Best Listings for Service Area Business?
-
Hi Moz community!
I'm wondering the best places to get a local service area business listed online? I'm working with a client who installs synthetic grass around Vancouver, but could apply to any local SAB ... I found this resource from Local Visibility Systems but it's almost 5 years old at this point ...
I started setting up an Apple Maps Connect account but it doesn't seem like they support the concept. Is there a way to hide an address in Apple Maps Connect? Is it worth submitting at all?
Does anyone have a comprehensive list of modern directories that matter for local SEO that support SABs?
Thanks very much everyone! - Paul
-
My pleasure, Paul! Thanks for asking a good question
-
Thanks Miriam, much appreciated!
-
Hi Paul!
Phil actually did a piece one year later as a follow-up to that first one you've linked to. I want to be sure you've seen:
I do not know of a more recent list of directories that support hidden addresses. Regarding your question about Apple Maps Connect, the answer to that was not easy to find, so I actually reached out to Phil (given his expertise in this particular area) and he let me know that, no, unfortunately, hidden addresses are not supported by that platform.
Phil's two lists should still be largely accurate. Hope this helps.
-
Interesting. I guess any service-based business has that issue. In your case, some people might actually want to see the product and "show up at his door". I think if he's okay giving out his address the only thing you can do is make it clear on his website that there is no showroom, no product on display at the business address and/or offer publicly accessible places where anyone could go and see it (if possible).
Maybe others will have different suggestions.
-
Thanks Donna! To clarify, my client is happy to give a mailing address to the directory, but runs the business out of his house and doesn't serve customers there, so the key is to make the distinction so customers don't show up at his door.
-
It's harder to rank on the map without an address, but I see people all the time who are. I would look at different search phrases on the various sites like Yelp, Apple Maps, etc. and see if you can find examples of businesses without an address. What kind of citations do they have.
Especially with local search, you frequently have to do the research yourself. Different cities and industries don't have the same power citations. You have to find the ones that are right for you.
-
Are you asking if there is a more up-to-date list of directories that don't require a physical mailing address? If yes, I'm not aware of one. It's probably not worth investing a lot of time researching either. If you or client doesn't want his or her mailing address listed, then your best bet is to focus on organic and/or PPC unless they're a niche player with very little competition.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
SERP Business Listing
Hello, While searching on mobile I was testing keywords to see if my business listing would appear. I noticed for certain keywords it would trigger a competitors business to come up in the knowledge panel. I'm running adwords so my business typically always appears in the top ad panel but my business listing isn't recognized for particular keywords. Is there any reason why a competitors business listing would appear in the SERP over our business? It seems random. Is there maybe something I could add on the google business listing? Does anyone have any tips for this? Thanks!
Local Listings | | Dsv1 -
Local Pack Ads v. Organic Business Listings
Hey everyone, So I'm noticing lately that Google is showing ads via AdWords for my locations in the local pack. I am fine with that, but unfortunately it is now driving me a little bit insane wondering how much Google really cares about NAP, distance from centroid and or user, links to domain, completed business profile and so on. They will pull an ad into the top of the local pack for my location, yet, my actual organic business listing in some cases will not even show up until I hit the second page of business results. I get that it's Adwords, it's pay-to-play, but from most accounts, the differences in ranking for traditional listings results compared to business results on both desktop and mobile are pretty different. For example, by doing my traditional SEO best practices, I can rank high in traditional listing results even when my business does not show in the local listings. I have done this time and time again. I am able to accept that since we have 100 locations in the US and our lists were an absolute mess before I got here, that some of our NAP across multiple directories and listing sites are not exactly up to snuff which I have been working on. So I guess the thing is, if my location in Google's eyes is not good enough to be shown organically for the user even at the bottom of page of one of business results, why is it good enough to show an ad for my business location for that query as the absolute first result? Again, I know its Ad Words which basically allows you to cut in line like that special pass you can buy at a roller coaster park, but still. Isn't their goal to provide the best possible experience for their user? If they feel something is worth holding back my organic listing from the user, why is it fine with them to show the user that same location with the top possible local pack spot in an ad? I guess this is more of a rant than anything but I wanted to know if anyone else is dealing with this or anyone has any info they have found that could help shed light on this? It kind of just kicked everything I thought about trust, authority, links in order to rank in the local pack organically out the window. Thanks! -Ben
Local Listings | | Davey_Tree0 -
Yahoo Local Business Listings Hijacked
We are a solar company with three locations. When claiming our business listings on Yahoo (Yext), we noticed that one of them had already been claimed. The name of our company and our phone number were changed to a lead generation company. Upon further inspection, this company has hijacked hundreds of listings throughout the state and the country. To see the extent of it, go here:
Local Listings | | SS.Digital
https://search.yahoo.com/local/s;_ylt=A0SO8odHUOZZdVUAYwBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTExOARfcgMyBGdwcmlkA3loNXdiQlJqVE9HMm9MdXlUSklLdEEEbl9zdWdnAzEEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDMjIEcXVlcnkDc29sYXIgY29ubmVjdG9yIGlydmluZQR0X3N0bXADMTUwODI4MTk4MA--?fr2=sb-top-search&p=solar+connector+irvine&fr=yfp-t- Or, just search in Yahoo's Local search section for "Solar Connector Irvine" or pretty much any city in California. On every hijacked listing, the company name is changed to "Solar Connector" and the phone number is changed to a unique local number, but all the other information is left the same. Now when people think they are calling our business, they get a shady lead gen company instead. I have submitted a request to Yext and have tried (and failed) to find a support phone number. This is a widespread, blatant fraud, and I would hope they would have interest in fixing it. Solar Connector (fake name) is associated with SolarAmerica.com, which is run by Clean Energy Experts, which was purchased by Sunrun (a publicly traded company). My specific question is, does anyone have any insight on the best method for getting help from Yahoo/Yext? Other than through their "help portal" on the website. I need to speak with a human being.1 -
???? "Google My Business", Search Console, Google Webmaster Tools
I added a Google+ Page for my business several years ago. Now when I click on "Search Console" within Webmaster Tools it is asking me to provide business information that I entered several years ago for Google+. Is this normal? Should I fill it out? It seems that this info is redundant with what I filled out for Google+. When I enter the name of my business (Metro Manhattan Office Space, Inc. ) in Google, a listing appears to the right, so it seems that Google already has my details. Thanks,
Local Listings | | Kingalan1
Alan vkpDA XgCcQ0 -
What is the detail process of google listing?
Could anybody share how google listing will be ? the step by step process for Google business listing
Local Listings | | Tabassum0 -
What is the best SEO practice for listing multiple locations from the same business online?
Hello! The church I work for is launching its third location and we are needing to figure out what the best SEO practice would be when it comes to to listing all three of our locations online. Currently, we are listing the two locations we have as "Church Name - South Campus" and "Church Name - West Campus." Going forward, would it be better to list our 3 location names as: James River Church - South Campus, James River Church - West Campus, James River Church - North Campus or James River Church South Campus, James River Church West Campus, James River Church North Campus or list all three locations as "James River Church" Thank you for any advice you can give me!
Local Listings | | chris.oursbourn0 -
Multiple locations for business displaying in search
I have two locations for my business but now if I search for the term "car medics" on Google search only one of the locations display now. I'm not exactly sure when this change happened but If you refer to my August screenshot http://puu.sh/lACx7/6329ef916e.png compared to today's screenshot http://puu.sh/lABPS/415fa451c1.png. The search results used to display both locations which is exactly what I wanted. How can I have this corrected? I don't want people to think I only serve at one location. I specifically made two location pages instead of listing both on a single contact page on my website to delineate I have two locations. Yes I understand both locations will come up if I check Google Maps but I want the same thing for on Google search as well.
Local Listings | | FPK0 -
Best practice for local SEO when two offices handle different services?
Our agency has three main services - SEO, PPC and web design. We're in the process of setting up a new office in a different city where our PPC team will be based, while SEO and web will stay in the original office. How do we handle local SEO/Google My Business listings in this situation? Geo-targeted service pages and two separate GMB listings?
Local Listings | | CustardOnlineMarketing0