How to Find Duplicate Listings on Moz Local: A Local SEO Guide

Duplicate business listings can pose significant challenges for your local SEO, diminishing your search rankings and eroding customer trust. If you’re using Moz Local to manage your local business information, it’s crucial to regularly check for and address these duplicates.

This guide will walk you through the steps to identify, manage, and resolve duplicate listings, ensuring that your business details are accurate and consistent across all online directories.

Why It’s Essential to Find Duplicate Listings on Moz Local?

Duplicate listings can confuse both search engines and potential customers. Here’s why taking action is vital:

• Search Engine Confusion: When multiple listings exist with conflicting details, search engines like Google may struggle to determine which one is accurate. This can negatively impact your local SEO, making it harder for your business to rank well in search results.

• Diluted SEO Power: Multiple listings with slight variations in NAP (Name, Address, Phone) can split the “ranking power” of your business. This reduces your visibility and lowers your chances of ranking higher in local searches.

• Inconsistent Business Information: Having conflicting details like different phone numbers or addresses on multiple listings can confuse customers and hurt your credibility.

• Poor Customer Experience: Customers who rely on outdated or incorrect information may be frustrated by wrong addresses or phone numbers, affecting their trust in your brand.

Why Duplicate Listings Can Hurt Your Local SEO

Duplicate listings not only confuse search engines but also hinder your local SEO efforts. Here’s how:

• SEO Confusion: When there are multiple listings with slight discrepancies, search engines can’t determine which one is the correct source of information, which can lead to lower rankings.

• Visibility Impact: Duplicate listings dilute your ranking strength. As a result, the authority of your primary listing gets weakened, reducing its visibility in search results.

• Trust Deficit: Customers might lose trust in your business if they see conflicting information, such as different phone numbers or addresses, across various directories. This could potentially harm your brand’s reputation and drive customers away.

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Find Duplicate Listings on Moz Local

Moz Local offers an efficient way to identify duplicate listings. Let’s walk through the steps to help you find and manage these duplicates:

Step 1: Log Into Your Moz Local Account

To get started, visit Moz Local and log into your account. This will take you to your Moz Local dashboard, where you can manage all your listings.

Step 2: Select the Business You Want to Review

After logging in, navigate to the Listings section and choose the business you’d like to review for duplicate listings.

Step 3: Run a Listing Scan

Once you’ve selected your business, go to the Check My Listing tool. Enter your business name and location, and Moz Local will start scanning directories to identify any existing listings. This scan will highlight duplicates and missing or inconsistent details.

Step 4: Identify Duplicate Listings

After the scan finishes, you’ll receive a Duplicate Suppression Report. This report will list duplicate entries, showing slight variations in the business name, address, phone number, or business category. Moz Local will also indicate whether these listings are published or pending.

Step 5: Compare and Verify the Listings

Click on the links in the report to view the duplicate listings. Carefully compare them for inconsistencies in NAP information, business categories, and other important details. Identify which listing is the most accurate and up-to-date.

How to Manage and Resolve Duplicate Listings

Once you’ve identified duplicates, it’s time to manage them. Here’s how you can handle them effectively:

Step 6: Suppress or Merge Duplicate Listings

If Moz Local allows you to suppress duplicates:

1. Select the listing you want to suppress.

2. Click on the Suppress Duplicate button.

3. Confirm the suppression request, and Moz will handle the rest.

If merging is an option, follow Moz Local’s instructions to combine the duplicate listings into a single, accurate entry.

Step 7: Contact Moz Support for Help

If you’re unable to suppress or merge duplicates directly through Moz Local, you may need to reach out to Moz Support:

1. Visit the Moz Help Center.

2. Submit a ticket with details of the duplicate listings, including URLs or screenshots.

3. Wait for Moz’s response and follow their instructions.

Step 8: Monitor Listings Regularly

It’s important to regularly monitor your business listings for new duplicates. Set a reminder every few months to run a scan or use Moz Local’s monitoring features to receive alerts about any new listings or updates.

What Is the Moz Local Listing Score?

 

The Moz Local Listing Score is a metric that helps assess the health and consistency of your business listings. It’s calculated based on several factors, including how consistent your NAP information is across different directories and how complete your listing is.

A high Moz Local Listing Score indicates that your business details are accurate and consistent across various platforms. This can significantly improve your local SEO and increase your business’s visibility online.

Best Practices to Prevent Duplicate Listings in the Future

Preventing future duplicate listings is essential for maintaining consistent business information. Follow these best practices:

1. Keep Your NAP Information Consistent

Ensure that your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are the same across all directories. Inconsistent information is a common cause of duplicate listings.

2. Claim and Verify Your Listings

Claim and verify your business listings on all major directories to prevent unauthorized edits and ensure consistency.

3. Use Moz Local’s Distribution Feature

Take advantage of Moz Local’s Distribution Feature to correctly distribute your business details across trusted partner directories, minimizing the risk of discrepancies.

4. Perform Regular Listing Scans

Make it a habit to regularly scan your listings for duplicates. Consistent monitoring will help you catch and fix duplicate listings before they become a problem.

Final Thoughts on Keeping Your Listings Clean

Managing duplicate listings is a key part of maintaining a strong local SEO presence. By regularly checking and resolving duplicates, you ensure that your business information remains accurate, which can improve your search rankings and build customer trust.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to maintaining clean, consistent listings that boost your visibility and online credibility.

FAQs About Duplicate Listings on Moz Local

1. How can I find duplicate business listings on Moz Local?

Log into your Moz Local account and use the Check My Listing tool. Moz Local will identify any duplicate listings and highlight discrepancies in your business details.

2. What should I do if I find duplicates?

You can suppress or merge the duplicates directly through Moz Local. If those options aren’t available, you can reach out to Moz Support for further assistance.

3. How can I prevent future duplicate listings?

Ensure your NAP information is consistent, claim and verify all your listings, and regularly monitor your business details on Moz Local.

4. How often should I check for duplicate listings?

It’s a good practice to check your listings every few months to ensure they remain accurate and up-to-date.

Disclaimer: All the image credit goes to Moz.com