When it comes to marketing a local practice, tools can streamline the process and help you tap into your local audience. While there are plenty of tools and resources available, there are two major ones that every local practice should take advantage of.
Moz Local
Moz Local has taken the place of GetListed.org. With this one simple tool, you can add your business listing to all of the major data aggregators. Here’s how it works:
- Enter your business location information.
- Moz Local pushes your listings to major data aggregators.
- Search engines find your location information.
Creating business listings manually can be tedious and very time consuming. That’s time better spent on running your practice.
While saving time is a valuable benefit, Moz Local offers other benefits as well. For one thing, it ensures that your listings are accurate across the board.
When you submit listings manually or outsource the task to a third party, there’s a chance that a few of those listings might have an error. The address might not be spelled properly, or maybe you inputted an old phone number that’s no longer working. Inaccuracies can cause your listings not to appear in the search results. With this method, you create one listing that’s pushed across all of the major data aggregators.
Moz Local isn’t a free tool, but it’s affordable even for small businesses with tight budgets.
Google Local
Google has made quite a few major changes to its search in the last few years, and shifting its focus to the local space is one of the biggest. Google Local, a.k.a. Google My Business, helps you connect with your customers through search, maps and even Google+.
What’s great about Google My Business is that when you create listings, customers can find you on any device and through Google’s most popular products. If a local customer searches for your business on Google, they’ll be met with a friendly listing that includes your practice:
- Rating
- Reviews
- Address
- Hours
With one tap of a button, customers can call your practice to make an appointment, save your listing, share it and even get directions.
If you’re business isn’t on Google, you’re leaving money on the table. And with Google My Business being free and easy to use, every practice should have a listing.
These are two essential tools that help you start marketing your practice online. Although Moz’s Local tool isn’t free, it’s still a budget-friendly option and will save you time. Google My Business is free and will ensure that you listing is added to search, maps and Google+. Together, these tools will ensure that both search engines and customers find your business listing online.
