Get listed where local customers look

Google isn’t the only place people look for a local business. iPhone users often search in Apple Maps, some people use Bing, and many check Yelp, Facebook, or a directory for your trade. This guide gets you listed on the main free ones, with the same name, address, and phone number everywhere, so customers find the right details wherever they look.

Before you start

• Your Google Business Profile set up first. If it isn’t, start with the guide “Show up on Google”.
• Your business name, address or service area, phone number, website, and opening hours, written down once exactly as you want them to appear.
• A few good photos: your logo, your work, your premises or team.
• An email address and phone you can check, because most sites send a code to prove the business is yours.
• About an hour, spread over a week while verification codes arrive.

Want to do it yourself?

Difficulty

4 out of 10

Estimated completion time

2–3 hours, plus platform verification waits

Skills you’ll need: Claim business profiles, upload photos, and keep names, addresses, and contact details consistent across directories.

I’ll do it myselfI’d rather get help

How this helps your brand

Correct details across maps and directories help customers recognise the same business wherever they find you. A consistent website link and contact information reduce dead ends when someone wants to visit or enquire.

1. 1

   Step 1: Write your details down once

   Before you touch any listing, write one master copy of your details in a note or document. Every listing gets copied from this, word for word. When the details match everywhere, customers trust them and search engines are more confident they’re all the same business.

   • Business name: your real name, exactly as on your sign or paperwork. No extra keywords like “Best Plumber Leeds”.
   • Address: written the same way each time, or your service area if customers don’t visit you.
   • Phone: one main number, written the same way each time.
   • Website, opening hours, and a one-or-two-sentence description of what you do.

   Tip: If you work from home and don’t want your address public, most listing sites let you show a service area instead. Look for that option when you add your address.

   Illustrated exampleOne master copy, five places to use it

   Example master copyOak & Vale Plumbing

   Service area

   Leeds & nearby villages

   Phone

   0113 496 0123

   Website

   oakandvale.example

   Hours

   Mon–Fri, 08:00–17:00
   Sat–Sun, closed

   Description

   Plumbing repairs and boiler servicing for homes in Leeds.

   Copy the same details

   • Apple Maps
   • Bing Places
   • Yelp
   • Facebook
   • Trade directory

   Customers don’t visit you? Use your service area where the site allows it.

2. 2

   Step 2: Claim your Apple Maps listing

   Apple Maps is what many iPhone users see when they search or ask Siri for a business nearby. Apple’s free tool for business owners is called Apple Business Connect.

   Search for “Apple Business Connect”, sign in with an Apple Account, and search for your business. If it’s already on Apple Maps, claim it. If not, add it. Apple will ask you to confirm you run the business, then you can add your hours, photos, and links.

   Tip: Apple changes its sign-up steps from time to time. If something looks different, use the help pages inside Apple Business Connect rather than an old video.

3. 3

   Step 3: Add Bing Places

   Bing’s results also appear in other places, such as some voice assistants and some Windows searches. Its free tool is called Bing Places for Business.

   Search for “Bing Places for Business” and sign in. It may offer to copy your details from your Google Business Profile, which saves time. Check every field against your master copy before you finish, because imported details aren’t always perfect.

4. 4

   Step 4: Claim Yelp and set up a Facebook Page

   Yelp lists many businesses whether or not the owner has signed up, often with details copied from elsewhere. Claiming yours means you control the details and can reply to reviews.

   Search for “Yelp for Business”, find your business, and claim it, or add it if it isn’t there. A free account is enough. Yelp will offer paid ads; you don’t need them to have a correct listing.

   If you don’t have a Facebook Page for your business yet, make one. Many people check Facebook for hours and recent photos. Fill in the contact and location sections from your master copy.

   Tip: Yelp doesn’t allow businesses to ask customers for Yelp reviews. Ask for Google reviews instead, and let Yelp reviews arrive on their own.

5. 5

   Step 5: Pick one or two directories for your trade

   Many industries have their own directory where customers go to compare businesses: trade associations, wedding sites, booking sites, or your local council or chamber of commerce. Ask a few customers where they looked before they found you, and search for “[what you do] directory [your area]”.

   Choose one or two that customers actually use. A handful of good listings is better than dozens on sites nobody visits.

   • Be wary of anyone who calls or emails saying your listing will be “removed” unless you pay. Google, Apple, and Bing listings are free.
   • Read what a paid directory includes before you pay, and start with the free option if there is one.
6. 6

   Step 6: Check every listing and keep them in step

   Search for your business name on each site and compare what you see with your master copy. Fix anything different. If you find two listings for your business on the same site, use that site’s help pages to report the duplicate or merge them.

   Keep a simple list of every place you’re listed, with the login for each saved in your password manager. When your hours, phone number, or address change, update every listing on the list the same day.

   Tip: Holidays catch people out. When you change your hours for a holiday, change them everywhere, not just on Google.

   Illustrated exampleAn hours change is finished when every listing matches

   Opening an hour earlier?New master hours: Mon–Fri, 08:00–17:00

   Example progress check · Oak & Vale Plumbing

   ListingWeekday hours shownCheck

   • Apple MapsWeekday hours: 08:00–17:00Matches
   • Bing PlacesWeekday hours: 08:00–17:00Matches
   • YelpWeekday hours: 09:00–17:00Update today
   • FacebookWeekday hours: 09:00–17:00Update today
   • Trade directoryWeekday hours: 08:00–17:00Matches

   3 of 5 match. Update Yelp and Facebook, then search again to check the new hours are visible.

I run a small business and I’m listing it on Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp, Facebook, and a directory for my trade. Please help me write my details so I can copy them into every listing.

Business name: [your exact business name]
What we do: [what you do, in a sentence or two, in the words customers use]
Who we serve: [your typical customers]
Where: [your address, or the towns and areas you serve]
Phone: [your main number]
Website: [your website address]
Opening hours: [your hours]
What makes us different: [for example: family-run since 2010, same-day call-outs, all work guaranteed]

Please write:
1. A short description under 250 characters.
2. A longer description under 750 characters.
3. A list of my services in plain words, one per line.
4. My name, address, phone number, website, and hours, laid out once in a consistent format I can copy everywhere.

Keep it plain and honest. Don’t add keywords to my business name, and don’t make claims like “best in town” or promise results.