Why Local Listings are Important for Your Accounting Firm
Local business listings and citations play a vital role in the reputation and ranking of your accounting firm. Online local listings are downright necessary for any size accounting firm and without them, your business is essentially off the grid.
What is a Local Listing?
Local Listings are any mention online of your business’ name, address, and phone number (NAP) and is a key ranking factor for local SEO. Online local listings come in many different forms including local business directories such as Google Business, Yelp, and Manta or social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Some listings go beyond the bare basics, allowing you to include more detailed business information such as business categories, company photos, business hours, directions, and customer reviews to name a few.
It’s highly recommended to completely and accurately fill out all areas of a local listing as this provides valuable information for searchers, not to mention, Google ranks your website higher in the search results the more complete your listing is.
Now that you have a general understanding of local listings, here's what an online listing strategy can do for your business:
- Help you rank higher in local search
- Make it easier for searchers to find your accounting practice online
- Improve your chances of ranking higher than your competitors
- Provide important information about your business to potential clients
How to Manage Local Listings
Sometimes you’ll notice your business information is on directories that you never submitted information to. That’s why it’s important for businesses to be in control of their listings so their information is accurate across the web, however, the thought of creating and managing many listings for your accounting practice can be a bit overwhelming.
The good news is that there are many business citation providers that can help you create and manage your listings such as Moz and BrightLocal. Of course if you see any incorrect information about your business you can always contact the directory and ask to fix any errors.
Maintaining a robust local listing presence lends credibility to your business overall by showing Google and potential clients that you are an established business in your local area and will help your website rank higher in the local search results, ultimately generating more leads and traffic to your website.
If you would like Build Your firm to help manage your local listing strategy, check out our Content Marketing in a Box services, or contact us at 888-999-9800, ext. 1, or email us at info@buildyourfirm.com.