In today’s economy, the vast majority of customers choose businesses based on online search results. In fact, 96% of people will learn about local businesses through online searches, and 80% of local searches will eventually convert into a customer. For pet spas, pet trainers, and groomers, having a solid online presence is the most effective way to find and connect with pet owners in the local community.
Yet building a solid online presence involves more than simply building a website with some local search terms woven in. You must be proactive in finding local customers, and that requires getting listed in online directories. Online directories provide you a chance to list your business, contact information, hours, and services and put them in front of a local audience who is searching for the pet services you offer. To be found consistently online, you must focus your marketing efforts on local business listings management strategies for pet spas, groomers, and trainers. With effective, consistent business listings in online directories, you will have a better chance of reaching the people who need your services for their pets.
Understanding the Impact of Directory Listings
When you want local pet owners to find your business, you need to show up in local search results. This means when someone in your community is searching for a pet spa, grooming, or training business, you will be one of the brands they see.
Having a strong local online presence for your pet spa is a multifaceted process, but one of the factors that helps is directory listings. Directory listings give your business a place to post your name, address, and phone number (NAP), gain reviews, and even place images of your product or service. Google Business Profile is one of the most popular directory listings, but Yelp, Yahoo!, Bing, Facebook CitySearch, Merchant Circle, and Superpages.com are also examples. When you have listings in these places, and those listings are accurate, it tells the search engines you’re a relevant business in your geographic area. This, in turn, may improve your local search results. When your NAP is consistent across these platforms, it tells Google you are a legitimate, valid business to show to local searchers.
Your directory listing has a direct impact on your local search results, not just in your search engine rank but also in the way customers interact with you. For instance, around 75% of new business comes from review websites and directories. In addition, 68% of customers would not do business with a company if it had incomplete or inaccurate business directory information. These statistics show why accurate listing information is vital.
So, how can you reach these local customers with your pet spa or grooming business using online directory listings? This step-by-step approach will get you visible in the right places and with the right people.
Steps to Localize Your Online Presence Through Managing Directory Listings
Being proactive in claiming your business listings and managing them effectively will get your business in front of interested pet owners in your community. Consider these steps to get started:
Claim and Verify Business Listings
First, identify the business listings that are the right fit for your target audience. For almost every business, Google, Facebook, and Yelp will be on that list, but there may be others that will affect your brand and your local community. Then, claim and verify your business listing on these sites following the site’s specific rules.
Ensure Consistency in Business Information
Once you have your business listing in place, make sure it has a consistent name, address, and phone number with your website and your other listings. If something changes, update all of your directory listings. If you see any discrepancies or inaccuracies, address these quickly.
Optimize Business Descriptions for Local SEO
On those directories, you have the option to add business descriptions. Use this area to put local-specific keywords or lingo. This will tell the search engines and any directory visitors that you’re a valid local business.
Also, use this description to add details about the type of pet grooming and training services you offer. This will pair with your local lingo to show what you offer and where you offer it.
Utilize Additional Features of Directory Listings
Use the features of the directory site, such as the ability to add videos or photos, to showcase your business. Show before and after businesses of successful grooming results, informational videos about how to prepare for a pet spa appointment or even slideshows of popular grooming styles. These visual elements will enhance your listings and make them more appealing to visitors.
Most directory sites offer review opportunities, and you will want to utilize these. Encourage customers to visit the website and make a review of your business. Focus on happy customers, but don’t ignore negative reviews. if you get a negative review, respond to it professionally. This will show visitors and the search engines that you’re a real business.
Leverage Industry-Specific Directories
While you want to have your website on the top directories, like Google and Yelp, you also want to put it on the sites designed specifically for pet businesses. Citations on pet-specific websites that include your local information will boost your results in the search engines for pet services. Some popular ones to choose from include:
- Dogfriendly.com
- Petswelcome.com
- Doggies.com
- Petsitter.com
- Nationalpetregister.org
On these pages, highlight any unique offerings your business has. Do you offer a mobile grooming service that comes to your customer’s home? Make that obvious. Does your pet spa have pet boarding? Include that information. These details will help you stand out from the crowd.
Monitor and Update Directory Listings
Listing your business on these sites is the first step, but once you’re listed, you need to make sure your listings stay updated. If your address or phone number changes, change it on the listing. If you change your business hours, make an update. Add new photos when your services change.
Obviously, staying on top of these changes can be overwhelming. You will want a tool or service to help you streamline the management of these directory listings, so you can reach your customers without spending too much time on your listings.
Analyze the Impact on Local Search Rankings
Once you have your business on the various directories and the NAP information is accurate and consistent, step back and track your search ranking. Have you seen any improvement? If so, then you are on the right track. If not, then you may need to adjust your listings and strategies to improve your performance data.
Keep tracking your search ranking to see when you need to adjust your strategy. If you start losing rank, adjust your directory listings and your other search ranking metrics. This process requires ongoing adjustment as you seek to find the perfect solution to keeping your site visible in local search.
Get Help Localizing Your Online Marketing for Your Pet Spa Business
In today’s online marketplace with millions of business websites, simply having an online presence isn’t enough. You need an online presence that is local in nature. That’s where directory listings can help.
Prioritizing the creation and active management of your directory listings is a key factor in reaching local pet owners in 2024. Yet employing all of these local business listings management strategies for pet spas and groomers is not easy, especially while also balancing the demands of running your local business. That’s where Surefire Local comes in.
Surefire Local is an all-in-one marketing platform designed for local businesses. One of the services it offers is directory management. Through the platform, you can claim, edit, and publish your directory listings across the 80 top online directory listings with just a few clicks of the mouse. You can also seamlessly update these listings from the Surefire Local platform when you need to make a change. This makes updating your directories as seamless as possible.
In addition, we have a number of content marketing tools to help you publish relevant content to your blog, directory listings, social media, and Google My Business Page. We combine these tools with a robust analytics and reporting program that shows exactly how successful your online marketing efforts are. We’ll even provide AI-generated recommendations on what you can improve to make your results even better.
Finally, we provide educational resources through webinars and blog articles that will help your pet spa business learn what it needs to know to be successful in online marketing. Are you ready to start enjoying all of these perks? Attend a Surfire Local demo to learn more about how our platform can revolutionize your online marketing efforts.