Where to List Your Staten Island Business Online

Your Google Business Profile matters most for local search. If you haven’t set one up, start with our Google Business Profile guide. Customers also find businesses through Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp, social platforms and industry sites, though. Every listing is one more place to be found, and listings that match each other help search engines trust that your business is real and where you say it is.

This post covers the listings worth claiming for a local business, roughly in order of importance, and how to keep them accurate.

The main maps

Google Business Profile. Still the most important, and covered in our other guide.

Apple Business Connect. Apple Maps is the built-in map on every iPhone, and many people use it without thinking about it. Apple Business Connect is Apple’s free tool for claiming your place card: hours, photos, phone number, website and more.

Bing Places for Business. Bing’s listings appear in Bing search and across Microsoft’s products. Bing Places can import your details straight from your Google profile, which saves time.

Review and directory sites

Yelp. Especially important for restaurants, salons and home services. Claim your free business page to update your details and reply to reviews. Yelp asks businesses not to request reviews, so leave that to Google.

Facebook. A business page with the right hours, phone number and website is still a common place people check, so keep it current even if you rarely post.

Nextdoor. Many people ask their neighbors for recommendations there. A free business page lets them recommend you and find your details.

Better Business Bureau. A basic listing is free, and some customers check it before hiring for bigger jobs. Accreditation is optional and paid.

Industry sites

Pick the ones that fit your trade:

Home services: Angi, Houzz, Thumbtack.
Restaurants: OpenTable or Resy, and the delivery apps you use.
Health: Zocdoc, Healthgrades, and your insurers’ provider directories.
Law: Avvo, Justia, and bar association referral services.
Salons and wellness: Booksy, Vagaro, Fresha or StyleSeat, depending on your booking tool.
Weddings and events: The Knot and WeddingWire.

You don’t need all of them. One or two where your customers actually look beat ten half-finished profiles.

Local business groups

Local business associations often keep member directories and can lead to real referrals. The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce is one to look into. Across the city, NYC Small Business Services offers free programs and resources for small businesses.

Keep your details identical everywhere

Search engines compare your name, address and phone number across listings. Small differences make it harder to be sure they all belong to one business.

Before you start, write down one exact version of each:

Name: your real business name, as it appears on your sign, with no extra keywords.
Address: one format, such as “Suite 2” or “Ste. 2”, used every time. If you visit customers and don’t have a storefront, list a service area instead of your home address wherever the site allows it.
Phone: one main number, ideally local, rather than a different tracking number on every site.
Website: the same address every time, with or without “www”.
Hours: including holiday hours.

Keep it in a note on your phone and copy from it whenever you fill in a listing.

Clean up the old ones

If you’ve moved, changed phone numbers or renamed the business, old listings may still show the old details. Search Google for your old phone number and old address, then update or close every listing you find. Ask each site’s support to merge duplicate listings.

Make your website the reference

Every listing links back to your website, so your site should show the same name, address, phone number and hours, in the footer of every page and on your contact page. When a detail changes, update the website first, then work through your list of listings.

If your website doesn’t match your listings, or you don’t have one yet, tell us about your business. A website is $2,000, with every page you need, and most are ready in 1 week. For more on showing up in local searches, see our local SEO guide for Staten Island businesses.