Using Map & Directory Listings to Improve Local SEO—a MUST for Churches, Schools, and Brick-and-Mortar Ministries

Amy Prindle

The Center for Online Evangelism is a missionary project devoted to developing online mission stations.

​Edits and additions by Jamie Jean Domm

NOTE: If your organization does not have a physical location, you may skip this section of the guide.

Effective “local SEO” helps people find you geographically when they search for you or your services. Google reports that more than one-third of mobile searches are “local-related.” The first step in spearheading local SEO is to verify and optimize your online map and directory listings.

Today, most people find businesses by typing keywords or search terms into mobile map applications. Others might do this on their desktop computers at work or while sitting on their couches with their laptops. They make their decisions based on what their map app finds close by that best matches the word or phrase they entered, such as “Thai food,” “gas station,” or “Adventist church.”

This map data also shows up in Google’s search results when someone searches for a location-specific business. For example, if someone types in “church in Springfield,” the map data will show up to the right of the search results, or above the results on a mobile screen. Map data is highly regarded by both Google and its users. This is an essential part of search engine visibility and ranking for your organization.

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What are map listings?

You probably already use Apple maps, Google Maps, MapQuest, or other map apps to determine your location and direct you to relevant listings close to you. It’s how we find hair salons, grocery stores, the highest-rated vegan restaurant, auto garages, pharmacies, and more, especially when we’re traveling or new to an area.

These apps, as well as search engines, use the location data of mobile devices or computer IP addresses to determine the location of the seeker conducting the search and which nearby results are the most relevant.
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Statistics show that these map searches have nearly replaced yellow pages—even the online version! We want to find what we need, and we want to find it fast, close, and rated 5 stars. 

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Does my organization have a map listing?

 ​Try googling your church, school, business, or ministry by name. Your organization may already be listed on Google or Apple maps even if you didn’t create that listing (sometimes data is pulled from Wikipedia.org or from public information sources). ​

​In your search results, you should see a featured box with your location listing. 

Desktop view: Listing to the right of search results

Mobile/phone view: Listing on top of search results

If your organization does not show up when you Google it, you may need to create a map listing from scratch.

Note: If you find duplicate listings for your organization, there are more steps you’ll need to complete, and the process may become complicated. Before making any changes, you’ll need to determine which one is the original. Find out more here, here, and here.

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How can I tell if my map listing is claimed?

If you found your organization’s listing when you Googled it and you’re not sure if it has been “claimed” yet, here’s how to tell.

Notice in the images below that the one on the left has pictures, a clickable phone number, reviews, etc. This listing has been claimed and verified.
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The listing on the right is noted to have “missing information” and also has a link that says, “Own this business?” This listing is unclaimed, and someone can start the process of claiming it simply by clicking on the “own this” link. That’s all it takes...which is why you want to claim your organization before someone else, such as an imposter, does.

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How do I claim or create my organization’s Google map listing?

Whether you’re claiming a listing or creating a new one, you’ll use “Google My Business” at business.google.com. You’ll be working with the Google account you created in Section III that you use for Google Analytics and Search Console. Make sure you are signed in to this account before taking the following steps.

1. To claim an existing listing, click on “Own this business?” This will take you to Google My Business, where you can start entering information such as the correct business name, location information, etc.

2. If you are creating a new listing, go straight to business.google.com and click “Start Now,” which will prompt you to enter the business name and location information.

​3. Do you deliver goods and services to clients/customers? Pay attention to this box to check at the bottom of the location information page. 

i. If your ministry involves deliveries to a service area, you must check this box and read these notes from Google Support.

ii. If most of your services are conducted at your location, you can leave this box unchecked.

b. Business Category. Here is where you choose a category that best matches the services you offer, such as “church,” “educational institution,” “service-based ministry,” “administrative office,” etc. Select the best-matching category from the drop-down list.

c. Information. It’s important to list the phone number for your organization that you want the public to know and use. Make sure this same phone number is consistently displayed throughout your web presence (website, social media, directory listings such as Yelp or YP.com, etc.).

For your website, enter the URL to the home page of your organization’s website—not a parent organization. If you work at one location of a larger entity, use the website specific to the “franchise” for which you are setting up the listing.

d. Verify your connection to this business. Google wants to ensure accuracy by sending you a code via the phone number or address you entered. This is how Google confirms that each of its listings contain legitimate information, keeping fake listings, imposters, and advertisers at bay.

Note: Google does offer the option of verifying later, but it is strongly recommended to get the process started while you’re building your listing. Some reasons to wait on verification are:

• Issues with a proper mail receptacle at your address
• The phone number is not currently monitored. Wait to verify during office hours, or when someone can be present by the phone. It takes less than a minute for the call to come in after submitting the request to verify.

e. The recommended method of verification is to request a postcard be sent to your organization’s address with a code enclosed. When you receive that postcard, you’ll need to enter the code in your Google My Business account. 

• Alternately, you can also choose to verify your business via phone call or text.
• You’ll see the “Pending verification” box at the top of your dashboard screen until your account is verified. 

f. Upon receiving the code (postcard, call, text), you’ll go back to business.google.com and log in to your dashboard. Click on “Verify Location” in the left menu column and a screen where you can enter the code will appear.

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How should I fill out my Google Maps/Google My Business information?

1. Under “Complete your listing,” you’ll find recommended options to fill in right away, such as hours of operation, the description of your organization, and a profile picture.
   1. Be as accurate as possible in your hours of operation. While unplanned closures or longer days are occasionally unavoidable, Google uses this information to display “Open Now” or “Closed” or “Opens tomorrow at 9 a.m.” when someone comes across your featured box listing in search results. They’re likely to see that piece of information before reading about your business. It’s also wise to list holiday hours (whether reduced or expanded), especially if that’s a busy time for your organization.
   2. For your description, be clear and upfront about what kind of organization you are, why you exist, and who you aim to serve. Be sure to include what benefits you ultimately seek to provide your audience; don’t just talk about what you do day-to-day. When people come across your listing, they may ask: “What’s in it for me?”, or “Why should I care?” or “Why should I go here instead of X?” You can preemptively answer their questions in your description content, encouraging them to visit you instead of another organization!
   3. For a profile picture, it is usually best to use your organization’s logo. However, if your organization is based on an individual figurehead, the picture can be of that person. Remember you also have a “cover image” to use, which is larger, as well as spots for additional photos to help showcase the environment, culture, and experience that a visitor can expect at your organization.
      
      
2. Info (NAP): As discussed in Section III, this is an SEO acronym for Name, Address, Phone number. While this isn't complicated information, it is imperative that your organization’s name, address, and phone number match exactly, everywhere it appears—on your website, on social media, in directory listings, and on websites of sister or parent organizations. You’ll enter this information in the “Info” section from your Google My Business dashboard’s left menu column.
   1. Since your Google My Business map listing is a directory entry linked to a heavily-used search engine, you want this listing to be the standard for NAP information. Google is even nit-picky enough to consider “St.” “St” and “Street” as different NAP listings. You can use whichever you want, as long as it’s consistent.
      1. You may want to refer back to your Section III worksheet to make sure your organization’s NAP is listed exactly the way you want in your site’s footer and contact page.
         
         
3. Messaging. Seekers may want to send your organization a message through your Google listing, and you can set up this function within the Messaging section in the left menu of the dashboard. This is especially popular with mobile search users.
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There is so much more you can do with Google My Business, but this foundation of information will provide a strong starting point for your local search engine optimization. 

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Apple Maps, Bing, MapQuest, and others

​While Google Maps/My Business is the recommended starting place for claiming and optimizing your organization’s map listings, you’ll want to do the same with other popular map sites and apps.
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• Apple Maps, frequented by over 42 million iPhone users, operates similarly to Google Maps, directing users to listings close to their location that match their search queries. Get started at https://mapsconnect.apple.com/, and learn more at https://localmarketinginstitute.com/claim-apple-maps-listing/.
  
  
• Bing Places is also similar to Google My Business, and you can get started at https://www.bingplaces.com/. Alexa queries commonly refer to information from Bing searches.
  
  
• Yes, there are still MapQuest users out there! Learn more about setting up your listing: https://business.mapquest.com/products/business-listing/.
  
  
• You don’t have to stop here. There are countless directory sites that can be valuable to your organization. Some are niche demographic directories, sorting results based on industry, region, audience type, and more. We’ll cover these next.
  
  

NOTE: Even when you follow step-by-step guides, glitches or anomalies can surface and create extra hurdles for you to jump over when claiming, verifying, or optimizing your map listings. Fortunately, if this happens, you’re not alone. You can search Google support and its related forums for similar situations, and find answers to commonly asked questions. You can also contact us directly with your local SEO questions!

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How can online directory listings boost my search visibility?

Directory listings, or citations, are external websites dedicated to compiling directory information, that reference, in full or in part, your organization’s NAP and website URL. Directory sites are today’s phonebooks, and each of these can show up as an additional search result when someone searches for your organization, giving your SEO a sizeable boost.

Fortunately, there are many directories that automatically pull your information from your Google My Business profiles, but the most popular directories, as well as those that cater specifically to your industry or niche, will need to be managed manually.

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Recommended online directory list 

​Here are the directories we recommend you start with, based on their popularity, domain authority, and consistently-updated platforms (borrowing some data from BrightLocal).
 
General Directories

• Google My Business
• Facebook
• Apple Maps (iPhone maps)
• Bingplaces.com
• Foursquare.com
• Mapquest.com
• Yelp.com
• LinkedIn
• Yellowpages.com
• Yellowbook.com
• Superpages.com
• Manta.com allows you to set up a free listing but also has a paid option that helps you manage and optimize your listing. The paid option also lets you manage all your directory listings, connecting you to hundreds of directory sites.

 
School Directories
Note: you may have to contact your school’s administrator to make any changes.

• Niche
• Great Schools Note: other education-related directory sites can pull information from your Great Schools listing.
• Private School Review
• Adventist Education
• Adventist Directories

 
Church Directories
Note: you may have to contact the church pastor, secretary, or webmaster to make any changes.

• Adventist Directories
• eAdventist.org
• Adventist Yearbook

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Optimizing your directory listings

TO DO FIRST: Google your organization, looking through the first few pages of search results. Are you already listed on some of the directories we’ve described already? Is the information accurate, matching the NAP you established in Section III? If not, you’ll want to correct these as quickly as possible.

When filling out your listings, make sure to include (just like Google maps):

1. Your organization’s NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) must be consistent across all directories.
2. Detailed, seeker-oriented description of your organization; why it’s unique
3. Pictures, if the option is available
4. Hours of operation
5. Landmark information, parking information, if applicable.
6. Don’t leave anything blank!

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Important details about Yelp and other directory sites that include reviews

Many directory sites also offer the opportunity for users to review your organization. While that can sound scary, remember that even if you don’t claim your directory listings, people can still review you—and you won’t be able to respond to those reviews or directly manage your reputation until you claim your organization’s listing.

Yelp and other review-centric sites can offer fantastic opportunities for engagement and reputation management. Just claiming and filling out your profile lets the public know that yes, you are a legitimate organization that is transparent enough to allow online discourse.

To help your Yelp listing improve your visibility in search engine results, make sure to add as much information as possible. Yelp provides more customizable space than other directories, so you can add longer descriptions, more pictures, and even a call-to-action button for users to call, send a message, book an appointment, etc.

Then, make sure to consistently monitor your profile. Make sure Yelp’s email notifications aren’t going to a spam folder. Be sure to check your page frequently and respond to as many reviews as you can, both positive and negative.

WARNING: NEVER ask for reviews! To maintain a review platform where customers are in control, Yelp is adamant that if they detect any details that make a review seem solicited (or even encouraged), they can remove the review or make your organization rank lower in their search algorithm.

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How to respond to negative (and positive!) Yelp reviews

There’s always the chance of receiving a negative review. It can plague even the best. Mistakes do happen, and sometimes people just want to rant.

But fear not! There are ways to handle negative reviews that can actually improve your public image.

1. If there was an honest mishap, apologize for the person’s experience and assure them that their experience was not your organization’s intention and that this occurrence is not the norm. If there’s opportunity, make it right with the person (refund their money, talk to them over the phone, offer them a free gift, etc.) If further investigation is necessary, simply reply that you’ll be looking into it and will keep in touch.
   
   
2. Acknowledge your reviewer’s feelings and refrain from arguing, even if they are in the wrong—arguing will only escalate the online exchange. Instead, offer your sympathies that this happened. Uphold what your organization stands for and what it seeks to accomplish. If it feels right, invite them to return.
   
   
3. If there is a true misunderstanding that can be easily corrected by explaining the facts in a careful, sympathetic way, go for it. Make sure to put yourself in the reviewer’s shoes and try not to sound unintentionally condescending. Do apologize that they received a different message than what was intended.
   
   
4. If the review is truly a rant or an overly emotionally-fueled misunderstanding, that does make things tricky—especially if you don’t know what they’re talking about! If you suspect that this is fake, you can explain that you have no memory of this incident or that you can’t find a person/event in your records that fits that description.
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In all cases, if possible, offer a way for them to contact you directly so they can provide more details or ask other questions. Many ranters won’t actually bother with this, but it will often stop them from posting more negative reviews. Others can see your public offer, which positions your organization as one that truly cares about those it serves.

Additionally, if a review is poorly written or includes name-calling, many other reviewers can spot these “trolls” and disregard their reviews—especially if you have several other positive ones!

So how do we get better reviews if we can’t ask for them?

One simple way to encourage positive reviews is to let your audience know that you are on Yelp. You may have seen businesses with posters on their windows that simply say, “We’re on Yelp!” You can also add the Yelp icon to your website, blog, social media images, or other promotional materials. You can include icons of other review sites as well, such as Facebook, Google, Yellowpages, etc. Your audience will catch on, especially if you list some of your favorite reviews on your website next to the icons.

For more information about navigating and responding to reviews, download our “Response Assessment Infographic,” or visit “How to Respond to Negative (and Positive!) Online Reviews.”

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For more information on maximizing your Yelp potential, check out these articles from Yelp.com:

• Responding to Negative Yelp Reviews
• Yelp Cracks Down on Review Solicitation
• Yelp’s Guidelines for Responding to Reviews

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Learn more about maximizing your local SEO efforts:

• “Top 50 Local Citation Sites for USA, UK, Canada & Australia” (BrightLocal)
• “How to Create Content to Support Local SEO and Rock the Rankings” (SearchEngineLand)
• “How to Optimize Google My Business and Leverage it for More Sales” (Neil Patel)
• “Best Local SEO Tools & Software” (LocalSEOGuide)
• “Local SEO: The Ultimate Guide to Ranking Your Business” (The Hoth)
• “A Complete Local SEO Checklist” (SearchEngineJournal)
• “How to Get Started with Local SEO” (SearchEngineWatch)
• “Optimize Your Nonprofit Organization’s Yelp Page” (Center for Online Evangelism)