Introduction to Local Listing Management Software

‍

Ppotential customers research online and get their questions answered before heading to the store to purchase. Your digital footprint is your company’s primary impression and it is relevant more than ever to make it count. 

Accurate business listings are critical for local SEO, improved online visibility and credibility, and maintaining customer trust in your brand. However, managing your business listings across multiple online business directories can be time-consuming and frustrating.

The good news is that tools are available to relieve this burden and ensure a consistent digital profile for your brand. Local listing management software ensures that your brand's local business listings are maintained accurately across authoritative websites and directories. It also makes listings voice search-ready and distributes them to Google, Bing, Apple, and Amazon Alexa. 

Consider this article your ABC to local listing management software. It covers all important aspects, from what it is, key features, and benefits to a shortlist of the best tools available and how to choose the right tool for your multi-location brand. It is all you need to know—a complete updated guide for 2024. 

Let's get into it! 

What Is a Local Listing Management Software?

Business listing software ensures your business can be found online. By providing critical business information, such as your name, address, and telephone number, online users learn who you are, where to find you, and how to reach you through your local listings. It can be comprehensive and include the following details: 

1. Business description 
2. Business Category
3. Email address
4. Hours of operation and holiday hours
5. Directions and accessibility
6. Acceptable payment forms 
7. Links to social platforms
8. Company photos 
9. Customer reviews

Online users don't tolerate incorrect information and may give up looking if they find the wrong information. Therefore, ensuring that the correct data is always available is critical. It's not a one-time activity, either. It's an ongoing process of ensuring that the local listings reflect your business information correctly across all websites. 

Local listing management software is available to help you do this efficiently (as you imagine, doing it manually is a tedious and time-consuming task). These local SEO tools can automatically manage your local listings and ensure correct and updated business information is shared and synchronized across all online business directories. Your business will not be lost amongst the online crowd but will shine and be found.

Additionally, these tools also make listings voice search-ready and distribute them to Google, Bing, Apple, and Amazon Alexa. 

These automated tools work as your business partner to ensure your business information is correct and updated across the web. Online users will find your business information whether they search on Google or Bing or ask Siri for suggestions.   

The Importance of Local Listings for Businesses

Today, the Internet is the preferred source of information, and most people look for business information online. However, the accuracy of information is critical. A study by Brightlocal shows that 62% of consumers would avoid using a business if they found incorrect information online. 

Therefore, it is vital to manage local listings. Accurate and up-to-date local listings are essential to building credibility and trust with online users and customers. Local listings play a vital role for local SEO since they:

• Give critical information about your business to potential customers
• Enhance your business visibility in local search
• Improve the chances of ranking higher than the local competition
• Gain trust with your online audience 
• Drive traffic and customers to your business
• Attract links to your website
• Improve the authority of your brand
• Provide a platform where customers can give a review of your business    

The more indicators there are to confirm that your business is established in a local area and open for business, the greater the opportunity your company has to rank higher in local search results. A higher ranking will drive more traffic and prospective customers to your website and your business across the different locations.

For example, when an online user searches for “the best coffee shop near me” or “hardware store in Washington,” your business will show up and rank high in the search results if you have an optimized local SEO strategy in place. It makes it easier for customers to find and contact your business.

Enhancing online visibility through accurate and up-to-date local listings and business listing software will build credibility with potential customers, improve your online reputation, and create trust in your brand.  

Key Features of Local Listing Management Software

A local listing management software platform has key features that enable it to manage listings effectively on your behalf across multiple locations. A user-friendly tool is easy to use and allows you to track and monitor performance, keep in touch with, and manage listings across all your sites. 

The following are some of the most important features:

1. Centralized Dashboard 

A centralized dashboard allows you more visibility to track and monitor all activities related to listings management - including location-specific performance - from one centralized point and in real-time. 

2. Citation Management

Citation management with the local SEO tool allows you to ensure listings are correct, updated and centrally managed for consistency. 

3. Automated Listing Sync

Listing management platforms allow you to create and synchronize listings across Google, Facebook, and many other social and business platforms and directories. Some tools also cater to industry-specific sites. 

4. Duplicate Listing Detection

An important feature is the identification and removal of duplicate listings. Containing duplicate listings ensures that your business is easier to find online. 

5. Review Monitoring and Response

Business listing software allows you to track reviews and suggestions and make fast updates and improvements, supporting your reputation management activities.   

6. Performance Analytics

Obtain analytics and customized reports to monitor your listing strategy and gain insights to adapt to the local market.

Benefits of Using Local Listing Management Software

Using local listing management software provides definite benefits. A few are as follows:

1. Enhanced Accuracy and Consistency

Since all listings are managed from a single point, the risk of manual errors is reduced, and consistency and accuracy are improved.

Keeping business information up-to-date and uniform across online directories builds customer trust and enhances local SEO. 

2. Time Efficiency

Local listing management software is active 24/7. It automatically executes repetitive and tedious tasks on your behalf, saving you time and improving your efficiency.

3. Better Customer Engagement

Actively managing listings allows fast responses to customer reviews, feedback, and questions and enhances and strengthens customer relationships.

4. Increased Visibility and Traffic

Local listing management software tools can manage business listings across different locations and platforms. This ensures potential customers can easily find your accurate business information in location-based searches. The enhanced visibility drives traffic and boosts traffic conversion rates. 

5. Proactive Monitoring and Alerts

Use the local SEO tools to monitor brand mentions, respond to feedback, and proactively address issues and alerts to maintain a positive online image for your brand. 

Common Challenges in Managing Local Listings Without Software

Managing local listings manually and without software tools can be challenging and frustrating, primarily from two perspectives. 

1. Maintaining accurate listings is a significant challenge, as illustrated by the following examples:

• Inaccurate NAP Data: It's challenging to keep NAP data current. With any change, the NAP data must be updated, e.g., a change in telephone number, change in address (if the business moves), or change in business name (e.g., due to a merger).
• Duplicate listings data: In this case, more is not better. Duplicate listings may be created due to a change in address or telephone number (a new listing is created instead of updating the previous listing). They need to be removed. 
• Multiple listings for multiple locations: Businesses in multiple locations must have a unique listing for each location.      

2. With manual local listing management, time management becomes almost impossible. Submitting information to Google Business Profile, Facebook business pages, other sites, and for every location profile you are managing takes hours, time that can be better spent on business strategy or other critical business tasks. 

To manage local listing data manually one by one is cumbersome, time-intensive, and leads to human error.  

Errors and discrepancies can damage brand credibility, hurt local SEO, and turn potential customers away. Your brand’s online reputation will likely be damaged, and you risk losing customer trust. 

Local listing management software ensures accurate and consistent listing management across platforms and online business directories. It overcomes the challenges of manual listing management and enhances your business digital profile.

How to Choose the Right Local Listing Management Software

Business listing software platforms can offer more than manage local listings. You need to confirm that the tool provides the “core local listings management functions” and evaluate which additional features you need.

Network Reach

Evaluate the platform’s network and ensure it covers all major directories and industry-specific listings relevant to you and your clients' businesses.  

Automation

Confirm the level of automation offered. Match the automation capabilities with your volume of listings and required real-time changes.

Voice Search Capabilities

There is a growing need for listing voice search optimization. Ensure your chosen local SEO tool has the required voice search capabilities, such as support for long-tail keywords and conversational phrases.

Analytics and Reporting

Analytics and reporting are important for tracking performance and providing insights for informed business decisions regarding listings management and local SEO strategy.      

Integration

You must consider how well the software platform will integrate with your existing systems, Google Business Profile, Yelp, and industry-specific directories.

Scalability

Follow up on the software’s available capacity. Can it manage large local listings? This is critical for multi-location brands to ensure the tool can accommodate their business needs as they grow. 

Cost versus Budget

A new tool is an investment for your business. Comparing the cost of the tool to the available budget is essential to ensure you get a fit-for-purpose local listings software solution. 

Ease of Use

Ensure the tool is user-friendly to ensure your team can work efficiently and onboarding will be easy.

Ensure Customer Support is Available

Customer support is critical to addressing issues quickly. Follow up on the format of customer support, e.g., is it email only, or is telephonic support available? 

Ensure the app gets updated regularly. 

Top Local Listing Management Software

We have reviewed several listing management platforms and have shortlisted four competitive options. The main features and benefits of each are outlined below:  

1. Synup

Synup is a local listing management software that helps businesses grow their online presence through local listings, reputation management, and social media management. Elevate your listing management with a powerful, all-in-one dashboard that simplifies promoting and managing your listings across various platforms and business directories. Perfect for businesses of all sizes, from multi-location brands to SMBs and large enterprises, Synup is your go-to automated API-based tool. Users can effortlessly synchronize and update listings, enhance local search rankings, and ensure a consistent brand image—all in one place. 

Synup grants users the ease of managing their online presence and allows them to watch their business thrive.

Key Features of Synup

The following are some key features of Synup: 

• Listings management to maintain current and correct business information.some text
  • Create and sync your listings across Google, Facebook, 60+ other directories, and industry-specific sites.
  • Bulk edit your listings across multiple locations with automated updates.
  • Optimization of listings for voice search assistants like Alexa, Cortana, Siri, and more.
• Review notifications are sent to you via Synup's review notification service.
• Get more reviews through automated review campaigns and generate responses based on rating, sentiment, location, and other factors.
• Synup has advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. 
• Synup offers white-label review management tools for resellers and agencies.
• Synup also offers managed services to their clients for various solutions, such as social media, Google profile, and review management.

Benefits of Synup

Allow the Synup software tools to handle local listings management tasks—especially the repetitive and tedious ones—so you can focus on other areas of your business. The following are the main benefits of using this business management software: 

• Manage listings with Synup across 200+ directories, search engines, and social media platforms for brand visibility and consistency.some text
  • With Synup, you can significantly expand your online presence, making it easier for potential customers to find your business.
  • The bulk editing and automation features allow you to manage multiple locations efficiently and reduce the risk of manual errors.
  • With voice search optimization, your business stays competitive in the changing digital landscape as more consumers adopt voice-activated search technology.
• Advanced keyword tracking optimizes your local search rankings, driving more traffic and online leads.
• Manage customer engagement with Synup.some text
  • Receive notifications with the review notification service.
  • Synup's sentiment analysis technologies and the various review templates enable dedicated review answers. Provision is made for positive or negative reactions.   
  • Draft automated review responses based on rating, sentiment, location, and other factors using automation and AI.
• Using automation and AI, create automated review responses based on rating, sentiment, location, and other variables.
• With Synup's software tools, you may use advanced analytics to make data-driven decisions that are well-informed. 

2. Yext

Yext is a local listing management software for managing and updating business information across online listings, search engines, maps, and social media. The "answers platform" from Yext arranges data to respond to enquiries from partners, staff, and clients. The ‘Knowledge Graph’ presents your business information, including performance data, in an analysis-friendly structure. 

Yext is a prominent software platform known for its extensive capabilities and robust local citation software for managing local listings. The local SEO tool offers advanced features and accurate listing synchronization across its vast network.

Key Features of Yext

The following are key features of the Yext software platform:

• Manage listings across 200+ third-party publishers for business data distributionsome text
  • Dual-synchronize direct API integrations for updates of NAP, images, and customized fields
  • Listings analytics for data screening, analysis, and comparing listings against local competition.
  • Real-time updates 
  • Deactivate duplicate listings to maintain information integrity.
  • Incorporation of suggested edits from Google, Facebook, and users ensures data accuracy.
• Information is arranged in a "Knowledge Graph" by Yext's "Answers platform" to facilitate performance monitoring.
• A chatbot that delivers relevant answers to customers, employees, or partners' questions.
• Integration with tools for marketing, CRM, and reputation management.

Benefits of Yext

The benefits that Yext provides for its users are summarized as follows:

• Local listings management some text
  • Establish a prominent digital presence through Yext's extensive publisher network.
  • Real-time, data updates across the different platforms 
  • Comprehensive analytics provide a comprehensive view of online listing performance 
  • Enhanced credibility by eliminating duplicate listings
  • Maintain listing accuracy
• Yext offers content to help businesses answer questions, add value to online experiences, and engage customers.
• Customized templates to manage business info in several industries, from events planning to food and healthcare.
• The ‘data cleansing’ feature scours the web to identify and rectify inconsistent business info automatically.

3. BrightLocal

BrightLocal is a local SEO tool that provides a toolset to rank higher locally and improve a business's online reputation. It helps generate more traffic and leads from local search and manage reviews.

With BrightLocal, you can build citations and ensure consistency in your business info everywhere. It offers a strong citation builder tool designed to manage business listings at scale. Use the local SEO features to identify keywords, track local ranking, and optimize your location pages for local searchers.

This business listing software features an intuitive dashboard and robust reporting functionalities. 

Key Features of BrightLocal

The following highlights can be noted for the BrightLocal platform: 

• An industry-leading platform for local listings  some text
  • A smooth setup process for maintaining listing accuracy
  • Citation Builder
  • Local SEO audits, reports, and listings service.
• Management tools combined with a solution for online reputation management.
• Local marketing 
• Google Business Profile management
• Tools for agency client cooperation and white-label reports.

Benefits of BrightLocal

The benefits of the BrightLocal platform are: 

• Local Listings management benefits: some text
  • Gain a strong position with consistent local citations across top web platforms.
  • Get credibility through permanent citation ownership
  • Keep listings up to date and visible to customers with active synchronization.
  • Examine the local search results of your competitors and look for chances to improve citations.
• Unlock growthsome text
  • Rank higher locally
  • Improve their reputation  
  • Increase the amount of leads and traffic from local searches
  • Monitor, audit, and improve local SEO

4. SOCi

SOCi positions itself as a comprehensive local marketing cloud platform, with listing management as a critical feature. The local listing management software is designed to build and manage citations at scale, offering bulk update capabilities. SOCi provides strong functionalities for multi-client citation management. With its SOCi Genius platform, SOCi uses AI and machine learning to provide information to multi-location businesses.

The listings management features boost your local SEO by ensuring your business information is correct and consistent across different sites.SOCi strengthens your digital presence across local search and social media, ultimately improving customer engagement and conversion rates. 

Key Features of SOCi

SOCi has the following features:

• Local Listings Management some text
  • Multi-location support. Manage listings for multiple locations, add and remove locations, and easily update location details.
  • Tools to ensure accuracy and consistency in listings across all sites. 
  • Interpretations and recommendations to ensure high local search visibility.
  • Review management options to keep an eye on customer sentiment and reply to feedback. Users can use these insights to improve their reputation.
  • Bulk listing management across multiple platforms
  • Automated synchronizing and updating of business listings
• Social media management tools 
• SOCi Go, the real-time mobile App, provides access to the platform on any mobile device.
• A high-level but user-friendly dashboard. 

Benefits of SOCi

The benefits of the SOCi platform are summarized below:

•  Manage local listings for multiple locationssome text
  • Add and remove locations, and easily update location details.
  • Ensure accurate, updated, and consistent listings across all sites. 
  • High local search visibility.
  • Review and monitor your customer sentiments.
  • Bulk listing management 
• Use the real-time mobile app for 24/ 7 activities and access.
• Coordinate all activities via the dashboard. 

You can explore more effective listing management platforms by checking out this detailed list!

‍

Summing Up  

Never miss a business opportunity or lose potential customers again due to missing or incorrect listing information.

Once you have your local listing management software platform in place, you can be confident that your digital profile is consistent across all relevant websites. Any changes will be captured and updated to reflect all your locations. You can look forward to managing local listings more consistently and accurately with less effort.

You have taken an essential first step, and studying the information in this article has provided you with the right background and knowledge to proceed. We hope you are eager to take further action. Remember that local listing management is not a one-time activity but an ongoing process. Consistent and accurate listing management will yield the best results, which is achievable with the right software.

Maintain the momentum and implement the right platform across all your locations.    

‍

Get Started with Synup

At Synup, we have the know-how, software solutions, local listing management capabilities, and passion for helping businesses strengthen their branding. 

Why Synup? 

1. Proven results: Your success motivates and inspires us, and we take great pride in our customers' success stories.
2. We partner with you: We form partnerships; our customers share their pain points, and we help them find permanent solutions.  
3. Industry-leading, innovative solutions: With the help of our numerous white-label choices and AI-driven automated technologies, you may build your online brand.  

Speak with our team and book a demo to get started today!    

‍

Introduction to Local Listing Management Software: FAQs

1. Why is it advisable to have accurate local business listings?

Accurate local business listings are critical for a business’s online visibility. By providing up-to-date and reliable information, accurate listings contribute to a positive UX and boost local SEO, as search engines consider consistent and precise business information a ranking factor.

2. What are the benefits of optimizing local business listings?

Businesses with up-to-date, accurate listings (without duplication) are more likely to attract local customers looking for products or services. Local business listings contribute to a professional online profile and build trust with potential customers.

Optimizing local business listings increases visibility in local search results, improves online reputation through customer reviews, and enhances credibility.

3. What is local listing management software?

Local listing management software is a set of tools designed to help businesses, brands, and organizations manage their online presence through various directories, search engines, and maps. A critical aspect is ensuring that your company's information is consistently and accurately represented across all digital listing platforms.