How to Set Up a Local Business Listing (+ 15 Top Directories)

Feb 25, 2025 05:20 PM - 4 weeks ago 35617

What Is a Local Business Listing?

A section business listing (also called a section citation) is immoderate online mention of a company’s name, address, and telephone number (NAP). It often includes a short description, customer reviews, images, moving hours, and a nexus to the website.

Like this illustration from Yelp:

Why Are Local Business Listings Important?

Local business listings are important because having correct business accusation shown publically makes it easy for customers to find your business. It besides helps hunt engines for illustration Google present meticulous specifications to users who look for your business.

Accurate citations make your institution look much trustworthy to some customers and hunt engines. As a result, your business tin look successful much section hunt results.

The process of distributing your accusation to section directories is called citation building.

Top Local Business Listing Directories

Below are immoderate apical section business listing directories you tin taxable your accusation to arsenic a measurement to fortify your section presence:

Google Business Profile
Bing Places for Business
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Your Local Chamber of Commerce
Yelp
Yellow Pages
Foursquare
The Business Journals
Superpages
Local.com
Tripadvisor (for hospitality businesses)
Houzz (for location renewal and creation companies)
Angi (for location services)
FindLaw (for ineligible professionals)
Healthgrades (for healthcare businesses and professionals)

How to Set Up a Local Listing

1. Prepare Your Information

Preparing your accusation earlier creating immoderate section listings ensures that specifications enactment accordant crossed each directories.

Here’s the accusation you’ll need:

Business name: Use the charismatic sanction without immoderate variations
Address: Format the reside uniformly for each directory
Phone number: Provide the main interaction number for customers
Website URL: Include a nexus to your homepage
Business hours: Include regular hours and immoderate typical vacation hours
Business category: Pick the astir applicable category
Images: Use high-quality images that show your business, products, and/or services
Description: Write a concise overview of your business

2. Choose Your Directories and Create Listings

Choosing the correct directories puts your business successful beforehand of group who are astir apt to go your customers.

Consider the following:

Business profiles connected hunt engines, for illustration Google Business Profile and Bing Places for Business
Business profiles connected societal media platforms specified arsenic Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, etc.
Large and reputable online directories, specified arsenic the BBB, Yelp, and Foursquare
Industry-specific directories. Like Tripadvisor for recreation and hospitality businesses aliases Angi for location services.

The submission process typically looks for illustration this:

Claim aliases create your listing. Some sites auto-generate a listing for you to claim. If you don’t spot 1 for your business, create one.
Fill retired your details. Enter accordant accusation connected each platforms.
Verify your listings. Follow each directory’s instructions. You tin typically corroborate ownership by phone, email, video call, aliases mailed postcard.

If managing aggregate listings feels overwhelming, Semrush’s Listing Management instrumentality tin automate the process and support your accusation consistent.

3. Optimize Your Listings

Optimizing your listings helps you guidelines retired and rank higher successful section searches.

Start pinch the beneath champion practices:

Use applicable keywords. Include keywords related to your business. If you’re caller to keyword research, commencement pinch our local keyword investigation guide.
Encourage customer reviews. Positive reviews build spot and tin boost hunt rankings.
Respond to each reviews. Show that you worth what customers opportunity by replying to some affirmative and antagonistic feedback.
Keep accusation updated. Check and revise your location, hours, aliases services erstwhile they change.
Add high-quality images. Regularly upload caller images that bespeak existent offerings.

Monitor and Maintain Your Local Listings

Managing section listings helps to guarantee accuracy, summation customer engagement, and support section SEO.

A instrumentality for illustration Listing Management tin automate overmuch of this process and prevention clip you would different walk manually reviewing and updating listings.

After you participate and prime your business, the instrumentality will show a database of directory information that needs updates.

Click “Enhance listings now.”