Where to list your business online: a local business listing checklist

For most local businesses, the first listing to claim is a Google Business Profile. Google says that when someone searches for a business or place near them, they find local results on Google Maps and Search, and that you can use your Business Profile to improve your local ranking.

The first step is verification. Google explains that verifying tells Google you're authorized to represent the business, which makes the profile more likely to show up in search results. An unverified profile is a profile you don't fully control.

Google is unusually direct about this. It says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity, and it explains the third factor under the heading prominence:

• Relevance is how well your profile matches what someone searched for. Complete, detailed information helps Google make that match.
• Distance is how far you are from the person searching. You can't change where you are, so don't try to fake it.
• Prominence is how well known your business is. Google says this is partly based on how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.

Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone promising to buy you a top spot in the map results is selling something Google says does not exist.

Treat your Google profile as the master copy for every other listing. Google's guidelines for representing your business are worth reading once, slowly. These are the parts that trip up businesses most often:

Your name. Google says your name should reflect your real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery and as customers know it. Adding a city or a service to the name to rank better breaks that guideline.

Your address. Use your real location. Google says a virtual office, meaning a rented mailing address you don't operate from, isn't eligible for a Business Profile. A desk in a co-working space only qualifies if it has clear signage, receives customers during business hours and is staffed by your team.

Service areas. If you travel to customers instead of having them come to you, you are a service-area business. Google says you should hide your business address and set a service area, and that the overall area shouldn't extend farther than about two hours of driving time from where you're based.

Categories. Google asks you to choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your core business, and to pick ones that complete the sentence "This business IS a," not "this business HAS a."

Phone number. Use a local number under your direct control instead of a central call center line whenever possible.

Once your Google profile is accurate, add the other maps and directories your customers actually use. Apple, for example, lets you claim your location on Maps through Apple Business, so iPhone users who search in Apple Maps see your current details.

After the major maps, think about where your specific customers look:

• Industry directories and professional associations in your field
• Your local chamber of commerce or business association
• Platforms your customers already use to book, order or review businesses like yours

A good test is to ask your last ten new customers how they found you. If nobody mentions a directory, it is probably not worth an afternoon of your time.

The biggest risk with business listings is not having too few. It is having several that disagree. When one site shows your old suite number and another shows your new one, customers are left deciding which one to believe.

Keep one master record of your business name, address, phone number, website, hours and categories, and copy from it every time. When something changes, update your Google profile first, then work through every other listing on the same day.

Hours deserve special attention. Google's guidelines let you set special hours for particular days, like holidays. Use them. A customer who drives to a closed door on a holiday may not come back.

A listing is not a one-time setup. Google notes that when you reply to customer reviews, it shows you value their feedback, and that positive reviews and helpful replies may help your business stand out. Reply to the good reviews and the bad ones, briefly and politely.

Photos and videos help too. Google suggests adding them to show customers what you offer and tell the story of your business. Real photos of your space, your team and your work tell customers more than stock images can.

1. Search for your business on Google Maps and Apple Maps from your phone.
2. Check your name, address, phone, hours and website against your master record.
3. Reply to every new review.
4. Add a few new photos.
5. Fix anything that drifted, starting with Google.

Twenty minutes a month keeps your local business listing working for you instead of against you.