When it’s time to find a business or life coach, people don’t just search on Google. They also use online directories and business listings.

This obviously doesn’t mean that it’s not necessary to have a website or larger online presence. Your website will always be the foundation of your coaching practice. But it’s only one of many places clients come into contact with you online.

But before your website can help your clients, they have to be able to find it. Read on to learn the basics of how online directory listings can help drive more traffic to your website.

Send More Traffic to Your Website

You’ve likely used an online directory listing to find a local business before. Google My Business and Yelp are two of the most common ones.

Whether a client is searching for a coaching practice in their area or your practice specifically, they are more likely to land on one of your business listings than on your website.

Because these directory entries are included in search engine results, they are an important part of the online client journey that leads them to your coaching practice.

Listings Affect SEO Results

Your goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to contact your practice. Filling out your directory listing completely and keeping them consistent may feel time-consuming, but it’s worth it in the end because it can boost your SEO results.

Making sure that your information is accurate and consistent across all your listings is important because it signals to search engines that you have a higher level of credibility than a business that has not maintained its listings.

This can result in improved rankings since search engine algorithms use accuracy and consistency as a search ranking factor.

Accuracy Affects Mobile Searches

Voice and mobile searches are three times more likely to be for a local business than any other type of search.

Maintaining accurate and up-to-date business listings on all the major listing sites in your industry are especially crucial for mobile searches.

Updated, content-rich business listings can make all the difference between you and your competitors ranking on voice search for one reason: user intent.

Voice and mobile users are usually looking for specific information like address, phone number, and hours of operation.

When people do a local search, they often contact or visit that business within one hour of finding business information online, so you want to make sure your online presence is mobile- and voice search friendly.

Listings Management Makes Things Easier

Inaccurate or duplicate listings are a common problem with online listings. Even if you’re careful, many listing errors can be caused by “bots” that search the web and create or replace information automatically without your knowledge.

Needless to say, these bots don’t have the intuition of a human and often get data wrong. If someone searches for your business and gets outdated or inaccurate information, it could cause a bad client experience before they even contact you.

To check your business information on over 60 maps, apps, and online directories that clients use most, visit: http://info.therapysites.com/CW/listingscan today.