Steps for Claiming Business Listings and Reviews

The internet is the single largest resource for consumers looking for local businesses and services, and it’s vital for businesses to control what consumers are seeing about their business. There are several tools and areas to pay attention to here, with one of the largest being various listing and review sites present on the web.

At Be Locally SEO, we’re proud to offer a variety of local SEO services, from optimization and keyword targeting to web design, PPC and social media marketing themes. One of the most important concepts with controlling what consumers see about your business is what’s called “claiming” your business listings and reviews – this two-part blog will go over the basics on listing and review sites, which are most important for claiming and how this process works.

Listing and Review Site Basics

The business world has gone digital over the last couple decades, and this has expanded the network of individuals who judge and review a business. While this used to just be determined by a small number of industry-specific critics (think food critics for restaurants, for instance), online listings allow for far more people to review or otherwise judge a given business establishment, then post their opinions for others to read.

And with so many others looking for recommendations online, these reviews tend to be well-read. For business owners and marketing managers who are looking to improve the way their business appears online, one of the biggest factors is claiming the business on these listings or review sites – which really just refers to letting the site know that you are the owner of a business so they can update your information.

Important Listing and Review Sites

In many cases, businesses will be listed online but not claimed because a customer entered the information after visiting your business. With any luck, your information will be accurate – but if it isn’t, you have to claim it so you can control this realm.

Now, those with experience in this realm may have a major question at this point: Which sites should I claim my business on? There are literally thousands of review sites out there, so it can be hard to know which to prioritize. Generally, though, three stand out above the rest:

• Google My Business: The top single search and listing site to be sure you claim your business on is Google and Google My Business. This is the largest search engine on earth and should be prioritized.
• Facebook: Trailing only Google for overall platform use, Facebook is mainly a social site – but has numerous business benefits, from customer connections to reviews and ratings on your business page. Many such reviews show up near the top of Google searches.
• Yelp: Yelp is one of the most trusted and well-known review sites in the US, available for both for-profit and nonprofit businesses across numerous industries. Once again, Yelp reviews often come up very high on Google searches, which you can also use to find out about how competitors are listing their own businesses.

For more on listing and review sites and why claiming them is important, or to learn about any of our search engine optimization or other services, speak to the staff at Be Locally SEO today.