answer about local businesses the first time.

While this piece focuses on Google, we’ll be coming back to LLMs and social media later in the piece, as their impact on local search can’t be denied, and you’ll want to consider these platforms if you’re taking local search seriously.

Breaking Down Your Search

You may think there’s nothing much to decode when you type a few words into Google to hunt down a vital product or service. That’s actually not the case, though.

The words and phrases you type in before hitting ‘search’ are a good indicator to Google whether you need something local or a solution from further afield. Let’s look at some of the ways that Google works out if you’re looking for something local.

“Near Me” Searches

Let’s go back to that city drive and your flat tire.

Now, chances are, you don’t just type in mechanic, although that is possible. In your eagerness to return to the road with a fully inflated tire as soon as possible, you might tell Google you’re looking for a “mechanic near me”.

Right away, ‘near me’ triggers a local search, as you need assistance close to your physical location.

The same is true of your customers’ searches. Whether they’re looking for a pool cleaner or a cable guy, ‘near me’ flags up to Google that only a business close to the searcher’s current location will suffice.

This means that Google knows to present that user with service providers from their immediate area. If you’re a mechanic in that city, you’ll want to ensure that you have your local search visibility taken care of to be visible to that customer and stand a chance of winning that job.

Geo-targeted Searches

In some cases, rather than typing in “near me”, you may simply add your location to the end of the search to be assured that you’ll be served relevant results. For example, “mechanic brighton”.

It’s pretty clear to Google that this is a local search, and so to be useful, it needs to show you listings for mechanics in Brighton.

You’d also use geo-targeted searches if you were looking for a place in a specific location that isn’t near you, for example when planning a trip. It’s important to remember this because otherwise, it’s easy to think that ‘local search’ equals ‘near me search’.

Location-enabled Searches

If you have your location enabled on your phone, you can perform a local search without even realizing it. In most cases, if you simply type in ‘mechanic’, you’ll get local results simply because you have location services enabled on your phone (Google is clever enough to know that you’re probably not looking for a definition of a mechanic unless you specifically ask for one).

This can vary depending on the type of business searched for, though. Searches for popular business types like hotels, restaurants, and car dealerships are always likely to trigger a location-enabled search.

What is a local search result in Google?

As we’ve seen, there are several types of ways to make a local search on Google, and fittingly, there are multiple types of local search results, too.

Depending on the device used for the search and the type of search performed, a different type of local search result may be shown.

Here, we just want to share a few terms that pop up most often to describe local search results so you feel comfortable with each one when you carry out local searches, speak to a local SEO agency, or look for local SEO services.

Local Pack

The most common result you’ll see when making a local search for a business is the Local Pack, though Google is doing its best to make AI Overviews the de facto search result—more on this shortly.

The Local Pack is a section of Google’s search results that shows the top local businesses related to your query. Whenever your query has local intent, Google will show a set of local businesses that might answer your query.

You’ll see the Local Pack appear if you go to Google and type in your search query in the search bar. It will often have an image of a map above or beside it and then usually three suggested local businesses below or to the side, sometimes with snippets of reviews, opening times, justifications, and photos.

For local businesses, this is the ultimate goal in local SEO, as these three spots are generally consistent across mobile and desktop and are by far the most popular way of discovering local businesses on Google.

Google Maps

If you use Google Maps to perform a search, you’ll get local map results. This will show the location of businesses matching your search query on a map with options for filtering according to criteria such as ‘top rated’ or ‘open now’, or even business types like ‘restaurants’.

Local Finder

If you click a listing in the Local Pack or scroll through the list of businesses on Google Maps, you’ll get what are called ‘Local Finder’ results. The Local Finder is the source of truth for all local listings on Google.

Wherever you see listings for a particular search term in a particular location, the Local Finder results are what’s being pulled. BrightLocal tracks these positions in our Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid.

Google AI Overviews

Getting back to general browser results, today you might find an AI Overview result in response to your local search query. These responses are generated by Google’s Gemini LLM (“AI” is entirely a misnomer—and a deliberate one: there is no “intelligence” going on here, merely pattern recognition and prediction, and the same is true of other LLMs like ChatGPT).

In this local search result type, Gemini does its best to discern what sort of result the user is searching for and pulls from authoritative guides and online sources to compile a response that’s conversational in tone.

The sources themselves are hidden behind ‘link’ icons and in the right-hand box (which I’ve already opened in the screenshot above).

These results are experimental and vary wildly from day to day and from search to search. It’s safe to say that until Google has stabilized Gemini and implemented it fully and consistently, you can’t rely on AI Overviews appearing for any given search, be that local or otherwise.

“Find Results On”

This may vary depending on where in the world you are searching from, but thanks to Google’s ongoing legal issues in the EU (the governing bodies of which want to see Google stop ‘self-preferencing’ in its products) the search giant has had to compromise and place links to other directories prominently in search results.

This is why you might see ‘Find Results On’ above even the Local Pack in your search results. The prominence of these directories in local search results (and in organic results) further highlights the importance of getting your business featured in all the right directories.

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

Localized Organic Results

Localized organic results are a slightly different version of local search results. These results are shown in the main search area. They aren’t strictly business-related (so they likely won’t include specific local businesses unless they’re performing very well in local SEO for the search term you’ve used), but they do have a strong local connection via their content.

If the searcher is clearly looking for something local, the results will often consist of directory listings or ‘listicle’ style articles (such as “Top 10 Best X in Y”) and articles from local bloggers and newspapers.

Non-Google Local Search

As mentioned above, we’re now in an era where not everyone relies solely on Google to search the web.

In fact, they might not even need to go to the traditional ‘web’ (as found via a browser). Search behavior has changed so much in recent years that it’s now perfectly normal for someone to, say, use ChatGPT to get restaurant recommendations and details, use Instagram to check out what the food looks like, and then find an impartial video review on YouTube or TikTok to make the final decision.

Our own Local Business Discovery and Trust Report found these to be the top apps for business discovery on social media:

Facebook (59% of consumers use Facebook to learn about businesses)
YouTube (49%)
Instagram (40%)
TikTok (32%)
Twitter/X (28%

Let’s take a brief tour of some of these to understand what a local search might look like.

Local Search on Facebook

Facebook is the #1 social media app for business discovery, so we have a dedicated guide to local search and Facebook. For now, let’s move on to some of the others on this list.

Local Search on Instagram

Instagram isn’t quite clever (or perhaps nosy) enough to use your location to prop up a generic search like ‘restaurant’ or ‘restaurant near me’ but if you include a place name, like ‘restaurant new york’, you’ll see posts related to that search, generally from super-popular Instagram accounts.

Another way to search for local businesses on Instagram is a clunky one, but it’s great for a more visual way to browse if you love Instagram.

Type a business name you know is in the area and industry you’re researching into the search bar and scroll over to ‘Places’:
Tap on the business name to see posts related to that ‘Place’.
Zoom out of the map and click ‘Search This Area’ to see a bunch of posts and reels related to your search. That’s where you’ll find similar business types.

This is a niche trick for Instagram business search, but it works and highlights the importance of having an updated and engaging Instagram presence that’s properly detailed, with opening times and the correct address.

Local Search on TikTok

TikTok works in much the same way for business discovery as Instagram, but with one key difference: TikTok actually gives businesses the equivalent of a directory listing.

Perform a business search or stumble across a business another way, and you’ll eventually land on the business’s own listing, which contains:

reviews on TikTok
reviews from other platforms like Google Maps
a link to call the business
a link to find the business on Apple Maps
the full address, price range, and even…
an estimate of how close to you the business is (no other platform does this!)

Where does TikTok get this information from? It doesn’t just aggregate it from other platforms, it actually requests business owners to submit and verify their business details via a dedicated form.

With a social media platform taking business discovery so seriously, you can see why Google’s not in the same position it used to be for local search.

Local Search on YouTube

Unlike some of the other platforms mentioned here, YouTube doesn’t need to keep track of your location and doesn’t tailor its search results based on it. Instead, to perform a local search on YouTube, you’ll need to add your location to the search term (e.g. restaurants brighton).

A local search on YouTube provides you with the same kind of results you’d get for a standard YouTube. It’ll likely be comprised of listicles from popular bloggers or review sites, peppered with sponsored posts from content creators or the businesses themselves.

Where YouTube really comes into its own is in individual product or business reviews. Depending on the sector, you could find a host of reviews to help you make a local business decision, or better yet, local experts who take the time to provide their unbiased reviews.

ChatGPT (and other non-Google LLMs)

Finally, we come to LLMs like ChatGPT, and LLM-powered search engines like Perplexity and Arc Search. What all these have in common is that they’re less ‘search engines’ and more ‘answer engines’. By this, I mean that they’re designed to provide clear answers to questions, rather than a host of results for the user to browse around and use to come to their own conclusions.

They’re designed for conversational activity, so you can start a local search with a simple question like ‘where is a good coffee shop in brixton’, and then refine the results conversationally, without having to repeat the question, like so: “which of these is close to t a train station”. This sort of conversation is what LLM providers mean when they say things like “it can help you plan an entire trip”.

As you can see in the screenshot above, ChatGPT answers local business questions with a map and a carousel of businesses it’s highlighted as suitable for the search term. Want to know which sources it used to decide on this list? Just click ‘Sources’ at the bottom, and ChatGPT will provide you with the list of top sources (usually business websites, authoritative blogs, directories, or local news sources) that it used.

Where do LLMs get the bulk of their information from? The training data used (and how up-to-date it is) is different depending on the LLM you choose, but by far the most popular, ChatGPT, primarily uses Microsoft Bing as its search engine, leveraging its data to provide up-to-date information when searching the web through the “ChatGPT Search” feature. This is because OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT, have a partnership with Microsoft, which owns Bing.

What about other search engines?

While they’re not nearly as popular as Google, there are a multitude of niche or localized search engines available, from industry stalwarts like Yahoo! and Bing to others like Baidu and Yandex. Take a look at our guide to alternative search engines to learn how local search works on those platforms.

Conclusion

Now that you know the differences and commonalities between local search types and local search results, you can dive further into learning what affects these things.

Whatever you do, always be testing and learning. There’s no such thing as set-it-and-forget-it in SEO, and local search is no different. Even citations have to be updated sometimes!

Local SEO made simple

Free 14 day trial

Business Listings Visibility Study

Sammy Paget — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:48:49 +0000

BrightLocal has been measuring how consumers find local businesses for a long time. From the key websites they use, to, more recently, the platforms where they discover new businesses altogether, we’ve got a pretty good grasp on the most popular sites for finding business information.

Even as the way people search changes, business directories continue to lead the way in business discovery. As of the Local Consumer Review Survey 2024, Google, Facebook, and Yelp were consumers’ top three online sources for finding local businesses.

What we don’t talk about so often, though, is how consumers get there—or, rather, how search engine giants like Google surface these websites in search results. After all, aside from optimizing your brand website for better local rankings, understanding how to maximize your presence in SERP real estate can be a game-changer.

With all of this in mind, we wanted to find out how prevalent business listings are in search engine result pages (SERPs) for searches with local intent, along with other types of business mentions, to give a sense of where your marketing dollars are best spent to try to appear behind one of those coveted top ten blue links.

Methodology

In this study, we conducted 800 manual Google searches for local businesses and recorded the first ten organic search results (AKA the first “ten blue links”) for each, for a total of 8,000 search results.

We used one transactional keyword (e.g. coffee shop) and one informational keyword (e.g. best coffee shop) in searches across 20 different business verticals. We repeated these 40 searches in 20 different US cities to provide a broad set of terms and locations.

So that we could compare the presence of forum results in local SERPs, we used the same 20 business verticals and 20 US cities as in our previous Reddit SERP study

Note: For this study, we did not record any AI Overviews (AIOs) because the study focuses purely on organic results. However, it is also worth noting that a recent study (August 2024) shows that AI Overviews match organic results in the top ten organic results almost 100% of the time, so it’s fair to assume that the information that appears in organic results influences AIOs.

Understanding definitions within this study

For every organic search result, we recorded the website name and classification of each website’s ‘type’ using the following criteria:

Example searches used in this study:

“electrician portland” (transactional)

“best electrician portland” (informational)

A full list of search terms and results can be found in the appendix.

SERP Results Compared

Our study found that business directories make up almost a third (31%) of the top ten organic search results overall, providing users with several options beyond Google’s results to view local business information. As the average local search surfaces three directory results within the first ten, you’re going to want to make sure your brand is present and accurately represented in the most visible and relevant directories.

Meanwhile, it’s generally no revelation that business websites make up a large portion of the top ten organic results for local searches. Whether the intent is informational or transactional, it’s arguably in users’ best interest to visit different brands’ websites to a) complete a transaction or b) gather the information they’re looking for.

One surprise, however, is how the visibility of forum results has changed since our Reddit SERP study, where we found that Reddit made up 11% of organic results for transactional searches and 52% of informational searches (31% across all search terms tested).

While that study focused solely on Reddit results and not any other forums, it’s worth noting that we found that Reddit makes up 89% of all forum results recorded in this Business Listings Visibility Study. As of October 2024, forum results make up just 7% of the top ten organic search results.

When we look at the breakdown of result types for transactional and informational search terms, the pattern remains largely the same, but with one exception…

The biggest difference is in the proportion of website and directory results displayed in the top ten for informational searches. For informational searches (e.g., best coffee shop), directories take the larger share (37%) over business sites (32%).

Screenshot of SERP for ‘best coffee shop buffalo,’ where multiple business directories are present

Why might directories be this prominent for informational searches? The business listings found on today’s modern directories provide users with a detailed snapshot of several key business factors, not just contact information, particularly where industry-specific directories are concerned.

In addition to contact information and opening hours, information such as photos of facilities, listed products and services, and customer-submitted content such as business reviews help to inform user research and enable consumers to compare multiple businesses in one place.

Therefore, if a consumer is searching for the ‘best’ type of local business (a search with informational intent), it makes sense that Google would consider directory results relevant.

Business directory result (Tripadvisor) for ‘best coffee shop seattle’

The difference between how often business websites are shown in results for transactional searches (61%) and informational searches (32%) gives us a clear indication of how Google measures user intent.

For a transactional search like ‘car dealership chicago’, Google recognizes that the user is looking for relevant businesses in a local area, whereas for an informational search like ‘best car dealership chicago’, Google understands the consumer is looking to do some research and compare findings.

Business mentions and forums also have a larger share of organic SERP real estate for informational searches than transactional ones. Again, where users are searching with the intent of researching or gathering information before making a decision, it follows that Google might generate results with informal opinions in the form of blog articles or discussions.

Next, we’ll take a look at how these percentages change for specific business verticals.

Healthcare and Wellness

Search terms within the health, medical, and wellness categories tend to lead to business website results for both transactional and informational searches.

Directory visibility is surprisingly low in SERPs for the searches ‘dentist [location]’ (3%), ‘vet clinic [location]’ (3%). At the same time, these are two of the search terms where business websites saw the largest share of organic search results in our study.

It could be the case that, as these business types can be associated with more ‘urgent’ needs, Google understands the intent of these search terms and knows that users need information now, and therefore might be less concerned about ‘shopping around’.

However, this changes when we look at informational search intent. When a consumer is looking for the ‘best’ dentist or ‘best’ vet clinic, directory results jump back up (34% and 23%, respectively). If you consider some of the less urgent needs for these business types, but where a consumer is looking for the ‘best’, things like cosmetic dentistry spring to mind, where it’s likely you would want to shop around before making a decision.

‘Best gym [location]’ sees some of the most forum results in this whole study (18%). When we analyzed some of the USA’s top gym brands in the recent Brand Review Index, we found strong themes of community, culture, and lifestyle. Gym reviewers tend to advocate for their gyms based on very specific factors, and it seems that Google recognizes the need to return search results that reflect this.

Forum result (Reddit) for ‘best gym milwaukee’

Hospitality

When it comes to hospitality-related searches, you would expect to see a variety of results in SERPs, where professional reviews feature in established lifestyle publications, local blogs host listicle-style articles, and threads on local food scenes are common across forums.

As you’ll see below, the ‘coffee shop’ searches reflect this the strongest, with business mentions in the likes of Eater, Edible, The Infatuation, and Best Coffee Guide all appearing in the SERPs.

Both transactional and informational searches for ‘fast food restaurants’ and ‘hotels’ show a heavy weighting towards directory results. Hotel results surface the travel-specific listing websites you’d expect, like Tripadvisor, Kayak, Booking.com, and Trivago, where users can compare prices, hotel ratings, and real customer experiences all in one place.

Fast food directories generate a lot of third-party delivery partner sites and apps. Although technically similar to travel-specific directory sites like Booking.com, which have transactional features, fast food third-party sites are unique in that the focus is on getting something right now. So, it is interesting to see the likes of Uber Eats and Door Dash appearing prominently in organic SERPs for informational search terms. Of course, we don’t necessarily recommend listing your fast-food restaurant on all of the delivery apps unless you can handle the customers!

Interestingly, the search term ‘fast food restaurants’ also sees the highest proportion of directory results than any other search term in this study (72%). It shows how far industry-specific directories have come and how they’re continuing to evolve. DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grub Hub, and their competitors are hybrids of a directory, map system, and ordering platform, as each vendor is listed with NAP information.

Services and Trades

While we know from the Local Consumer Review Survey that long-standing directories like Better Business Bureau (BBB) still play a part in consumers’ decision-making, this study reinforces this by showing a strong SERP presence for directories in both transactional and informational search results pages.

While all transactional searches see more business website results appear in the top ten search results than other types, we can see that some informational terms generate more directory results. ‘Best electrician’ and ‘best HVAC contractor’ lead the way, surfacing a variety of typically more trade-specific directories such as Angie’s List, Expertise, Thumbtack, and BBB.

The clear exception is for ‘car dealership’, where 100% of organic results lead to business websites. It’s the only instance throughout this study where one result type completely dominates the top ten organic results. This shows that SERP real estate for car dealership businesses is incredibly competitive, at least in the USA.

Do you know why this might be? Let us know on social!

‘Your Money or Your Life’ (YMYL)

‘Your Money or Your Life’ refers to content that provides information that can impact a user’s life, health, and finances, which is why we’ve grouped our attorney, realtor, and tax advisor searches here. The end goal of a user researching these types of local businesses is essentially to instruct a professional who will provide financial, legal, or property advice—pretty life-changing stuff.

Legal and financial advice is not something you want to rush into without plenty of research. Therefore, comparing the experience and reviews of professionals on recognized directories is a ‘must’ in any consumer’s decision-making process.

So, it makes sense that the SERPs for these terms are dominated by directories and business websites rather than informal mentions or discussions, allowing users to do thorough research and compare professionals on trusted directories.

Searches related to attorney and tax advisor businesses (‘attorney,’ ‘best attorney,’ ‘best tax advisor’) generate a particularly large amount of business directory results—in fact, more than half of the top ten organic results for these searches were directories.

The anomaly in this group is that 43% of informational realtor searches are business mentions. As with car dealerships, I would estimate that this finding is pretty unique to the USA because its real estate market is largely fronted by individual realtors, where face, reputation, and personality are key.

SERP for ‘best realtor chicago,’ highlighting multiple business mentions in results

The business mentions recorded tend to be realtor profiles, as users are likely to want to spend time reading up on the professionals themselves. The example below from PropertySpark was a common result across the different US locations used with our search terms, and you’ll note the significant focus on agents’ social media profiles.

Realtor profiles found on PropertySpark

I have a feeling that if we conducted informational searches for a UK equivalent (e.g., ‘best estate agent london’), we would not see such a high level of business mentions!

Entertainment

The groupings below for entertainment-related search terms don’t appear to show a pattern in the types of search results generated. The amount of SERP real estate taken up by each result type is pretty varied, but then again, so are the business types reflected by the search terms. It would be worth researching the types of search results for businesses in a similar niche—for example; a toy store could be compared against other types of children’s retailers.

However, it was very surprising to see that 60% of ‘best betting store’ search results were business mentions. A closer look at ‘betting store’ results highlighted many intricacies around legal betting in different states, which explains why so many local news sites or betting publications surfaced in the SERPs. So, this is likely a very specific occurrence in US-based searches.

Some examples included press releases from online trade publications or articles on local news sites announcing the arrival of new sports books in the respective city. It’s likely that these occurrences would be particularly ‘newsworthy’ where some states have seen the re-introduction of legal gambling as recently as 2018.

A business mention result for ‘best betting store denver’ highlights why a store opening is particularly newsworthy

This raises an interesting consideration for businesses that are held to varying state laws or sit within regulated industries where online advertising can be tricky to navigate. Creating educational and authoritative content that explains these complexities on your website and pitching these topics to relevant publications can be an effective way of building credibility, reinforcing the pillars of E-E-A-T, and possibly supporting your local visibility.

Other Notable Findings

Variety of Directory Results

We’ve touched on the presence of industry-specific directories throughout this study, alluding to a great variety of directories appearing for different searches within the top ten organic results alone. The chart below summarizes which of the study’s search terms generated business directories for more than half of the first ten organic search results.

We’ve collated some examples from our study data below to provide you with an idea of the variety that appeared in our search results—and, hopefully, some inspiration for other places to get your brand or clients listed.

Industry term	Directories Appearing in Top 10 Organic Results
attorney	Avvo, bestlawyers, Expertise, findlaw, justia, Super Lawyers, Yelp
betting store	Gambling.com, Tripadvisor, Facebook, MapQuest, Yelp
car dealership	Expertise, CarFax, Yelp
chiropractor	Expertise, Healthgrades, HealthProfs, WebMD, Yelp. Zocdoc
coffee shop	Tripadvisor, Yelp
day spa	Expertise, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Yelp
dentist	American Dentist Society, DenScore, Expertise, Healthgrades, Opencare, Top Rated Dentist, US News Health, Zocdoc
electrician	Angie's List, Better Business Bureau, Expertise, Nextdoor,, Thumbtack, Yelp
fast food restaurant	Tripadvisor, Wanderlog, Door Dash, Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Yelp
gym	Gymbird, Yelp, ClassPass, Groupon, Tripadvisor, Yellowpages
hair salon	Booksy, Expertise, Tripadvisor, Yelp
hotels	Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak, Tripadvisor, Trivago
hvac contractor	Expertise, Angie's List, Home Advisor, Yelp
movie theater	Tripadvisor, Foursquare, City Seeker, Yellowpages, Facebook, Yelp
realtor	Expertise, Yelp, Zillow, Fast Expert
storage facility	Expertise, HomeGuide, Neighbor, selfstorage.com, Sparefoot
tax advisor	Bark, Better Business Bureau, Clutch, Expertise, Thumbtack
toy store	Facebook, Yellowpages, Tripadvisor, Yelp
travel agency	Better Business Bureau, Built In, Thumbtack, Yelp, Yellowpages
vet clinic	Expertise, Facebook, Greatvet, Pawlicy Advisor, Yelp

However, despite the variety of directory results appearing in SERPs, we can’t ignore the fact that some—and I’m sure you can guess which ones—dominate the space. That’s right, we’re talking about Yelp and Tripadvisor, of course. We found these long-standing websites appeared for a whopping 28% and 10% of all directory results in this study, respectively.

Directory	Overall % of directory results
1. Yelp	28%
2. Tripadvisor	10%
3. Expertise	8%
4. Angi/Angie's List	3%
4=. Better Business Bureau (BBB)	3%
5. Thumbtack	2%

Opportunities for Securing Business Mentions

Several of the search groups saw business mentions take the largest share of organic search results within their group, winning out over business websites, directories, or forums. So, we pulled these together to examine areas of opportunity for securing business mentions as a local marketing tactic.

We’ve already touched on how niche businesses or those bound by regulations and varying state laws, like betting stores and sports books, can contribute their expertise to third-party sites as a way of boosting visibility.

Similarly, businesses in the hospitality industry, such as coffee shops and restaurants, can seek out relevant lists and publications to contribute to and be included within, whether it’s a popular consumer-facing publication or a trade-specific publication. It won’t be as easy as just asking to be included in a ‘Top 10 Best’ listicle but think about ways that you can be creative in pitching your brand or its team—an interview with a head chef, for example.

How can I use this information?

The good news is that such diversity in the results shows how each listing or mention ‘type’ has its place in local SEO, and there are plenty of actionable tactics you can adopt in your local marketing strategies accordingly.

The bad news—depending on the type of person you are, I suppose—is that different tactics can mean more work, but at least this study should help you prioritize based on what types of results get the most real estate in your (or your client’s) vertical.

Directories

The business directory landscape is constantly evolving. Given the presence of different business directories within SERPs across this study and the fact that SERP real estate is an incredibly competitive space, your brand quite simply can’t afford to miss out on being listed in the right places.

According to the Business Research Company, a combination of factors, such as digital transformation, increasing consumer demand for digital content, and the growth of digital advertising platforms, has propelled the global directory market in recent years. With this comes a greater need for specialized directories.

They might not be the first sites to cross a user’s mind, compared to key platforms and search engines like Google, Yelp, Apple, and Facebook, but niche and industry-specific directories are important research tools for consumers. And clearly, Google believes they are relevant, too. Some of the examples we recorded in this study include Healthgrades, Thumbtack, BBB, ClassPass, Gymbird, Booksy, CarFax, and DoorDash.

Each trade directory is designed to reflect its niche. You might be aware, for example, that online directories specializing in beauty and wellbeing often use calming hues of blue, green, or pink, place emphasis on high-quality photos of their facilities, and highlight key or popular services. Meanwhile, healthcare or medical directories focus on practitioner profiles, official trust accreditations, and testimonials. SAB directories generally emphasize key contact information and pricing for services you need to get done.

Some of these directories might not be free for businesses to join, but it’s a good idea to do some research and see what sites come up in your search results and where your competitors are to see where your brand could be missing out!

The Smarter Way to Manage Listings

Discover a cutting-edge solution for effective listings management

Get Started with Listings Management _{Start Your Free Account}

Business websites

As we’ve seen, business websites are shown for almost half of the first ten organic results (47%). So, if you want your brand to appear in the local pack above organic results, you’ll want to give the business’s website the best possible chance of ranking organically for these kinds of local-intent searches.

It’s certainly not as easy as getting into a business directory, but getting your business website into the top organic rankings starts with nailing the fundamentals of SEO. As a reminder, here are some of the basics to consider:

Defined website structure with a home page, dedicated product or service pages, category, and local pages.
Optimized website content that has been informed by keyword research.
Creating high-quality content that is unique, helpful, and follows E-E-A-T guidelines.
Optimized metadata to boost chances of click-through from SERPs.

Forums

As discussed in our Reddit SERP study, there is little you can do to directly influence your brand’s presence on forums unless you want to come across as inauthentically self-promoting—or worse, spammy.

However, it is a useful reminder to keep an eye on forums for brand mentions if you haven’t been doing so already. In their own way, forum discussions can be a local PR tool if you’re lucky enough to have customers advocating for you! And if you don’t, then there’s another good reason to really hone in on your customer service and retention efforts.

There are also ways of ‘officially’ representing your brand within forums in a way that won’t rub users up the wrong way. Consider creating brand representative accounts and interacting with relevant discussions in an authentic or helpful way. A simple site search can help uncover where people might have questions about your brand or relevant products and services that you offer.

The best way to increase your chances of appearing in forum conversations? Deliver the best service at the most competitive price, and work on your brand to get the exposure and word-of-mouth your business needs.

Brand mentions

Local PR strategies can sometimes fall to the wayside, whether they’re too time-consuming or hard to prove as a good investment of resources. However, the breadth of business mentions in this study’s results highlights how influential they can be in building brand awareness and reaching new audiences.

Here are just some of the examples where business mentions were recorded:

Orlando Weekly	Austin Stays Weird
CBS Sports	Best Coffee Guide
TikTok	Eater
Thrillist	YouTube
Consumer Affairs	USA Today
The Seattle Times	Delta Denta
Charlotte Moms	INDYtoday

In the above examples alone, we can see a variety of official local and nationwide news sites, local blogs, trade publications, lifestyle blogs and publications, and social media.

As with forum mentions, you can’t always directly influence the likelihood of someone featuring your brand in a TikTok, so the best advice for creating brand advocacy is really giving your customers a reason to want to shout about you.

As for local and community PR, there are certainly tactics you can adopt to reach your local news sites, specialty blogs, and trade publications.

Academy Course: How to Master Local Link Building

Conclusion

Of course, the dream scenario is that your business appears in the map pack as the first organic search result, followed by your business listing on multiple authoritative directories, and with glowing reviews and forum testimonials bringing up the rear…

But there really are only so many hours in a day.

That’s why we hope this study has given you food for thought and that the nuances of different business verticals have given you some inspiration for local marketing tactics you can implement that you might not have considered.

If you’re scratching your head trying to figure out which directories might be suitable for you, we have a plethora of citation and listing resources available to help.

Appendix

The table below shows the full breakdown of search result types for each search term. As a reminder, each group of search terms contains 20 different searches, where 20 US cities were used as a suffix for local intent (ie. coffee shop buffalo).

Search term	Business website	Directory	Forum	Mentions
attorney	41%	52%	0%	7%
best attorney	11%	68%	7%	14%
betting store	43%	13%	2%	43%
best betting store	23%	14%	4%	60%
car dealership	100%	0%	0%	0%
best car dealership	63%	23%	12%	2%
chiropractor	87%	12%	0%	2%
best chiropractor	53%	36%	6%	6%
coffee shop	20%	19%	9%	53%
best coffee shop	6%	22%	15%	57%
day spa	55%	16%	9%	21%
best day spa	31%	21%	12%	37%
dentist	88%	3%	0%	9%
best dentist	37%	34%	9%	20%
electrician	59%	35%	2%	4%
best electrician	24%	57%	11%	9%
fast food restaurant	3%	72%	12%	14%
best fast food restaurant	1%	66%	19%	14%
gym	74%	12%	3%	11%
best gym	33%	24%	18%	25%
hair salon	66%	14%	10%	10%
best hair salon	43%	26%	12%	20%
hotels	28%	64%	0%	8%
best hotels	17%	50%	14%	20%
hvac contractor	58%	31%	7%	5%
best hvac contractor	28%	50%	7%	15%
movie theater	82%	13%	0%	5%
best movie theater	19%	35%	20%	27%
realtor	77%	20%	0%	3%
best realtor	16%	34%	7%	43%
storage facility	76%	23%	1%	0%
best storage facility	49%	37%	11%	3%
tax advisor	71%	29%	0%	0%
best tax advisor	42%	52%	5%	1%
toy store	47%	30%	0%	23%
best toy store	27%	34%	15%	25%
travel agency	69%	21%	6%	4%
best travel agency	52%	31%	12%	5%
vet clinic	96%	3%	0%	1%
best vet clinic	63%	23%	10%	4%

The Best Listings Management Solutions Compared

Mike Hawkes — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 13:08:24 +0000

Have you ever thought your local business had just one storefront? Think again. It has dozens.

Today’s consumers scour multiple platforms and resources for local business information. They use those platforms to find local businesses that align with their needs. They are more than a discovery medium, however. They’re also used to compare suitable companies like-for-like and tell consumers how they can reach you.

Each listing you create is a conduit to local consumers in your area. It ensures you’re a part of their discovery and assessment process and connects you with a broader pool of prospects than might otherwise be the case.

Keeping your listing information up to date is critical. Handling this task manually can be overwhelming and time-consuming—so much so that it could leave you with little time left to do the other 20 things on your list.

Listings management solutions simplify the process. They save you time and eliminate the headache of manual updates and checking for errors. To help you choose the best local listings management software for your needs, we’re comparing the top players in the market right now.

For each service, we’ll evaluate the features that matter most to you as someone working with local businesses. We’ll look at what each listings management service offers, what it lacks, and how much it costs.

What is a listings management service?

From Google Business Profile (GBP) to Yelp, Facebook to Instagram, Bing Places to Apple Maps, there are multiple places where your business information may appear online. Each listing provides a convenient way for a local consumer to find and connect with you, boosting your lead pipeline, web traffic, and visitor numbers. But it’s only useful when that information is accurate.

While a basic listing will include your business name, address, phone number, and website URL, most listings will also have space for other helpful details.

Depending on the platform, that could mean images and videos showing your premises or your products and services. You may be able to post your opening hours, list accepted payment types, and indicate whether your premises offer on-site parking facilities.

Listings management is a way to keep all this information up to date across all the platforms, maps, and directories where your business information is shared.

According to the Local Business Discovery & Trust Report, 62% of consumers would avoid using a business if they found incorrect information online, so being proactive about managing your listing is essential.

It’s a way to build trust and protect your reputation. Keep things timely, and you’ll lead local search users to your website or your bricks-and-mortar location. However, if you let your information lapse, those same people will probably end up at your competitor’s door.

In practice, listings management is hard to handle manually. It’s time-consuming to log in and out of multiple platforms and frustrating to check the same information dozens of times across numerous listings. If you have multiple locations, each with multiple listings, this becomes a real resource drain.

Information fatigue means it can be hard to spot discrepancies yourself. Even just one digit wrong on your zip code or one address formatted differently from the rest can undermine your listing accuracy and create uncertainty for search engines and local consumers.

This is where the right tools step in. The best local listings management software will automate the process of checking and updating your listing information wherever your business appears online. Changes can be made and rolled out simultaneously rather than individually across all listings for all locations.

Some tools have additional functionality. BrightLocal’s suite of tools includes a GBP Post Scheduler, for example, so you can easily create and share updates to your Google Business Profile listing. Some tools will include review management functionality, while others might also help detect duplicate listings.

Keep in mind listings management isn’t always text-based. Research shows that Business photos taken by customers are particularly important decision-making factors, especially in the hospitality and wellbeing spaces.

How does managing listings differ from building citations?

Citation building is the step before listings management. It’s the act of creating (rather than managing) a business listing. In its most basic form, a local citation is your business NAP (name, address, and phone number), published online.

Some of the same principles of listings management apply to citations. If your core business information changes, you’ll need to take action to update that information in every citation. This often isn’t as easy as it sounds. If your business relocates, you’ll need to update your citations. That could mean changing hundreds of directory listings. Similarly, you’ll need to build new listings if you open a new location.

You can use a local citation builder to build new citations on directories and other sites and fix any inaccuracies in the NAP information. Our comparison of local citation services outlines the pros and cons of each service to help you choose a tool suitable for your needs.

The Best Listings Management Solutions Compared

Click and drag to see all columns.

	BrightLocal	Yext	Semrush	Moz Local	Birdeye	Uberall	Localo
Cost		From $16/month, per platform	From $139.95/month	From $14/month	From $299/month per location	N/A	From $70/month per location
Free trial	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Multiple locations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Broad network	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Duplicate detection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Customizable citations	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Review monitoring included	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Ranking tracker included	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Edit protection	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes

BrightLocal

BrightLocal’s listings management solution takes a comprehensive three-stage approach, covering everything from initial citation creation to ongoing listings management. The trio of tools includes Citation Builder, Active Sync, and GBP Post Scheduler.

Citation Builder makes it easy to build and subsequently manage local citations. It can submit listings to hundreds of local and industry sites, correct inaccurate information at scale to avoid confusion and clean up duplicate listings.

Active Sync allows you to manage your most important business listings from one central dashboard. It covers sites like Google, Facebook, and Apple Maps and syncs any information changes across all listings.

GBP Post Scheduler manages Google Posts. It helps with content creation, offers Post scheduling, and allows Posts to be published to multiple GBP locations simultaneously.

BrightLocal will soon add a GBP photo sync tool to its listings management offering, making it easier to manage those vital images at scale.

How much does BrightLocal cost?

Citation Builder: No recurring fees. $3.20/site or $2/site for bulk orders.
Active Sync: From $8/month, per location with GBP Post Scheduler.
GBP Post Scheduler: From $49/month with the Manage and Grow plans for $8/month, per location with Active Sync.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. You can get a 14-day free trial for Active Sync and GBP Post Scheduler.

Features

Easily build new citations: Submit to hundreds of sites in one go to build new citations quickly.
Control where your information appears: Choose the local business and industry sites that matter most to you.
Own your listings: Unlike some services, BrightLocal doesn’t ‘lease’ your citation to you. You own the listing, and there are no recurring fees.
Cost control: A one-off fee to build citations makes for easy budgeting.
Existing citation cleanup: Update NAP for older listings to eliminate inaccuracies and misinformation.
Duplicate listing suppression: Citation Builder can find and remove duplicate listings that may damage your local search presence.
Fast updates at scale: Update information once from your central dashboard, and BrightLocal will then sync those changes across your business listings.
Protect your listings: Active Sync protects against unauthorized changes by sending an alert when external edits are suggested for your listing.
Streamline Google Post management: With GBP Post Scheduler, you can use AI to speed up Post creation and schedule updates across multiple locations.

The Smarter Way to Manage Listings

Discover a cutting-edge solution for effective listings management

Get Started with Listings Management _{Start Your Free Account}

Yext

Yext’s automated listing management platform allows you to build citations and keep your business information current across multiple online directories and platforms. Because of how its payment model works, you choose which listings you connect and manage via its interface.

Its network includes more than 200 publishers, including Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. A central interface facilitates easy management regardless of the number of listings.

One of Yext’s hallmarks is its ‘Listings Recommendations’ feature. This AI-powered analytical tool provides clear insights into each listing’s performance. It tracks engagement and presents that information in a report format so you can see which listings are driving traffic to your site or generating the most phone calls.

How much does Yext cost?

You’ll pay a fee for each listing platform you connect to Yext. Prices run on a sliding scale. Basic platform management costs start from around $16/month, per platform. Major platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp are approximately $36/month, per platform.

Is there a free trial?

No. Yext currently does not offer a free trial but you can request a demo to see the system in action.

Features

Sync listing information to major sites: With Yext, you can sync your business information to more than 200 platforms, including maps and search engines.
AI insights: AI-driven insights provide helpful listing recommendations to optimize your local search performance.
Monitor engagement: Track the number of people who called you from a specific listing or clicked a link to your website.
Customizable reports: You can create custom reports from the central dashboard and share them with other stakeholders as needed.
AI-search: Yext is compatible with new AI search tools such as Google Gemini. It enables those AI-search experiences to find your listing information, boosting visibility.

Things to Consider

It can get expensive: Sliding monthly fees per platform can be costly, especially if you have multiple listings and/or locations. You may find that other options offer better value for money.
You can’t try before you buy: There is no free trial, so you can’t test Yext out before committing. You’ll have to rely on the demo to decide if this is the best listings management tool for your needs.
You rent your listings: If you cancel your Yext subscription, any changes you have made will roll back. This model means you’re effectively renting your listings.
One-size-fits-all: You can’t choose where your listings are built with Yext. As a result, you’ll get the same citations as everyone else using their service.
Fully automated: Yext’s service relies fully on automation. Without that human intervention, you could be missing out on valuable niche listings that are very relevant to your business.
Limited network: Yext has a limited network compared with other tools.

Read more: Yext Vs BrightLocal

Semrush

Semrush will need no introduction to anyone with prior experience running a traditional SEO campaign. It’s a comprehensive suite of more than 50 tools covering everything from keyword research to content marketing.

Listing Management is one of six local SEO tools on offer. You can use it to build citations and manage your business listings. Once you enter a business’s NAP, Semrush will add to a range of citation sites and directories, including Google, Facebook, and Apple Maps. It covers a range of site types, including apps, maps, and aggregators across more than 60 countries.

You can use Listing Management to edit and update your business information in real-time once your listing has been built. There’s also an option to upload multimedia content, including your business logo and images, to sync across your business listings.

Review management is included, but you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium package if you want help creating review responses.

How much does Semrush cost?

You’ll first need to choose a monthly plan. Prices range from $139.95/month to $499.95/month. Listing Management is an additional fee on top of your selected subscription.

The Basic plan, which includes Listing Management and Review Management, costs an additional $20 per month. To unlock additional features such as the ability to track Google Maps rankings, you would need the Premium add-on which is currently priced at $40 per month.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. There’s a seven-day free trial, which includes all Semrush tools.

Features

Information sync: Like most tools you only need to add your NAP once. Semrush will then push that information out to citation sites and other platforms automatically.
Manage dozens of platforms: Manage your business listings on 72 platforms, including Google and Apple Maps, from your central dashboard.
SEO tips: The tool will suggest actions to improve your search visibility.
Manage dupes: Identify and manage duplicate listings to protect your listing accuracy.
Data accuracy: Update your information once, and the changes will be synced across all listings.
Multiple locations: Semrush supports multiple listings across multiple countries, giving you full control over your online presence.
Review monitoring: You can manage consumer reviews from the same dashboard with one-click access to respond to each new review posted.

Things to Consider

You can’t access everything: For advanced features, including detailed analytics and automated review responses, you’ll need the more expensive Premium subscription.
It can be pricey: Semrush is a more expensive option than some of the other tools on this list. You’ll first need to have a monthly subscription and then top up with an add-on to activate Listing Management.
No customization: Semrush will automatically distribute your business information to its network of 70+ directories. You can’t select where your information appears.
You may miss out on certain opportunities: Because there’s a default list for each country, you may be missing out on more specialist listings that fall under niche categories.

Moz Local

Moz Local is another option for managing local business listings. It can be used to create and manage local business listings in the USA, Canada, and the UK.

As with the other tools we’re comparing, all management activity is handled from a central dashboard.

Business information is updated once and then is synced across the web to search engines, social networks, apps, and directories.

There’s a helpful automated duplication tool that finds and deletes duplicate listings, and profile optimization suggestions indicate where additional data or photos would be beneficial.

Moz Local also offers review management functionality. You can monitor and respond to reviews directly from the Moz dashboard and receive an alert when a new review is published.

Finally, you can publish new updates and offers to Google Business and Facebook as well as share updates, offers, and question-and-answer features to other sites.

How much does Moz Local cost?

Moz Local is priced from $14/month per location for the Lite package up to $33/month per location for the Elite option. The Lite package offers basic listings management and review monitoring. The $20/month per location Preferred package gives the option to respond to reviews and post to social media, while the Elite option unlocks additional directory listings.

Is there a free trial?

No.

Features

Central data management: All business information is managed from a central dashboard.
Duplicate listings: An automated scan identifies and deletes duplicate listings.
Monitor Visibility: Moz Local’s Search Visibility Score helps you to understand how visible your business listings are in search results.
Profile completeness: See what additional data and images are required to complete your business listings.
Reputation management: Receive an alert when a new review is published to manage your online reputation.
Local Listings Score: Moz Local allows you to quickly check the accuracy of your business information across all online listings.

Things to Consider

It’s limited: If you’re a multinational company, Moz Local may not be the right fit as it only supports listings management in the USA, UK, and Canada.
It isn’t as comprehensive as others: In comparison with some of the other best local business listing management tools, Moz Local lacks functionality. You need to upgrade your subscription to access additional local SEO tools, such as the ability to respond to reviews or track your local search rankings.
Recurring billing: You must maintain your subscription to renew your listings, which means you’re tied into the billing cycle.
Small network: Moz Local submits to a limited number of sites, which can stunt your citation building progress. Limited coverage means you’ll miss out on a range of location- and industry-specific sites.

Read more: Moz Local Vs BrightLocal

Birdeye

Birdeye is an AI-powered social media and reputation management tool for local businesses. A single dashboard powers listings management, review management, and social media post creation and scheduling.

Listings management is heavily automated, with helpful support from AI for those who want to share the workload.

You can build and maintain listings across major platforms, including Google, Facebook, and Apple Business Connect, plus industry-specific directories.

Birdeye also facilitates image uploads and appointment request links to enhance your listings and grow consumer engagement.

If you want to go deeper, a scan tool compares your listings to industry benchmarks. That insight can then be used to spot performance gaps and opportunities for improvement. Analytics track listing performance, with metrics like site traffic, inbound calls, and keyword rankings monitored in real time.

How much does Birdeye cost?

There are three pricing tiers, ranging from $299/month per location to $449/month per location. Each option includes listing management, but you’ll need one of the bigger packages for features like webchat and social media scheduling. The bigger packages often come with custom prices for listings, or you need to request a quote.

Is there a free trial?

No. There’s a free 30-day trial of the social media tool, but this doesn’t include listings management.

Things to Consider

Auto-verify: Get your Google listing live within a few days with Birdeye’s auto-verification.
Error reports: Automated error reports flag up inaccuracies across your business listings and directory inserts.
Benchmarking: Compare your listings with the competition to identify performance gaps and areas for improvement.
AI assistance: An AI writing tool generates optimized business descriptions that can be used across your listings.
Listing scan: Scan your listings with just one click to see how your business appears across the web.
Automatic updates: Any changes you make to your business information in the Birdeye dashboard are automatically rolled out across the web, making light work of keeping your listings up to date.
Limited network: Birdeye’s network is smaller than some of the other tools on this list. That means your business could miss out on lots of valuable niche and location-specific listings that could benefit your local presence.
No free trial: No free trial means you can’t get a feel for the platform before you commit to using it. You’ll have to rely on the video demo to decide if it suits your style of working.
It’s pricey: The Birdeye subscription costs are some of the most expensive of all the listings management tools we’ve reviewed.
Set-up fee: There’s a fairly hefty set-up fee on top of the monthly subscription cost if you opt for any of their other services, so you need to be 100% certain Birdeye is the tool for you before you get started.
Other limitations: a lack of white-label support and basic auditing.

Read more: Birdeye Vs BrightLocal

Uberall

Uberall’s AI-powered listings management software connects with more than 125 directories to manage your online presence. Its niche is multi-location businesses, and its network includes major sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp, along with Apple Maps and other listing sites. It also connects with Alexa and similar voice assistants.

There are a range of Google Business Profile features, including profile protection to defend your listing against ‘suggested edits’ from the search results page and recommended actions to update your listings.

A content collection feature makes adding rich media content, including images and videos, quick, easy, and convenient. Simply upload once and push out across all locations.

How much does Uberall cost?

Uberall will provide a quote after a consultation about your goals. However, their listings generally start from about $8.95 per month per location.

Is there a free trial?

No free trial is currently available.

Things to Consider

Multi-location friendly: Uberall is designed for multi-location businesses.
Centralized data: You can manage all your listing information for multiple locations from one centralized dashboard.
Google Business Profile management: This syncs up with GBP and offers a range of tools to make managing your local pack listings easier.
Protect your listings: Profile protection helps protect your listing from edits and other unauthorized changes. It also helps to keep your business information consistent and accurate across your listings.
Duplication checks: Uberall checks for duplicates and ensures you have just one verified listing per location.
Recommended actions: Get suggestions to improve your multi-location listings for greater accuracy and effectiveness.
Performance insights: See how your listings are performing versus others in your area.
Claim profiles in bulk: Managing franchise or multi-location business listings can be time-consuming. Uberall allows you to claim listings in bulk to save time.
Lack of flexibility: While AI can speed up some tasks, it can also be limiting in other areas as there is very little flexibility.
Limited network: Uberall’s network lacks the industry- and location-specific sites that could benefit your multi-location business.
No free trial: With no free trial, you’ll need to make a financial commitment before you can explore the platform.
Limited functionality: Not all packages include all the functionality you need to truly take control of your local business listings. The starter package, for example, doesn’t include reputation management tools.

Localo

Localo was previously Surfer Local. It’s best known as a Google Business Profile management tool. It uses AI to power its functionality, so you can expect a high degree of automation.

Unlike the other top business listing management tools we’ve included in this guide, Localo focuses exclusively on GBP, so it isn’t a good choice if you want to build citations and manage your listings across other platforms from one centralized dashboard.

How much does Localo cost?

Plans start from around $70/month per location.

Is there a free trial?

There’s a free version of the tool which offers limited functionality.

Things to Consider

Comprehensive Google Business Profile tools: Uberall is primarily a GBP management tool, so it has extensive functionality in this area.
Some free functionality: There’s a free option if you aren’t looking to take out a subscription.
Check listing visibility: You can monitor your business’s visibility and track keyword rankings. You can also keep tabs on rivals with competitor visibility checks and get suggested keywords to boost your visibility.
Profile audits: The higher-priced plans include a Google Business Profile audit to identify missed opportunities to rank higher in the local pack (paid plans only).
Post scheduling: Google Business Posts allow you to share updates, events, and offers with search users. You can use Localo to schedule your Posts to keep your listing active and your audience engaged (paid plans only).
Business description support: If you find inspiration hard to come by, an AI writing assistant can craft an optimized business description for you. You can use this on your Google Business Profile and across business listings managed elsewhere (paid plans only).
Measure impact: Localo analytics can help you measure the impact of your Google Business profile. You can also monitor metrics such as calls and messages, profile views, and website visitors (paid plans only).
Photo planner: Schedule photo updates to automate new image uploads to your GBP listing (paid plans only).
Limited reach: Localo is dedicated to Google Business Profile management, so it doesn’t offer the same reach and functionality as the other tools on this list.
No citation building: You can’t use Localo to build new citations or update existing citations en masse. You’ll need to use another tool alongside Localo to complete those tasks.
Other major sites aren’t supported: While most tools will include Facebook, Yelp, Bing, and Apple Maps, Localo doesn’t support these. You’ll need another tool to manage listings outside of Google, including on the other big three platforms.
No centralized dashboard: As mentioned, Localo specializes in Google Business Profile. Changes you make to your Google Business Profile won’t be synced to your other business listings across the web. You’ll need to update them manually to ensure consistency or pay for another tool to sit alongside Localo.
Missed opportunities: You can’t use Localo to create listings on the location-specific, or industry-specific directories that could drive more traffic to your business. This could be a missed opportunity and leave the door open for your competitors.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to consider when choosing the right listings management solution. The reality is that your choice may well depend on your situation. If you’re managing listings for hundreds of locations, for instance, some of these services could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Similarly, some of the tools require you to sign up for other services you may already be managing elsewhere.

We’ve tried to remain unbiased, as we represent one of the tools mentioned above. We want to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information possible to help you make a decision.

So, if you spot anything out of order in the information, or are aware of anything that needs updating, please do send us an email and we’ll look to get it updated as soon as possible.

How to Add or Claim Your Yell.com Listing

Rada Daktina — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:18:21 +0000

Welcome to this comprehensive guide on how to create and manage your business listing on Yell.com. This guide will walk you through the steps of account creation, adding a new business listing, and claiming an existing listing. Whether you’re a new user or looking to optimize your current listing, follow these easy instructions to ensure your business is accurately represented and visible on Yell.com.

Account Creation

Step 1: Go to https://www.yell.com/ and click ‘Log in’ at the top right corner:

Step 2: Select the ‘Sign Up’ tab on the right and create your account:

Step 3: Check your inbox for the verification email and follow the instructions. If you didn’t receive the email, log in to your account and click “Verify” to resend it:

Adding a Brand New Listing

Step 1: Use the search bar to check if your business is already listed.

Step 2: If your business is not listed, scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Add Business’ or ‘Get a free listing’ in the top bar:

Note: When adding a business via the button at the bottom of the page, make sure you select the first option that says, ‘I manage this business, and I’d like to create a listing.’ This way, you will own the listing. The second option will allow you to suggest a business place to Yell.com, but you will not own it.

Step 3: Fill in the form with your business details and click ‘Continue’:

Step 4: Select your address from the suggested addresses under the drop-down menu, or if it is not there, click ‘Add manually’ and fill in the form:

Step 5: Add your business website URL (optional):

Step 6: Add your business category. You will need to select one of the suggested options, as unique categories aren’t accepted:

Step 7: You will be redirected to the main dashboard. Here, you will see the banner notifying you that your listing is pending verification. There is nothing you need to do about this—Yell.com moderators will review the listing and email you when it is published.

You will also see several sections where you can add additional information about your business, such as logos, images, opening hours, descriptions, etc.

Claiming an Existing Listing

Step 1: While logged in to your account, go to https://www.yell.com/ and search for your business:

Step 2: Find your business in the search results and click on ‘More Info’:

Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Claim Business’:

Step 4: In the new pop-up that will appear, click on ‘Manage this business’:

Step 5: In the next overview page, click ‘Claim this business’:

Step 6: You will then be redirected to the main dashboard, where you can add more information about your business or correct any outdated details.

How to Add or Claim Your A Greater Town Listing

Rada Daktina — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 09:31:06 +0000

Adding your business to agreatertown.com is a great way to increase visibility, reach new customers, and establish your online presence. It usually forms part of a broader citation-building campaign, whether you’re doing that manually or with a citation-building service.

This comprehensive guide is for anyone doing it themselves, and it will walk you through the simple process of adding your business to the platform. From signing up to publishing your listing, we’ll cover every step in detail so you can get started quickly and easily.

How to Add a Listing

1. Go to agreatertown.com and click ‘Sign Up’ in the right-hand corner. Alternatively, you can head straight to https://agreatertown.com/user/register_prompt/free_pass:

2. Fill in the required information and click ‘Join’ to create your account (make sure to check all tickboxes before you proceed):

3. You will see the message below on your screen. Head to your inbox and complete the email verification. If the email does not arrive from the first attempt, you can request another one by clicking the ‘Click here to resend a link’ message:

4. Once you verify the email, you will be redirected to your account dashboard, specifically to the ‘My posts’ section. The site calls any addition to their directory a post, so don’t be alarmed. To start adding the listing, click ‘Add New Post’:

5. The first step is adding the ‘Post Title’, which in this case will be the business name:

6. The next step is adding the business category. Add your category and click ‘Search category’. If no exact matches are found, you will see the message below. In this case, you can contact the site’s support team for help:

You may need to try a variation of different categories and/or keywords to get a list of suitable suggestions. Once you see that, choose the best option that fits your business:

9. The next step is adding the town your business is located in. You must follow the instructions listed precisely. You must enter the town + state or zip code combination for US locations. If your business is outside the US, you must enter the country’s name or the country’s name followed by ‘UN.’

Example:

Australia, UN
United Kingdom, UN
Canada, UN

10. The fourth step is adding a logo. This is important and mandatory. If you skip this step, your listing will remain private, and others won’t see it until you add a logo. This can be an official logo or an image/thumbnail from your website, GBP, or social media. Simply add the file and click ‘Upload Image’:

11. The next page is where you can add rich content for your listing. Click on ‘Add link’ to add the website URL:

You will see two fields for this. The top field is for the actual URL, and the bottom field is for the anchor text:

This option lets you add your main website URL and social media links. Remember to use anchor text and save the links one by one.

The ‘Add Text’ will allow you to add the business description.
The ‘Add Images’ allows you to upload photos of your business.
The ‘Add Map’ option allows you to add the full business address.

12. Once you have added all relevant information, you can use the buttons at the top of the page to preview, delete, or publish your listing. Click ‘Publish Your Post’ at the top of the page, and you are all set:

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

How to Claim an Existing Listing

1. Use the search bar at the top left corner of the page to look for a specific business:

2. If you find the existing listing, click on it and scroll to the bottom of the page until you see the ‘Is this your business? Claim this post.’ message:

3. If someone has already claimed the listing, you will have several options. To either log in (if it is your listing), reset the password, or contact the support for help with access (do remember to include the link to the listing you are trying to reclaim):

Notes:

The customer support at agreatertown.com is very responsive and helpful, so don’t hesitate to ask them for help.
When you look at the list of search results, you can see who created the listing/post:

You can click on the name and see all listings added to the site by that person/company and also the option to contact them directly:

How to Add or Claim Your Best of the Web Listing

Rada Daktina — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:49:27 +0000

Whether you’re a small local business or a global enterprise, having a strong online presence can significantly impact your visibility, credibility, and, ultimately, your bottom line. One effective way to boost your online presence is by leveraging directories, and one of the most reputable and influential directories out there is Best of the Web (BOTW). In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of adding or claiming your Best of the Web listing, helping you harness the full potential of this valuable resource for your business.

How to Add a Listing

1. Go to https://botw.org/

2. Click either ‘Get Listed Today’ in the top right corner or the ‘Add Your Listing Today’ button in the center of the screen:

3. Fill in the required details to create the account. Make sure to agree to the T&Cs and to check the captcha box:

4. Next, verify your email address (this can also be done later in the process) by clicking the verification link that will be emailed to you.

5. Now, search for your business to see whether it is listed on the site. Type the name of your business, and you will see suitable options/suggestions appear in the drop-down menu. If your business is listed there, click to select it. If none of these are correct matches – click the yellow ‘None of these are correct’ button:

6. If you select your business from the options shown, you will see a new page where some fields are auto-populated with information the site holds about your business. If you click the yellow button – you will be redirected to the same page, but it will be blank, so you will need to add basic NAP data for your business:

7. For the next step, fill in your business categories, services, and business description:

8. After that, select a suitable Botw.org listing plan. You will see three options with a detailed price description and what it covers. The chosen plan can be paid either monthly or annually.

There is also a free option; however, if you choose that – your listing will not display the link to your website. To select that, you need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click the ‘No thanks!’ message:

9. You will get another pop-up with the discount offer. You can either accept that or click the message below:

10. The final stage is phone verification. You have the choice of receiving a phone call or text message – switch the toggle to select the preferred option, then enter the code you will receive to the field on your screen:

11. If you are having issues with verifications, you can contact the site’s support for help by clicking the ‘Contact us’ message on the verification page.

12. Now, you can go back to the main dashboard, where you can manage existing listings, add more new listings, and manage reviews and payments:

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

How to Claim an Existing Listing

1. Go to https://botw.org/ and search for your business.

2. The available listing will have an ‘Unclaimed’ badge:

3. Click on the listing or the ‘View Profile’ button.

4. Click ‘Claim now’:

5. If you are not signed in to your account, you must log in. If you have been logged in from the start – you will be redirected to the dashboard page, where you will be presented with several verification options: call, text message, email, postcard, or by reaching out to the support team:

6. Select the preferred method and follow the instructions on the screen.

7. If you do not see the claim option, contact the site’s support team and request assistance.

Using a Service

If all that seems a bit much, you can use a citation building service like BrightLocal. Citation Builder lets you build all the listings you need to improve your online visibility. Create a custom campaign and get listed where you want to get listed, including Best of the Web and hundreds of other sites. Save valuable time and let BrightLocal do all the hard work for you.