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Ongoing business listing management.

A local listing provides the first impression that many consumers will get of a brand. With ongoing listing management services in place, this initial encounter can be a positive experience. All too often, however, a failure to stay on top of updates inevitably leads to outdated contact information and incorrect opening hours—and a poor user experience. If your agency is providing local SEO to businesses, here’s why you need to regularly monitor listings.

Why Managing and Updating Business Listings Is a Must

It’s a common misconception (and wishful thinking) that local business listing management is a one-and-done event. Of course, your upfront work to create listings will certainly build a strong foundation for search visibility and customer trust. However, much of your client’s success will come from the ongoing management of these listings.

Business Listings vs. Backlinks

Backlinks are a cornerstone of SEO, signaling authority and credibility to search engines, and are considered votes of confidence for your website. While it might be tempting to view citations from business listings in the same light, there are important differences.

Google uses citations to verify the legitimacy of a business’ information. This is primarily the NAP data – name, address and phone number – along with other details like opening hours and services. Unlike backlinks (which can be effective even if left alone), business listings require ongoing management to ensure your information stays accurate.

Trust Matters to Search Engines

Anyone who has ever conducted a local business search will likely recognize the difference between a quality listing and a substandard one. When faced with no business description, a lack of reviews, missing opening hours and few or no images, both the search engines and the searcher will doubt the veracity of the data that’s presented. In short, these issues can absolutely harm your client’s trust with search engines. Follow our top strategies for building and maintaining local citations to resolve these problems.

Customer Experience Influences Brand Reputation

It’s not just search engines that rely on updated listings—consumers do too. After a person has researched the details of a business in advance, think of the frustration that potential customer experiences when they arrive to find the business closed for the day (or moved to a new location, or even closed permanently). We have all experienced this, and these poor experiences lead to negative reviews and a diminished brand reputation. Thankfully, you can avoid most of these issues through ongoing listings management.

Responding to Reviews Is Crucial

Checking reviews before buying is second nature to most of us today. Naturally, the star rating is a motivating factor in whether a person uses a product or service. However, the actions of the business also play a great role here. When a business actively responds to reviews and demonstrates interest in the customer experience, it stands out.

Business Listings Aren’t Static Pages Anymore

Business listings continue to evolve, introducing new features and often adding interactive elements. Google Business Profile (GBP) is the obvious example here, with options for sharing offers, events and updates. Failing to take advantage of these features with a consistent listings management strategy is absolutely a missed opportunity.

Listings Can Get A.I. Overview Visibility and Voice Search Results

These technologies rely on accurate information to provide users with up-to-date information.

Both AI and voice search results can only be as accurate as the information available to them. This means that business websites, directories (and more) need to be provided with accurate information.

If you’re new to this concept, our Voice Search Readiness Test is a great place to start.

Why Ongoing Management for Business #Listings Is Necessary by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Comprehensive Business Listing Management for Agencies

Advice Local creates top-quality listing management tools and services for digital agencies and local marketers. We help you build and maintain citations across leading search engines, directories and review sites. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo today.

The post Why Ongoing Management for Business Listings Is Necessary appeared first on Advice Local.

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Setting up a local SEO agency.

With so many businesses needing help growing their online presence, there’s never been a better time to set up a local SEO agency. While starting an agency might seem complex, partnering with the right local SEO tools and services provider can be a fast track to success. Leading agencies don’t usually build their entire software and systems from scratch. Rather, an agency will collaborate with experts, thus allowing that agency to focus on their core competencies. Here’s how this approach can work for you.

Top Strategies for Building a Local SEO Agency

Whether you have one client or many, the key to long-term success relies on your ability to build consistent, scalable systems. Developing repeatable operations in partnership with local SEO specialists will ensure you deliver for each client.

Build a System for Finding and Converting Clients

An optimized lead generation strategy will attract clients and convert a portion of them into paying customers. Local SEO agencies often have several lead capture tools, including free reports, email newsletters, case studies and of course, word-of-mouth. At Advice Local, we’ve automated one of the most effective approaches out there, developing a customizable website widget for agencies. Using our Business Listings Sales Tool , users can run an online visibility report, receive a free report – and then connect with your sales team.

Manage Business Listings

Listing management is the foundation of local SEO. However, claiming, submitting and updating listings across an entire network is a substantial task. In most cases, businesses partner with listing management experts who use automation and manual techniques to keep profiles up-to-date. To see the various local listing management options, be sure to check out our comparison of citation services.

Optimize Google Business Profiles

Getting a Google Local Pack placement for relevant keywords is a top priority for local businesses. As an agency owner, you’ll need to create optimized Google Business Profile (GBP) listings for clients to achieve this search visibility. Setting up name, address and phone number (NAP) data, setting categories, adding opening hours and other key elements is absolutely crucial. You can also go further, using our GBP sync & auto-rejection public edits tools .

Track Customer Reviews

The importance of reviews for business success has made dedicated review management software a vital go-to option for agencies. Products like Advice Local’s Review Monitoring Tool (and others) will notify you when customers leave feedback, allowing for a quick response. It’s also essential to use these tools to assess customer sentiment and resolve recurring issues.

Provide Reports and Analytics

A local SEO agency must keep clients informed using regular reporting and performance monitoring. Typically, you’ll send out monthly reports indicating metrics like website traffic and keyword positions. And if you work with a listing management partner, they should provide white-labeled reporting solutions you can give to clients.

Scale Your SEO Agency

A local SEO agency can experience fast growth if they build an efficient system, and word starts to spread of business success stories. During this time it’s quite valuable to have an experienced local presence management company to support you. Your agency can focus on delivering primary services for clients, while your partners can ramp up citation building and other processes without interruption.

How to Set Up Your Local #SEO Agency for Success by @BernieColeman
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Partner With Us to Grow Your Local SEO Agency

At Advice Local, we work with digital agencies and local marketers to provide top-rated SEO tools and business listing services. If you want an experienced partner to help your business grow, speak with our team today. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now.

The post How to Set Up Your Local SEO Agency for Success appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local SEO campaign for digital agencies.

Today we’re looking at local SEO strategies that your agency should be implementing for your agency clients. With competition for search visibility stronger than ever, you need to be on top of on-site SEO, managing local listings, citation building, plus a host of other techniques. But with Google and the other search engines frequently updating their algorithms, what does it take to secure top search placement for your clients? Let’s explore the main elements of a new local SEO campaign.

6 Foundational Local SEO Strategies for Your New Agency Client

Your new agency client might be a startup with no search profile or an established business with a faltering SEO strategy (caused by lack of management or prior agency neglect). In either case, to help your local business client show up high in search results and even Google Maps, you’ll want a solid foundation built on experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. When it comes to local SEO strategies for businesses, establishing that foundation is imperative.

1. Research Local Keywords

The first stage of your local SEO campaign is to identify target keywords. For most local business clients, your focus will be on search terms related to the business or the services. Within these categories you have foundational keywords (the primary, high-volume terms), and long-tail keywords (secondary terms with lower volume and high intent).

2. On-Page Optimization Is Crucial

The home page, service pages and blog posts can all include primary keywords, supplementary terms and locations, but make sure to avoid keyword stuffing. Fortunately you can optimize pages without sacrificing the user experience. For example, including a location and service in the title tag, meta description and H1 tag signals to readers that your content is relevant to their needs. Internal linking and image alt text can also improve the site’s visibility for local searches.

3. Build Citations on Reputable Sites

Building citations for new clients begins with a thorough audit. A new business might have few citations, while an older company could have an outdated citation footprint that needs correction. We’ve recently outlined some top strategies for building and maintaining local citations. Among these steps, the most common challenge is creating high-quality citations on trustworthy directories. This is where our listing management service becomes invaluable to agencies seeking a simple solution to the time-consuming citation-building process.

4. Create Service and Location Pages

While analyzing your client’s competitors, you’ll likely find many websites listing business services on a single page (and failing to include dedicated location pages). Understand that taking the extra steps to create individual pages for primary services and relevant locations allows you to optimize for keywords and convert more visitors to buyers.

5. Develop a Review Strategy

In recent years reviews have undoubtedly become more important in a local SEO campaign. Consumers expect to see recent, positive reviews when they consider hiring a local business, and search engines are reluctant to list websites that lack consumer trust. For agencies, tracking client reviews and responding quickly should be a pillar of any SEO campaign. We make monitoring reviews easy for agencies with businesses listed in our dashboard.

6. Prioritize Google Business Profile

You can’t have a serious local SEO strategy without including a Google Business Profile (GBP). Google uses the GBP to collect accurate information about a business, with an optimized profile potentially getting featured in the Local Pack and Maps. If you want to go a step further, you can use our Enhanced GBP Tool to sync client data and access data insights. Ensuring that public edits don’t impact your client’s Google Business Profile is important too, and for agencies with businesses listed in our dashboard, we can auto reject public edits for you.

How to Begin a Local #SEO Campaign for a New Agency Client by @BernieColeman
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Local SEO Tools and Services for Agencies and Local Marketers

If you’re starting a local SEO campaign for a new business client, try local listing management software and solutions from Advice Local. We make building results-driven SEO campaigns for your clients easy with quality tools and services built for agencies. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo today.

The post How to Begin a Local SEO Campaign for a New Agency Client appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local SEO content accuracy.

The content you publish on your website, business listings and social media all impact search placement. While local SEO software has simplified many processes necessary for online visibility, there is no substitute for high-quality, accurate content. Every word you publish, from your homepage to your Google Business Profile (GBP) description, serves as a signal to search engines, helping them understand the business and determine its ranking in local search results.

The Importance of Website Content in Local Search

The three pillars of local SEO are proximity, prominence and relevance. Publishing quality, location-specific content helps satisfy these factors, contributing to improved organic search placement.

  • Proximity refers to the distance between the searcher and the business.
  • Prominence identifies how established and reputable a business is within its local area.
  • Relevance indicates how well a page satisfies the user’s search intent.

An example of this in action could be a city page you create for a business client. Within the main text, title, URLs and meta tags, you can incorporate geographically relevant locations and tightly clustered thematic keywords to help Google contextualize the page’s content. Including these keywords within accurate, high-quality content will enhance visibility across many search terms.

Accurate Content Increases Business Listing Visibility

Building and maintaining local citations also offers many opportunities for effective content strategies. Product descriptions (for example) can include relevant keywords that contribute to a listing appearing prominently in the Local Pack and Maps. Content signals across GBP posts, the business description, reviews and the Q&A section all offer the potential to demonstrate relevance to a user’s search query.

How Traffic Impacts Search Visibility

Within website and GBP content you will inevitably include calls-to-action (CTAs) that direct individuals to service pages, blog posts and other locations. While a CTA is often viewed as a conversion element, don’t discount its value as a content feature that leads to increased search visibility.

User interactions from your GBP listing (such as clicks, calls and direction requests) send positive signals to Google about a business’ relevance and popularity. Similarly, social media engagement and direct traffic from these platforms can help with local SEO by demonstrating authority and relevance.

Maintaining Content Accuracy Across All Platforms

Understand that a surefire way to limit your clients’ search visibility is through a lack of content accuracy. When Google finds discrepancies between the information on the website and other listings like the GBP, it’s highly likely to limit the potential search placement. To ensure the pages they promote to searchers are accurate, Google cross-references website data with GBP listings, ensuring consistent name, address, phone number, opening hours and so on.

This requirement for accuracy extends across all platforms – directories, data aggregators, mapping apps and more. To see why this matters, let’s consider the case of an Advice Local partner. This partner was having trouble getting Google to accept a new website URL change on the GBP for one of their clients.

We investigated and found that the partner had not submitted the business for listing management, nor had they updated the data on Bing, Yelp or the Google Search Console. Google was reluctant to accept the new URL on the GBP because it was actively finding the old address on directories and other sites across the web. By managing the business data centrally via our dashboard solution, the partner was able to ensure consistent information across all platforms and get their client back on-track.

How Accurate Online Content Drives Local #Search Visibility by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Try Our Local SEO Software Today

Advice Local is the premier provider of local SEO software and agency tools. We develop leading listing management products and other solutions for digital agencies and marketers. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

The post How Accurate Online Content Drives Local Search Visibility appeared first on Advice Local.

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Online reviews for SEO.

Online reviews are an essential factor in increasing local search visibility and shaping consumer decisions. As a leading listing management provider, we understand the critical importance of managing clients’ reputations on the platforms that matter most. A significant part of this process is the ability to monitor reviews and provide timely responses. But why are online reviews so crucial for your business clients?

The Benefits of Online Reviews for Local SEO

According to Google, local search results are primarily determined by three factors – relevance, distance and prominence. The third of these factors, prominence, considers how well-known a business is, the Google review count and review score. When determining prominence, famous brands might benefit from name recognition (where local companies might not). Local businesses can instead rely  on the quantity and sentiment of reviews published on trusted platforms.

The trust and credibility that Google and other search engines are looking for also determines how audiences respond. For example, if a business has a significant number of low star ratings or a limited number of reviews, users are more likely to choose a competitor. Low click-through rates signal to Google that the page is not a good match for the search query, and it will struggle to maintain a top search placement.

And relevance (as a local SEO factor) also plays its part here. When consumers add reviews to Google Business Profile (GBP), Yelp, Bing Places for Business and other authority platforms, the feedback often adds context to a business. Everything from product mentions to location references could potentially offer relevance, thus adding benefits for local SEO.

How Online Reviews Generate Customer Trust

Increasingly, online reviews are influencing whether or not consumers shop with a business. And even in small towns, local businesses now rely heavily on opinions left on GBP and other review sites, along with traditional word-of-mouth. As use of voice search, virtual assistants and mobile devices continues to expand, consulting online reviews will become the primary way people research and choose local products and services.

As we mentioned, low star ratings will negatively influence consumer decisions. Both positive and negative reviews carry weight, primarily due to the social proof gained from the experiences of existing customers. Authentic opinions from buyers validate the legitimacy and quality of a business, reducing the natural hesitation that a person has before making a purchase.

The final point on customer trust is less about the actual review and more about how a business responds. Whether the feedback is positive, neutral or negative, when a representative addresses reviewers it demonstrates attentiveness and care. Consumers are often more willing to trust a brand that actively engages with its customers, as it signals a commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.

How to Manage Reviews to Build Trust and Increase Visibility

Agencies managing a review strategy for clients will naturally desire a streamlined approach. And to bypass manually checking every review platform, software must be used. Our Enhanced GBP Tools and review monitoring platform lets you sync with your clients’ GBPs and track reviews on the major review sites. You can check reputation health, identify new reviews, then respond quickly for positive customer engagement.

How Online #Reviews Can Enhance Local #SEO and Customer Trust by @BernieColeman
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Try Our Review Monitoring and SEO Tools

For help monitoring and responding to online reviews, speak with the team at Advice Local. We develop the premier review monitoring, listing management and GBP tools. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now.

The post How Online Reviews Can Enhance Local SEO and Customer Trust appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local citation building strategies.

Local citations are one of the essential ways for businesses to get new leads, conversions and customers. So whether you go for manual submissions or work with a listing management service, this effort should deliver positive results. However, as established agencies and local marketers know, if you don’t have a clear plan in place, maintaining high-quality citations will be incredibly time-consuming. Do you want a simple solution to this issue? Check out our top local citation building strategies.

How to Build and Maintain High-Quality Local Citations

Local SEO citations are simply online references to a business name, address and phone number (NAP) on business directories, review sites, social media and other platforms. While almost all SEO professionals agree that a wide selection of citations will improve search engine visibility and credibility, the strategy’s success will depend on the approach that you take to building and maintaining citations.

Evaluate the Citation Footprint

It’s important to get a clear picture of a client’s citation footprint before you begin building citations. This process involves identifying where the NAP details are currently listed, and whether they are still accurate. Seemingly minor errors (such as incorrect opening hours) will reduce trust and credibility among both customers and search engines.

Identify Targets for Local Citations

Local businesses in the top search positions will almost certainly have an extensive collection of quality SEO citations. This begins with identifying the best platforms and determining how to obtain the listing. Will you manually create each listing or use an API? Are there niche-relevant directories in your client’s industry? These questions will drive your citation strategy.

Submit Listings to Authority Platforms

Next, you’ll need to submit the NAP data to authoritative business directories. Agencies will often target data aggregators, premium directories, mapping apps and voice search platforms. We’ve listed the five directories that local businesses need here, though a comprehensive strategy will extend beyond these foundational platforms. As for the data distribution process, the options are to submit listings by hand, or hire a listing management service with the existing infrastructure.

Optimize Citations

While we’ve discussed NAP information as the basis of SEO citations, there’s actually a bit more to consider. Most platforms, such as Google Business Profile (GBP) and Bing Places for Business, let you add substantially more content to a listing. Depending on the listing, you could potentially add images, products, services, questions and answers, blog posts and more.

Conduct Ongoing Management and Citation Audits

Understand that citation building and maintenance today is not a set-it-and-forget-it task. There are many issues related to incorrect data, so you’ll need to monitor information regularly and update inaccuracies. Effective strategies include cross-referencing submitted data with a central database (such as GBP syncing), and performing regular audits.

What Is the Best Location Citation Strategy?

The key to making this type of local citation strategy work is to streamline and automate as much as possible without sacrificing quality. At Advice Local for example, our agency partners benefit from a hybrid data submission approach that combines APIs and manual submissions. We also screen all the platforms in our data network to ensure they measure up to our exacting standards. Finally, we empower agencies with the latest best practices, such as our how-to guide for local citation audit and cleanup.

Top Strategies for Building and Maintaining Local #Citations by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Speak With Our Listing Management Specialists

Advice Local helps digital agencies and local marketers build and maintain local citations across the leading directories, review sites and search engines. Our listing management services make it easy to submit business data to the platforms that count. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

The post Top Strategies for Building and Maintaining Local Citations appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local presence management for SEO.

Local presence management is a cornerstone of modern SEO for brick-and-mortar businesses. By leveraging listing management services and other complementary techniques, agencies can build a lasting search presence for their clients. The best of these strategies will ensure that businesses improve local search rankings, increase visibility, build trust and credibility and enhance the customer experience overall.

Best Ways to Boost SEO With Local Presence Management

Local presence management refers to the tools and techniques that combine to increase the visibility of a business’ location. As Google and other search engines have improved their ability to recognize local intent, companies have more opportunity than ever to stand out on a city, regional or neighborhood level. Today let’s explore a simple strategy you can apply to business clients.

Optimize Google Business Profiles

Consumers searching for businesses will often look no further than the Google search results. From the Local Pack or Maps, people can directly find name, address and phone number (NAP) details, opening times, primary services, images, customer reviews and more. So whether they want to check if the location is open, get directions or book online, it’s all possible through a Google Business Profile (GBP). By optimizing this key pillar of local presence management, your clients can reach consumers who are ready to make a buying decision.

Claim and Manage Listings

A GBP needs to be optimized and managed, but there’s more – you also need to work with a comprehensive network of directories, review sites, mapping apps and other listing platforms. Essentially, local presence management succeeds or fails based on the accuracy of data. This is the reason why you need to work with a citation service that can claim and manage listings to ensure exact, consistent business details. And if you’re looking for the best local listing management provider, take a look at this comparison of citation services.

Localized On-Page Optimization

If location-based searches are a vital component of your clients’ SEO strategies, using a local on-page optimization approach is essential. Creating dedicated location pages will help satisfy Google’s goal of delivering highly targeted results and provide a relevant landing page for consumers. Even if a business has just a single branch, creating pages for surrounding cities allows you to target a broader range of locations.

It’s important to note that Google aims to deliver results that satisfy three factors – relevance, distance and prominence. However, if not enough local businesses meet all three criteria, Google may prioritize positively reviewed, relevant companies over hyperlocal results.

Reputation Management

Local businesses increasingly rely on a positive reputation to maintain a consistent SEO impact. With consumers being less likely to shop with a brand with a low star rating and a lack of fresh reviews, monitoring and responding to reviews is now an important factor in local presence management.

Apply E-A-T to Business Listings

Google’s E-A-T (Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness) framework evaluates the quality and value of online content. Factors like creating authoritative content, getting citations from quality platforms, plus maintaining accurate data across the web all help to meet Google’s content guidelines. For detailed insight on this subject you can read our report on applying E-A-T to a Google Business Profile.

How to Use Local Presence Management for Maximum #SEO Impact by @BernieColeman
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We Are Local Presence Management Specialists

At Advice Local, we help agencies and local marketers with a comprehensive set of digital marketing services. Speak with our team today for help with local presence management, listing distribution and review monitoring. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now.

The post How to Use Local Presence Management for Maximum SEO Impact appeared first on Advice Local.

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Digital marketing strategies for local businesses.

As every local agency knows, change is a constant in the world of digital marketing. Everything from the marketing channels you target to the local SEO software you use is evolving continuously. For brands to remain relevant and competitive, they must stay agile and keep up with emerging technologies and trends. Integrating these new approaches with timeless strategies is a tried and true way to succeed in today’s digital marketing environment.

What Local Marketing Strategies Are Working Right Now?

Recognizing the trends worth following and the strategies that are likely to provide positive results is a challenge. By working with local marketing experts like Advice Local, you can leverage proven tools and methods trusted by a wide range of partners and sites. Here are some of the strategies we recommend using today.

Embrace Digital Marketing Tools

Digital marketing tools help agencies streamline the management of client websites and Google Business Profiles (GBP), as well as other platforms. By integrating technology you can improve efficiency, automate tasks and make data-driven decisions. Take our own listing management software and directory network as an example. Rather than expending time and money in building such a network, you can simply tap into our finely-tuned solution.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

Whether you’re building citations or creating content, Google and other platforms have made it clear that quality will be rewarded over quantity. If your approach to promoting a local business client involves getting citations from every available directory, that tactic needs to be reconsidered. Instead, build links with high-quality authority sites and only publish content that offers value to the target audience.

Target Consumers Wherever They Are Active

Online marketing helps businesses reach customers where they are most responsive. For example, a local company will benefit from reaching those nearby who are searching via GPS mapping or in-dash apps. Whether conducting local searches or checking reviews, understanding where consumers are active makes it easier to reach them.

Use Omnichannel Marketing

A consistent marketing strategy over multiple channels provides an uninterrupted customer experience. You want consumers to see a cohesive brand identity across a business website, social media, search engines, business directories and mobile apps. Consequently, they will develop a stronger connection with the brand, and this leads to increased trust, loyalty and conversions.

Optimize for Voice Search

In recent years the way that people search for businesses and information has evolved (and this change is on-going). Voice searches using virtual assistants typically reward more conversational content. Voice app technology helps you manage clients’ content for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and others.

Don’t Limit Your Marketing to Google

There’s an understandable tendency to focus digital marketing efforts exclusively on Google as Google Search, Maps and GBP are crucial for local business marketing. However, don’t miss out on the many additional options – local directories like BubbleLife, DexKnows, Bing Places for Business and Yelp, along with social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Guard Your Business’ Reputation

A business’ online reputation is more important than ever. Poor reviews and a diminished brand reputation will impact visibility in Google, and make customers think twice when deciding which product or service to buy. A review monitoring tool gives a direct insight into customer sentiment, and also lets you clean up many issues with quick review responses.

Top Digital #Marketing Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Curve by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Top-Rated Local SEO Software for Digital Brands

At Advice Local, we create cutting-edge software for agencies and local marketers. From listing management to review monitoring, our products help businesses get more traffic and protect their brand reputation. To get started, call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

The post Top Digital Marketing Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Curve appeared first on Advice Local.

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Top web directories for local businesses.

Managing and distributing business listings has been a part of digital marketing for as long as we can remember. However, as the internet has evolved you could be forgiven for thinking that strategy has lost its edge. But in practice, the best directories have adapted, emphasizing quality, trust, interactivity and a series of other factors. So if you’ve stopped submitting client listings to directories – or never even started – it might be time to reevaluate your approach.

How Directories Benefit Local Businesses

The role of directories has evolved significantly over time. Initially serving as essential resources for discovering websites and businesses, they later became primarily a means for acquiring backlinks for SEO. Today, directories have transformed once again, focusing on delivering value through traffic, increased visibility, brand exposure and customer reviews.

5 Business Directories for Enhanced Visibility and Credibility

Finding quality directories for local citation building requires a lot of upfront research. You also need to audit the platforms periodically to ensure the quality hasn’t dipped. If you’re just getting started with listing management, here are five solid choices that have maintained their standards and reputations over many years.

1. YP

YP is one of the most recognized directories, reaching over 60 million consumers each day. The Yellow Pages brand recognition and its place as the largest local ad platform in the U.S. makes it an essential part of any directory listing strategy. For businesses looking to stand out, enhanced listings come with additional features like photos, videos and business descriptions.

2. Superpages

Superpages is a well-established online directory with a wide range of business categories, covering everything from car rentals and pet services to restaurants, plumbers and more. Customers can use the Superpages directory to find local services, monitor reviews, get directions to the business and access opening hours.

3. DexKnows

DexKnows is an online directory with a local focus. With approximately 700,000 monthly visitors, consumers use the platform to find local professionals such as electricians, plumbers and roofers. In addition to the SEO benefits of a listing, using DexKnows allows businesses to build a strong brand reputation within the local community.

4. HotFrog

HotFrog is an international business directory with listings from around the world. Consumers from 38 countries use the platform to identify businesses, products and services across a range of niches. Crafting a detailed listing here provides opportunities for brand building and the ability to increase your reputation with customer reviews.

5. Chamber of Commerce

Chambers of Commerce are trusted around the world, providing opportunities for businesses to network with other local businesses and industry leaders. Its reputation makes listing with the Chamber of Commerce directory an obvious choice for most local companies.

What Listing Management Strategies Work Today?

Success with directories today means applying technology and expertise to create, optimize and modify business listings. Underpinning this listing management approach must be a network of local, national and niche directories that are vetted for trust and authority. Our network was built over several years and features only the highest-quality platforms, along with the option to get listed on Nextdoor for a fee. This combination ensures businesses get the most value from a focused marketing strategy.

5 #Directories That Local Businesses Need and Why They Matter by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Listing Management Experts for Agencies and Local Marketers

At Advice Local we are listing management specialists, providing real-time submissions to the top business directories. We help agencies manage client listings with a premier directory network and a cutting-edge distribution system. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo today.

The post 5 Directories That Local Businesses Need and Why They Matter appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local business data for AI.

In the coming years AI will shape almost every aspect of local business marketing, from listing management services and review monitoring to data analysis and voice search optimization. This transformation offers a huge opportunity for agencies willing to embrace new strategies. We’re already seeing changes in both user behavior and the integration of AI with Google’s search results. But what role will accurate business data play for local business discoverability?

The Importance of Good Business Data for AI

Many agencies and businesses (particularly those that rely on search engine traffic to reach customers) are concerned about how AI might affect this ability to reach customers. Actually, proactive local businesses can leverage AI to connect with their ideal audience more efficiently.

But is this optimism warranted? We believe so, and it stems from the fact that AI learns from data sources across the web, including business directories, social media, web scraping and user-generated content. By publishing specific data relevant to local businesses – location, hours, services, payment options, attributes, customer reviews and so on – you can become a key reference point for AI-generated searches. The more accurate and consistent the data, the better the chances of appearing in relevant search results.

Increasing Discoverability With Local Business Data Distribution

As a leading listing management provider, Advice Local submits local business data around the web. Over the years we have helped many clients recover lost search placements resulting from inconsistent data by implementing better data monitoring and distribution. By ensuring consistent, accurate data across multiple platforms, businesses can improve their visibility in AI-generated search results, as AI learns from these various data sources.

A recent post from Yext summarizes how this focus on accurate business data will only increase going forward. The post points out that AI tools gather data from many platforms, and are more likely to cite sources like Yellow Pages or Localmint over Google or Bing.

In addition, as AI models are refined you can expect concepts similar to Google’s EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness) to be commonplace anywhere consumers search for local business information.

Future-Proofing a Local Business for AI Search

So, how can you ensure that your clients will be prepared for changes like Google’s AI Overview and others that are certain to follow?

Consider Search Intent

The attributes associated with a business will likely take even greater priority in AI-generated search results. For example, searching for “family-friendly restaurant” will generate precise results based on keywords from diverse sources like the website, customer reviews and directories. Look to integrate attributes across various sources to better match search intent.

Distribute Data Widely

The Yext post also revealed an analysis showing that brands that synced data with over 75% of their network received a 186% increase in web traffic, compared with those syncing with less than 50%. Distributing data widely is a strategy that works now and will continue to work, as AI relies on a network of sources. See our Data Amplifier Network for an example of a powerful network.

Create a Review Strategy

Review sentiment will help determine if a business is the best option for a particular search query. For example, receiving many reviews referencing low cost could help if a user searches for “affordable hotel near me.” Encouraging and managing customer reviews can provide valuable data for AI to learn from and therefore improve visibility for relevant searches.

Why Accurate Business Data Is Critical for AI-Powered #Search by @BernieColeman #SEO #AI
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We Distribute Accurate Data to Business Listing Platforms That AI Trusts

Advice Local can help you maintain accurate and consistent business data across many quality listing platforms. Our dashboard solution will ensure you stay on top of AI listing results and the changing nature of local search marketing. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

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