Customers are looking for your business online, are you making it easy to find what they need?

Before the internet, one of the best ways to find a local business was through the Yellow Pages, a printed telephone directory that lists businesses by category.

These days, the Yellow Pages still exist, just in a variety of forms. Most people turn to search engines and online directories to find businesses that offer certain products or services in their area. After all, when you're running errands and need to find the nearest coffee shop, isn't it easier to just Google "coffee shops near me," rather than whipping out a hefty phone book you still carry around?

Because most consumers use search engines and business directories such as Google, Apple Maps, and Yelp, it's important for brick-and-mortar businesses to make sure they're listed in as many relevant online business directories as possible. To that end, organizations both big and small use local listing management software to claim and manage their local listings across dozens of directories.