CLAIMING YOUR SPACE ON THE WEB
Free and simple steps to put your business “on the map” of the interwebs.
The most basic and perhaps most important step you can take to boost your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) is to list your business with the major search engines and aggregators, make sure the information is correct and up-to-date, and become the verified representative for your business. While finding the time to perform these functions can be a challenge, the payoff is well worth the time spent.
Sundog would love to be able to do this for you, but the engines that power the internet require phone or email verification that only you can provide as direct verification with a listed business is the most reliable.
If you have been in business for more than five minutes, you quite likely have a listing even if you have not created one. Verification to make updates requires your authorization via email or a phone call so you’ll need to be near your computer or business phone depending on how they verify.
It is important that your business’ entries ARE CONSISTENT. Organize the following vital information and use it for each of your listings.
- Business Name
- Address (City, State, Zip)
- Main Phone Number
- Website
- Business Hours
- A description of your business, minimum 250 characters.
- Category (-ies) of your Business
- Logo and images
Unfortunately, there is no single place to add your business. Your time is valuable so we recommend you update your Google listing first. We also highly recommend that you keep close track of the logins you use for your business and that you use a Business (not personal) Email for your listing verifications.
Your website’s SEO is within your grasp, so do not hesitate. Put your digital stake in the ground and claim your space on the web!
Top Sites to List Your Business:
1. Google
Go to business.google.com/create and search for your business name. If you are not there, click “Add your business” and follow the directions.
2. Bing
Go to bingplaces.com, sign in or create a new account to claim your listing, and follow the directions.
3. Facebook
Go to facebook.com/pages/create, click the “Get Started” button, login or create an account with your business email, and follow the directions.
4. Yelp
Go to business.yelp.com, click the “Verify my free listing” button, and follow the directions.
Depending on your business, others may include: YellowPages, LinkedIn, Tripadvisor, etc. – the main thing is keeping them all consistent!