GetListed.org for B&Bs: A Guide to This Traffic Generating Machine
Getting listed online is a way to get new business to your B&B.
GetListed.org is a great tool for local businesses including B&Bs and small inns.
You can see how your business is listed throughout the Internet and use it to claim your online directory listings, which can lead to more traffic and new customers.
If you’re located in the US you can get started with GetListed.org right away. It should be rolling out Internationally soon.
Here’s a little GetListed.org tour for U.S. B&B’s.
GetListed.org: Finding your B&B
Start using GetListed.org by searching your B&B’s name and zip code. I’ve searched the Old Yacht Club Inn for an example. You’ll see their dashboard with missing listings, incomplete listings, and found listings.
Search your B&B to access your own personal dashboard. It takes less than a minute. The whole shebang is free.
Your Listing Score
The first thing you’ll notice in the dashboard is your “Listing Score” in the top right corner.
See! You’ve already got something really useful out of the site.
If you’re not getting search traffic to your B&B website you’re losing customers. (tweet this)
GetListed.org gathers information from around the web to get to this number. It shows how visible your B&B is to online browsers. The higher the number, the more likely you are to show up in Internet searches. A higher “Listing Score” also ensures that your online information is useful and complete.
Need a point of comparison? Try looking up other B&Bs in your area to see how they’re doing.
Your To-Do List
GetListed.org has a great score to let you know how you’re doing.
Now to improve your listing score…
GetListed.org offers a handy “To-Do List” for you to check off. You’ll see they’ve gathered all the major listing opportunities on the dashboard. If you go over to the “To Do” tab to the right, they make it really easy to fill in missing information and boost your score.
You’ll see prompts to do things like “add categories” and “add photos” on sites like Google and Yellow Pages.
Take an hour or two and complete all these tasks. Your score will start creeping up. Use keywords that appeal to B&B customer psychology.
You have terms to describe your B&B, but your customers have their own. Use theirs for SEO success. (tweet this)
Keep checking back periodically to see if new items have been added. New directory sites are always popping up, and GetListed.org is a great way to keep track. Once a month is a good frequency.
Don’t skip over sites that seem outdated or irrelevant. Every listing is an opportunity to reach more people.
Even Bing? Yes, even Bing.
Citations
It’s not only the big directories that count.
Citations are mentions of your B&B name and address anywhere on the web. They don’t have to include a link and every listing counts.
Citations help build your listing score, even the ones you don’t see on your dashboard. GetListed.org factors them all in, big and small.
Add your info to as many places as possible to boost your score. Reach out and make sure you’re listed in local business directories. Some blogs and newspapers will even have their own listings section. Make sure you’re on every list related to your town or city.
Go a little further. Is your B&B a niche market? Are you one of your neighborhoods eco-friendly businesses? Use keywords to look for niche directories related to specific interests.
This is also a great way to familiarize yourself with other similar businesses.
Reviews
GetListed.org is like your high school gossip girl – it knows what everyone’s been saying about you, good and bad.
Have a look at the “Reviews” tab to the left of the “Listings” tab. Customer reviews from Google, Yelp, Yahoo! and Foursquare are listed in order of recency.
This is a really great feature. Now you don’t have to go wandering around the web to find your most recent reviews.
You might want to check into this page more frequently than that to-do list. Maybe once or twice a week. GetListed.org keeps adding new material as it’s found.
Start using this feature to pick your best reviews and post them on social media. The more recent the review, the more natural it seems. Remember – customer testimonials are your best marketing material.
You can also scan your reviews to learn more about your customers’ experience. Looking over the reviews for the Old Yacht Club Inn, you’ll learn their strengths are a nautical theme and an apparently fantastic chili cheese soufflé. Several reviewers mentioned these features, so they must have really stood out.
Use feedback from your GetListed.org page to improve your B&B’s customer experience. Play up your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Get in touch with your customers on a new level.
Have you used GetListed.org? Have you had any experience with online directories and listings? Share with the other readers in the comments.
Photos by Destination Nexus and GetListed.org
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