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In this article:\n23 free listing sites to add your auto shop to\nWhat you should do next\nMost everyone has a car, and what do they do when their car suddenly has a problem? They Google the nearest auto shop and look at the reviews of the top-ranking listings on Google. Is your auto shop showing up?\nOne way to help your auto shop show up better on Google is to add your information to several online listing sites. This shows Google that other places are verifying your information so it will transfer that trust to potential customers. \nSeveral of these websites are also popular for reviews and other places that customers search when they are in need of an auto repair. \nAs you get started with this list, just keep this important note in mind: make sure your business name, address, and phone number (or NAP) is the same on each of these sites. Inconsistencies can cause confusion with the search engines and make them less likely to show your listing. \nLet’s get started!\n1. AutoMD \nAutoMD was created specifically for customers to find auto repair shops near them. It offers easy Q&A’s to help customers diagnose the car issues they are experiencing and then guides them to the right shop for them. \n2. Carwise\nCarwise is an awesome site with its own auto shop directory. Not only that, but it allows your customers to book appointments from this platform when they find your business. Get your auto shop listed and opt-in to their scheduling capabilities for maximum opportunities. \n3. BimmerShops\nBimmerShops is the perfect place to get your auto shop listed if you specialize in servicing BMWs. They want to help their users find trusted mechanics with the knowledge and experience necessary to work on their BMW. \n4. AutoBodyAlliance.com\nAt AutoBodyAlliance.com, users can find auto insurance carriers, repair shops, and report their claims. List your auto shop here to be placed in a specialized directory for auto repair shops. \n5. BiznisDirectory\nMost online directories sort out their business by category to help their users find the thing they are looking for as quickly as possible. BiznisDirectory is no different. They have a specific directory just for auto shops that you can submit your business to for free. \n6. VolvoMechanics \nVolvoMechanics is—you guessed it—all about getting the best service for Volvo owners. So if you specialize in fixing up Volvos, be sure to list your auto shop on volvomechanics.com. \n7. ExtremeWrench.com\nExtremeWrench.com is another directory devoted to auto repair specialists. Users can search by their vehicle type to find the best auto shop for their needs. Add your auto shop to this directory for free and get found by more customers. \n8. Google My Business is a no-brainer\nYou can’t show your business on Google maps without a Google My Business listing. With Google as the top search engine, you definitely want to make sure your auto shop is showing up here. Include all of your relevant information, add photos, and make sure your hours are correct. \nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your Google Business listing\n9. Bing Places, believe it or not\nBing is still a widely used search engine, especially as the default for Microsoft Edge. So, you’ll want to make sure you have a listing here as well. If you already have a Google My Business listing, you can log into Bing Places with your Google account and import your Google listing. \n10. Yelp for auto shops? Yep!\nYelp is a huge source for customer reviews across several industries—including auto shops. Ninety percent of Yelp users that make a purchase based on their searches say they were influenced by positive reviews. Get your auto shop listed on Yelp and start getting positive reviews for more opportunities to get in front of customers. \nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\n11. \nSolo \nprofile\nWith a free Solo profile, even the smallest local one-man auto shop or detailer can have a helpful, functional SEO-friendly online presence for free. Building and maintaining a traditional website is simply too much for many super-small businesses to deal with. This is one reason a Solo profile can be such an amazing benefit. \nYour customizable Solo profile can list your business’s location, relevant contact information, links to your social pages, and any business details you want included. Sign up at \nSolo.co\n.\n12. Don’t ignore Facebook\nFacebook does count as an online listing site that Google crawls, so make sure your auto shop’s information is consistent here, too. \nCreate a Facebook business page\n for your auto shop and be sure to add your logo, photos of your shop, and other relevant information to help reinforce your brand. \nIf you need help getting set up on Facebook, follow our simple tutorial: \nHow to claim your Facebook business page\n. \n13. TripAdvisor is a must\nWhen someone is on vacation and their car breaks down, they just might be conducting their searches on TripAdvisor. This popular listing site gets 390 million unique visitors each month, so don’t miss out on any opportunities.\nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n \n14. Foursquare\nFoursquare gets more than 55 million views each month. Users can check into your auto shop and leave tips to help other customers get the best experience at your business. \n15. MapQuest (yes, really!)\nAnother popular site for tourists and vacation goers. List your auto shop on MapQuest to capture this particular group of customers. MapQuest support is awesome and will help get your listing up within days. \nCheck out their guide to \nadd a basic business listing\n. \n16. YP.com\nThe traditional YellowPages created an online directory to stay relevant in this digital age. With more than 60 million users each month, it’s safe to say that there are plenty of opportunities here. \nClaim your free business profile\n on YP.com now. \n17. Better Business Bureau (BBB)\nThe Better Business Bureau is a common platform for people to use when they want more information on a particular business, whether they are considering working for it or shopping there. BBB grades its businesses and tells people whether or not they can trust your business. \nFollow \nthis guide\n to get listed on BBB. \n18. Angie’s List is hugely important\nAngie’s List (now Angi.com) is a popular site that is most frequently used to find home and auto services. You can offer deals from your listing here to entice more customers to choose your auto shop over your competitors. \n19. BrownBook: lots of detail\nBrownBook.net is a global business listing database that allows you to add a free listing with much more detail than most listing sites. Add your logo, tons of photos, videos, a history of your company, and so much more. \n20. Use your local chamber of commerce\nYour local chamber of commerce is dedicated to helping small local businesses get off the ground. They likely have an online directory or businesses in your community, so be sure to find out how you can get your auto shop listed. \n21. Manta\nManta is a pretty cool directory site because it has a tool that allows you to check your listings across the web to see where your information is inconsistent or missing. Use this to help you list your auto shop correctly and to get another free listing checked off your list. \n22. Get listed on CitySearch\nCitySearch is all about helping its users find the best places in their neighborhoods. They want to make their platform a fun place to find new businesses, so they’ve added features like voting and award badges to help entice customers. \nTo get listed on CitySearch, add your auto shop to the \nCityGrid database\n. \n23. Try MerchantCircle\nMerchantCircle helps small businesses network with other businesses and get found by local customers search for specific services. With free marketing tools and social media features, this is more than just another site to get listed on. \nWhat next?\nThis is only a small list of the places you can list your auto shop for free, but it’s a great start to helping you rank better on Google and increase your online visibility. \nGo deeper with this article: \nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n

23 free listing sites every auto shop should be on

In this article:\nLearn the 5 key elements of an effective marketing strategy for your independent bookstore\nOptimizing your online business presence\nEngaging with customers and getting involved locally\nWhat’s an appropriate ad spend, and where?\nHow small business software can save you time and effort\nLet’s face facts: Amazon changed everything for bookstores, and has killed off nearly all of the huge, national booksellers. Barnes & Noble is the sole remaining national chain, but recently faced serious management troubles, was hemorrhaging money, and was sold to an investment management firm in August 2019.\nIf you run an independent bookstore, you may applaud or mourn these giants’ demise, but you should take careful note and work to ensure your business offers something that Amazon (and the former big chains) can’t provide.\nIf your independent bookstore is doing well, it may be tempting to forgo budgeting for advertising or developing a solid small business marketing plan. Traditional thinking leads a lot of local bookstore owners to believe that being an edgier, quirkier, or hipper “alternative” to Amazon is all they need to thrive.\n\nThat may have worked in the pre-digital market space, but to survive today bookstores need to do more than just “be there.”\nNow, that doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money. You can never hope to outspend Amazon, who last year spent over $10 Billion on marketing trying to win even more of your local customers. \nBut if you spend some time implementing the steps outlined below, a small investment in marketing can go a surprisingly long way. Let’s get started.\n1. Optimize your independent bookstore’s online business presence\nDespite Amazon transforming the marketplace by combining the seemingly incongruous components of online shopping and real, paper-and-ink books, independent bookstore owners sometimes feel that a robust online presence is not necessary or relevant to them.\nNothing could be further than the truth. Studies show that today’s local customers overwhelmingly search for everything online, and we mean everything. Did you know, for example, that Amazon is now the nation’s top retailer of \nauto parts\n? \nWhen people look for places to spend their money locally, or talk about the best places to buy locally, that conversation now takes place online. 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, and most consumers trust those reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family. \nWhat’s more, one bad online review can cost you 30 new customers, and a one-star drop in your business rating can result in a nearly 20% decline in revenue. These things MATTER.\nSo, even you are the very indiest of indie booksellers, the first step in your marketing plan absolutely must be claiming your business profile on all of the major review sites. Click the links for our helpful how-to articles on how to claim your profile on \nYelp\n, \nGoogle\n, and \nTripAdvisor\n. \nYou should also claim, monitor, and remember to update your profile on Facebook, Foursquare, and on independent bookstore websites like \nIndieBound.org\n and \nNewPages.com’s\n bookstore listings.  \nRead our article on claiming your \nfree business listings\n for many more.\n\nClaiming your profile on these sites, updating any incorrect info (including hours of operation, location, contact info, etc.), and monitoring them regularly is essential, because this is the number one way people find your store… and people are leaving reviews for your business there, whether you want them or not. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple review sites make up to 58% more money!\nThis brings us to the next step.\n2. Engage existing bookstore customers online \nHow do you feel when you text, message, or email a friend and you get no response? Not good, right? That’s how your customers feel when they take the time to post a review and you don’t let them know you appreciate it (or offer to fix any problems they bring up).\nSmart local booksellers read and respond to all their online reviews and develop plans to get more reviews (click to learn the right and wrong ways to \nget more reviews\n in our in-depth article).\nResponding appropriately to all reviews starts attracting more customers to your bookstore and enhances your online reputation. (For our primer on \nhow to deal with negative reviews\n, click the link.) \n3. Get involved in your community and capitalize on the “buy local” movement\nSmall, independent local bookstores are gaining traction, despite Amazon’s attempt to take over the market. The biggest advantages you have over the Goliaths is you can provide the unique ambiance, positive customer experience, rare/used book selection, and personal attention to detail that huge online retailers and big box stores don’t have a hope of matching.\n\nWith some effort, you can develop fanatically loyal customers who will become your strongest online (and offline) advocates. The key is to help them feel a personal connection with you and your store.\nSo, get more involved in your community! Host local events such as book signings, poetry readings, slam poetry nights, coffee klatches (assuming you have the facilities), or anything else you find interesting. \nPost notices of these events and give or send physical, text, or email invitations to your customers. (63% of customers say they want more invites to local events, but only 12% report getting any).\nConsider working with local schools’ English departments to facilitate or sponsor reading marathons or book fairs. Volunteer for and/or sponsor the local symphony, arthouse cinema, or independent music scene. Maybe collaborate for a “taste of the town” event with your favorite local restaurants and retailers. Try to think outside the box.\nThe main goal is to become a landmark and champion for local business in your town. When people feel personally connected to a business, they visit more often, spend more, and tell more people about it.\n4. Invest wisely in targeted advertising \nNow that you’ve laid the ground work, you are ready to start spending some dough on marketing. But how much should you spend, and where?\nWe recommend you spend approximately 7-8% of your gross revenue on marketing. This aligns with advice from the U.S. Small Business Administration.\nIf that seems like a lot, consider the fact that the average small business spends 10% of their gross revenue on marketing, the typical large company spends 13%, and many businesses spend \nup to 50%\n. Yikes.\nSo where should you spend?\nFor small businesses, email marketing is by FAR the most efficient, powerful, and effective marketing tool, having an unmatched return on investment (ROI) of up to 44 to 1. In simple terms, for every $1 you spend on email marketing, it brings in up to $44. (Get more details our \nemail marketing\n article.)\nIf you’re worried about getting branded as a “spammer,” consider that 86% of customers say they actually want promotional emails from businesses they like. Relevant, timely emails are welcome, not hated.\nA simple email receipt with a “thanks for your visit,” happy birthday wishes, or special deals or offers delivered to a customer’s inbox can go a long way. Email marketing software can be a huge timesaver here (see #5 below).\nEmail is also a great way to notify your customers of those special events we discussed above. \nConsider Facebook and Instagram\nOne of the best ways to advertise without spending a lot of money is through social media. \nIf you’re not familiar with advertising on Facebook or Instagram, it’s very straightforward and pretty easy. Just visit \nwww.Facebook.com/business\n or \nbusiness.instagram.com\n to find all kinds of resources, as well as simple steps for creating your business account, creating ads, and all the other information you need to get started. \nDecide what kind of “persona” you want your bookstore to have, and use that persona in establishing the voice and personality of your social media accounts. \nThis helps your customers establish a personal connection with your business and become more engaged. \nWhen it’s time to spend money on targeted advertising, pay careful attention to the types of people visiting your bookstore, then use that information to dial into a similar audience when you spend ad money via Facebook or Instagram. \nFor example, if you have a lot of young mothers coming in with their kids to browse and buy books, you might ask Facebook or Instagram to target women ages 25-35 with children at home. \n\nIf you find your initial ad spend results in more traffic to your store, you can ask Facebook to create a look-alike list from that original advertising campaign and push it out to a different, broader set of people who match that description.\nThis is an effective way to expand your marketing to new people, while sticking with the type of demographic that has shown to be effective for your particular store.\nIf you can, hire a professional photographer for half a day. Using high quality pics in your ads and social posts helps boost social media engagement and ad effectiveness.\nThis could be photos of your books, your store, comfy reading nooks, your employees, whatever you think relevant and eye-catching. \nPosting regular photos of yourself and the other people who work at the store is a great way to help potential customers get to know you and feel like they’re a vital part of your small business family. \nPartnering with other local businesses for promotions and giveaways via Facebook or Instagram is also a great opportunity to leverage your social media accounts and get information about your store in front of a wider set of people. (See the section about community involvement above).\n5. Maximize your efforts and save time with small business software\nAlthough the four steps above are free (all it costs is your time), very few independent bookstore owners have the time or resources to dedicate to managing their online presence, collating and responding to reviews, gathering customer data, sending reminders or invites manually, etc. \nSo if this all seems a little overwhelming, consider automating as many of those critical tasks as possible with software specifically built to save local businesses time, facilitate customer reputation management (CRM), and increase revenue.\nThe right platform can help you visualize key revenue trends, benchmark against your local competition, send email reminders and promotions, and automatically request reviews from your happiest customers.\nFollowing these tips can help you grow your independent bookstore into a treasured local landmark. \nSources:\n
\nhttps://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803\n
\nhttps://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/\n
\nhttps://deloitte.wsj.com/articles/who-has-the-biggest-marketing-budgets-1485234137\n
\nhttps://www.spinutech.com/digital-marketing/paid-media/sem/how-much-does-amazon-spend-on-digital-marketing-2018/\n

How do I market my independent bookstore? Top 5 tips

In this article:\nWhat is Google’s Local Services?\nHow can Local Services ads benefit your business?\nHow to set up Local Services ads\nManaging your leads on Google Local Services\nHave you seen those ads at the top of the search engines with the little green checkmark, reviews, and maybe even your competitors’ names on them? Wondering how you can get there? This guide to Google Local Services ads will help. \nWhat are Google’s Local Services ads?\nGoogle Local Services ads is a lead generation tool. When you complete the setup for Local Services, Google will present you as “Google Guaranteed” and show your ad at the top of relevant search results. Customers can book appointments with your business directly through the ad or go to your website to learn more first. \n(Image)\n\nLocal Services ads can only be set up for specific types of local services, like plumbing and pest control. There’s a complete list of services that qualify for these ads. Start the setup process (see how below) to see if your company qualifies. \nAnd, the best part is, you only pay for the leads that come in. Unlike traditional Google Ads that cost you money for every click on your ads, Google Local Services only charges you when a lead comes in through your ad. \nYou can even try Local Services’ budget calculator to get a rough estimate for your campaign. Check that out \nhere\n. \nHow can Google Local Services ads benefit your business?\nBeyond bringing in new leads for your business, you can expect great advantages from Google Local Services. \nYour business will be at the top of the search results, which in and of itself will bring more traffic to your website. You don’t have to manage any keyword for this, either! Google will determine when a relevant search is conducted and display your ad. And even if you don’t get leads or clicks from every user that comes across your ad, they are being exposed to your brand and might just become a sale later down the road. \nHaving a Google Guarantee also comes with its own benefits. The Google Guarantee badge not only looks good to potential customers (it’s a great trust signal), but it also comes with a legitimate guarantee that can help people who might be on the fence.\nIf you have customers from your Local Services ad who aren’t satisfied with the work you did and you have a Google Guarantee, then Google may refund the service. In the United States, Google Guarantee currently allows a $2,000 limit for lifetime coverage on claims. \nAccording to Google, this guarantee covers:  \nThe Google Guarantee covers claims up to the amount on the job invoice up to the lifetime cap for coverage.\nServices must be booked through Google Local Services. The Google Guarantee doesn’t cover add-on or future projects, damages to property, dissatisfaction with price or provider responsiveness, or cancellations.\nHow to set up Local Services ads\nIf you think Google Local Services ads are right for your business, then let’s get started. \n(Image)\n\nStep 1: Check your eligibility\nGo to \nads.google.com/local-services-ads\n and click “Get Started.” \nGoogle will then check your eligibility by making sure you are in a relevant service for the ads. Enter your country, state, ZIP code, and job category. Click “Check Eligibility.” If you are eligible for the ads, Google will move you forward in the process. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Create your profile\nClick “create profile” and fill in all of the information on the form on this page:\nBusiness name\nBusiness phone\nWebsite\nOwner’s first and last name\nTotal number of field workers (excluding the owner)\nYear founded\nCheck if you are using a home address or storefront address\nBusiness address\nClick “Next.”\n(Image)\n\nNext you will need to add your service area to the account. The city you entered for your address will already be selected. You can add more cities to this service area and/or select specific zip codes for each city by clicking the dropdown arrow by the city name. \n(Image)\n\nNext, you will set up the types of services you offer within your job category. Our example is for plumbers, but select whichever services you offer and would like to receive leads for. This will help Google show your ad for relevant searches. \nFor most jobs, you will be required to carry a professional license and provide verification of that to Google before they will show these ads. \n(Image)\n\nNext, set your business hours. \n(Image)\n\nNext, preview your ad. If you’re satisfied with that snippet, click next to continue through the process. \n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Finish Google’s checklist\nOnce you complete your profile set up, Google will provide a checklist for you to work through before your ads can be displayed. Follow these instructions and you will be set. (Google’s team will check on each item as they are submitted and inform you if everything is done correctly). \nAs you start submitting each of the items in the checklist, Google will assign an account representative to you, and they will send you emails and be your customer support to help make sure you get these last items completed. \n(Image)\nThose items are:\nSet your budget and payment information (your budget will determine how many leads you can get in a month–go back to that \nbudget calculator\n if you’re unsure what to put here)\nSubmit licenses (for each field worker you said you have) and insurance details (the business owner’s name must be on the insurance details)\nComplete a business entity and owner background check through Pinkerton or Evident (the checklist says Evident, but if that’s not working, reach out to customer support and they’ll send you a link to submit your background checks through Pinkerton)\nGet customer reviews. You need at least one review before your ad can go live. These reviews are different from your Google My Business reviews. These are reviews that are specific to Google Local Services. Google will provide you with a personalized review link that you can send to customers to get a couple of reviews up on your ads. Reviews are important because they will help convert customers when they click on your add to learn more about you\n(Image)\n\nHere’s an example of what your customer will see when they click on the review link. \n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Wait for verification and watch your ads\nOnce everything on the checklist is submitted, Google’s team will work to verify that everything is correct and complete. If you are missing something or something wasn’t done right, they will inform you so that you can get everything set up correctly. \nOnce everything is approved, your ads will begin showing up on Google. \nFrom there you will be able to manage leads from your dashboard (as they come in). \nManaging your leads on Google Local Services\nNow that your ads are approved and set up, you can watch as the leads start pouring in. \nYour Local Services dashboard will basically act as a booking system in which customers can request appointments (usually just a time frame for when they need the job done), what the job is that they need, where they are located, and when their lead came in. \nWhen a lead comes in, you can follow up and set up appointments for them. You can also mark when a job is completed, at which point, you can (and should) send that customer your review link to get a Local Services review. If Google can verify from your dashboard that this person came in through your ad, they will also add “Google Verified” next to the review, adding another level of trust for potential customers. \nYou don’t have to accept every lead. You can decline requests if the job really isn’t something you do or is too far out of your service area. But it’s always best to leave an explanation so they don’t take it upon themselves to leave you a bad review anywhere else online. \nCheck out these additional digital marketing resources\nGoogle Local Services ads are a great way to increase leads for your business, but there are other things that you can and should be doing to increase the potential for organic (unpaid) leads. Check out these articles to get started:\n\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search ranking\n\n\n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\n\n

The definitive guide to Google Local Services ads (with walkthrough)

Step-by-step small business marketing guide

In this article:\n24 free listings sites for hair and nail salons\nWhat to do next\nThere are a lot of things that go into digital marketing and helping your hair or nail salon show up better in the search engines. Adding your salon to several listings sites, commonly called “citations,” is a great step to take in your digital marketing strategy. \nThese free listings for your salon will help you show up better in local online searches as well as provide more opportunities for customers to find you and leave reviews. \nAs you get your salon listed in these directories, keep this important tip in mind: make sure your business name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP) are the exact same on every listing. Inconsistencies will cause confusion with the search engines because they won’t know which information to trust. \nDo yourself a favor and get it right from the start. Now, let’s dive in. \n1. Start with Google My Business\nGoogle My Business is the #1 listing where you want to add your salon. This is how you show up in the map pack on \nlocal Google searches\n like “hair salon near me.” Add your business information, your logo, website, tons of photos, and correct hours so customers can reach out to you. \nGet started with our guide: \nHow to claim your Google Business listing\n2. Groupon for mani-pedis and more\nGroupon is the place people go to find good deals, particularly for services that they want to do with a group. A manicure or pedicure is a great group activity, provided you have the staff to support it. You can list your salon on Groupon for free and only have to pay them when someone purchases one of your deals on their site. \n3. Three Best Rated\nThree Best Rated is all about small, local businesses. They prefer to stay away from big corporations because they want to help businesses like yours. They help 1.7 million users each month to find the best businesses closest to them. \nGet listed on Three Best Rated with their \nform\n. \n4. Who Do You \nWho Do You wants to provide its users with the best professional service providers around—including your salon. They provide reviews and social media referrals to help customers find the most trusted places. You can get started by selecting your free plan on \nwhodoyou.com\n. \n5. Best Salon Guide \nSponsored by Salon Guru and Salon IQ, Best Salon Guide is dedicated to providing its visitors with—you guessed it—the best salons around. \nRegister your salon\n with them to provide Google and potential customers with more trust in your business. \n6. Beauty Seeker\nBeauty Seeker is all about beauty and wellness. Hair and nails salons are definitely high on their list, but they also provide listings to all other business types in the beauty industry. Get listed here to provide more opportunity for “beauty seekers” to find you. \n7. WeddingVendors.com\nInterested in providing services for wedding parties? Then list your salon on \nweddingvendors.com\n. They want to provide brides and grooms-to-be with the perfect wedding by giving them information on all of the vendors they’ll need in one place. \n8. WedExperts.com\nWedExperts is another site devoted to helping couples plan their perfect day. If you want to have the opportunity to be a part of that, then list your salon with them. They sort out their directory by city and state to help customers easily find the best places nearest them. \n9. Yelp: more than just restaurants\nYelp is one of the most widely used review sites. Eleven percent of Yelp users are looking for beauty services, and while that might not seem like much, Yelp gets roughly 175 million visitors every month–meaning more than 19 million people are looking for related services. \nAnd customers trust Yelp reviews, so it’s a great conversion tool to help you get more appointments scheduled. \nCheck out our guide to \nclaim your Yelp business listing\n. \n10. Facebook is a must \nYou definitely want to have some kind of presence on Facebook for your salon. Not only does Facebook count as a major listing that Google crawls to verify your information, but your customers are frequently spending their time here. \nMore and more often, customers are reaching out to businesses via their Facebook pages for initial research, rather than calling. So be available for those opportunities. Also, post lots of pictures of your services for people that want proof that you know what you’re doing. \nFollow this \ntutorial\n to get your Facebook business page set up. \n11. TripAdvisor brings in tourists and out-of-towners\nWanna get found by tourists and out-of-towners? List your salon on TripAdvisor. When people are planning their vacations, they might just want to get their hair or nails done while they’re at it. Be available on the sites that they plan their vacations from!\nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n12. \nSolo Profile\nWith a free Solo profile, even the smallest local salon, freelancer, or side-hustler can have a helpful, functional SEO-friendly online presence for free. Building and maintaining a traditional website is simply too much for many salon workers/owners to deal with. This is one reason a Solo profile can be such an amazing benefit. \nYour customizable Solo profile can list your business’s location, relevant contact information, links to your social pages, and any business details you want included. Sign up at\n \nSolo.co\n.\n13. Bing Places: default for Microsoft users\nAs another common search engine, it’s important that your salon is listed on Bing. Many people still use this search engine daily, especially if they use Microsoft Edge as their go-to browser. \nMake sure your salon is listed on Bing Places. The best part of this is if your Google Business listing is already set up and claimed, you can log into Bing Places with your Google account and import your listing.\n14. Mapquest is still kickin’\nMapquest is another listing site that is frequently used by travelers, and it’s a big one that sends awesome trust signals to Google. List your salon on Mapquest with their \nguide to add a basic business listing\n. \n15. YP.com\nYP.com, also known as YellowPages, brings in about 60 million visitors every month. While they were formerly a phone book, they have adapted to this digital world to provide its users with an expansive online directory. \nClaim your free business listing at \nYP.com\n. \n16. Foursquare\nFoursquare allows visitors to check into your salon and leave helpful tips for other people that come across your listing, like whether you have free wi-fi or not. Get listed on Foursquare to get in front of their 55 million monthly viewers and to get more feedback on your salon. \n17. CitySearch\nCitySearch is all about finding the best local services for its users. They make their platform and fun and interesting place by adding features like voting for your favorite businesses and awarding the best listings with badges to entice customers. \nAdd your salon to the \nCityGrid database\n to get listed on CitySearch. \n18. Better Business Bureau (BBB)\nMany people check out small businesses on Better Business Bureau to see if they have a good trust rating. It can be hard to trust things that we read on the internet, so BBB helps to provide some comfort as people search for new places to do business with. \nYou can use \nthis form\n to add your salon to the BBB directory. \n19. DexKnows\nDexKnows is what’s known as a listing aggregator. This means they pass your business information down to several smaller listing sites, providing you with even more free listings for your salon. \n20. Utilize your local chamber of commerce\nHave you talked to your local chamber of commerce yet? They are all about helping small businesses like you succeed. After all, it’s small businesses like yours that fuel the local economy. \nAsk to be listed on their local online directory and take advantage of the free marketing advice that they have to offer. \n21. Brownbook\nBrownbook.net is another listing site that is available to all types of businesses. The cool thing about them is that you can add so much more information to your listing than you can with most other online directories. Add videos, multiple photos, your salon’s history, news stories, and more. \n22. Instagram: a potential goldmine\nWhen you provide an aesthetic service like hair styling or nails, Instagram is a big must. As one of the most popular social media platforms among young adults, there is a lot of opportunity here. Many customers will likely check out your Instagram account to see how good you are at your trade. Show them!\n23. YouTube? Yes!\nYouTube provides another opportunity to show off your skills to potential customers. Not only that, but you can also provide valuable tips by creating tutorials and offering other words of advice through your videos. \n24. Manta\nManta is a general directory for all business types, but they also have a sweet feature that allows you to check the consistency in your listings across multiple sites. Remember that NAP tip we mentioned? They’ll check if your business name, address, and phone number are the same as your listing with them and let you know where it’s incorrect. \nPretty neat, right?\nWhat should you do next?\nOnce you have these first 24 business listings created and claimed for your salon, you have a really good start to your local SEO efforts. But there’s a lot more you can, and should, do to increase your online visibility and grow your business. \nCheck out \n15 free tips for better local search engine rankings\n for a deeper look into what you can do next. 

24 free listings sites your hair or nail salon should be on

In this article:\nHow to get set up with Google Customer Reviews for your small business\nWhy setting up Google Customer Reviews is worth your time\nHow to display Google Customer Reviews in your business’s search result\nFree tips for optimizing getting more reviews\nIt’s shocking, the number of people who rely on Google for their online needs.\nIn the amount of time it took you to read that first line, there were over \n9 million \nGoogle searches. Let the sheer magnitude of that sink in.\nIt’s absolutely critical for local small businesses to be taking full advantage Google’s services for local merchants. \nIn this article, we’re going to cover one of the most important (and free) Google tools that will have a direct positive impact on your sales and search rankings: Google Customer Reviews.\nWhat is Google Customer Reviews, and what happened to Google Trusted Store?\nGoogle Customer Reviews is a new program that replaced the former “Google Trusted Store” program. The change happened in April 2018 as a result of Google shifting a seller’s reputation and source of authority away from Google’s approval to a more transparent, customer-centric, buyer approval.\nThankfully, Google Customer Reviews is a leaner program than the Google Trusted Store program, taking over the protocol for displaying the prized \nSeller Ratings\n in ads and search results. \nSeller Ratings is the aggregate scoring buyers experience shopping with a seller, rated on a five-point scale of “stars.” It’s arguably the most important component to your business’s search listing because it features a prominent data point of social proof and strong visual. According to Google, ads with Seller Ratings receive a 17% increase in click through rates compared to ads without them.\n(Image)\n\nNote: Google Customer Reviews and your Seller Rating won’t show up until you collect 100 customer reviews (it used to be 30 when it was the Google Trusted Store program). \nWhy setting up Google Customer Reviews is worth your time\nBefore setting up Google Customer Reviews (and therefore displaying Seller Ratings), it’s worth mentioning why this is worth the time it takes to set up. \nOne study found that 94% of online purchases using Google’s Product Listing Ads (screenshot below) were products with an average rating of either four or five stars. The study when on to note that ads with five stars generated 126% more purchases than listings with four stars.\n(Image)\n\nIn Google search results, stars make all the difference between whether an online shopper becomes a customer or remains a mere passer-by. It builds customer trust immediately, proving the credibility of your business through multiple sources. Also, having Google’s brand badge associated with the name of your business tends to help, just a little *wink*.\nWithout further ado, let’s get into how to add the magical stars to your business’s search results. \nHow to display Google Customer Reviews in your business’s search result\nGoogle Customer Reviews resides inside Google Merchant Center, so you’ll want to sign into your account there. If you don’t have a Google Merchant Account, you can create one by going to \nmerchant.google.com\n.\nOnce inside your Merchant Center, follow these steps to opt into your Google Customer Reviews dashboard:\nLog in to your Merchant Center account\nEnsure your Merchant Center account is \nverified and claimed\nClick the 3-dot icon dropdown in the upper-right corner\nSelect Merchant Center programs from the dropdown menu options\nFrom the Merchant Center programs page, navigate to the Google Customer Reviews card\nClick Enable to sign up\n(Image)\n\nOnce inside, you should see your Google Merchant Center dashboard like this:\n(Image)\n\nNavigate down to the bottom of the menu on the left hand side where you should see “Customer Reviews.” If you don’t see Customer Reviews, it means you skipped the part above about opting in to Google Customer Reviews — you must do this first.\nSelect “Customer Reviews.” \nHere’s where it gets a little tricky. But this is crucial to make this work. It’s time to \nonboard your store and integrate with Google Customer Reviews\n. \nUnder “Program setup,” you’ll find the code you need to add into your store’s website. You need this to \nintegrate the survey opt-in module\n into your small business’s site. \nBefore you become overwhelmed, here’s the good news: this is very easy — just type into a Google search “google customer reviews [name of your online store software (e.g., shopify, bigcommerce, magento)]” and step-by-step setup instructions will come up.\nOnce you have this setup correctly, Google will automatically send any of your customers who have made a purchase on your site and \nhave opted in\n to the program a one-question survey that looks like this: \n(Image)\n\nYou can now view all the data collected and processed by these Google Customer Reviews surveys in the dashboard, divided into five key metrics: \nOpt-ins received\nSurveys offered\nSurvey responses received\nSeller rating\nProduct reviews\nOnce you reach the threshold of 100 reviews, you will become eligible for Seller Ratings to display in search results — this is the big win for your business!\nHere are some tips to speed up this process and reach that 100 Google customer reviews mark as fast as possible:\nTake a moment to review the \nFAQs for Google Customer Reviews\n to uplevel your knowledge about how the program works.\nAsk customers in person at your store.\nRequest for customers to write a review in your email correspondence. Consider adding a link to your email signature or in a PS. at the end of the email.\nLeverage social media direct messages. Don’t be afraid to make the ask — remember, you don’t get what you don’t ask for!\nRespond to all of your reviews. It will show customers that you care and demonstrate that you will read and respond to their review.\nFor more creative ideas for how to ask customers for Google Customer Reviews, read our blog post “\nHow to Get Google Reviews\n.”\nYou might also like: \nHow to respond to reviews\n.\nIf you’re still on the fence when it comes to setting up Google Customer Reviews on your small business’s website, remember this: once it’s set up, it’s done — you’ll be hands off while your online reputation management will be automated by today’s most powerful search engine. 

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