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We explain the reason why local citations are so important below.
SEO Ranking
With correct business information, you eliminate any confusion for Google and other search engines and directories to find you, as you’re marked as a reliable content source. Without this certainty from search engines, your rankings will dip. Besides losing your top ranking, you will lose revenue as your potential customers may visit or call the wrong business.
There are local listings scoring tools you can use, including Moz’s Local Listing Score tool. [https://moz.com/products/local/check-listing ], which will pinpoint any inaccurate data or locations for your business so you can fix them immediately, so your ranking is not impacted.
Industry Platforms
As a company in the insurance industry, you can create a citation on websites that cater to your industry. Under insurance, this would include insurance directories and websites, including the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC).
Check out Google My Business, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Yellow Pages and directories relevant to the insurance industry.
Google My Business
Google my business (GMB), which is free to set up, is a useful tool to get views and clicks from possible customers. In addition, consistent posting (at least once a week) may land your brokerage in the local 3-pack - the top three business listings on Google for relevant search terms.
a. Why it is (the most) important.
Optimizing your Google My Business listing is a sure-fire way for clients to call or visit you in person. Without optimization, they likely won’t find the pertinent information when they do a Google search.
b. Top Features
Description: A summary of your business in 750 characters or less helps you describe your brokerage to your customers.
Reviews
Google business reviews are essential for the survival of your business as people often rely on them when they decide on which business to buy from. Reviews also boost your brokerage’s reputation.
Posts
You can write a post and link to an article on your website. The post character limit is 300 characters.
Posting to your GMB listing at least once a week can significantly increase clicks and views of your business because you’ll be posting about new products, offers and any relevant information existing and potential clients will be searching for.
Q & A
Questions come from customers about your business. It’s critical to answer these inquiries from people who could be existing or potential customers. We recommend using the questions as a platform for blog content on your website. There is likely more than one person who has the same question – answering the questions in a blog is a timely way to satisfy your customer’s questions.