If You Own or Love a Small Business in Town, Read This

Don't you hate it when you search for you are searching for the phone number of the new pizza place in town, and you can't find the right one? Or the business you are searching for is closed, has the wrong hours listed, or even has change phone numbers?

When Marlboro Patch launched in August 2011, editors and freelancers ventured to local businesses in order to collect information for our directory. Now, just months later, Patch Places is a spot where users can find descriptions, hours, accepted payment methods, and much more for spots around town.

All users can add events taking place at local spots, can on a scale of one to five stars, and can .

The best thing about Patch is, if you see something wrong on a listing, we can fix it immediately. And, if you're a business owner, you can take charge yourself. For free.

But owners of local businesses get extra bonuses when they claim a listing.

Owners or managers should search for their business listing and select "claim you listing" in order to make updates to the page. A form will pop up asking for your name, contact information, and proof of ownership.

Within a few days, someone from Patch should contact you to verify your authenticity, and then you'll be approved as the business owner. Once approved, you'll have a "Manage Your Listing" button on the top of your Places page. Click the button to be taken to your dashboard.

From the dashboard, you can make changes and updates to your listing. On the left side of the dashboard you have several options: Your Stats, Edit listing, Manage Photos & Media, Reviews, Free Tools, Paid Tools, and Contact Sales.

Your Stats:

Here you can see how many users have rated, reviewed or follow your listing. You can e-mail your customers to seek out more reviews, and link the Patch Place to your Facebook or Twitter account.

Edit Listing:

Add photos, website information, hours of operation, contact information and more under the "basic info" tab. Some of this information cannot be changed, but you can request a new description if you think your business is inaccurately described.

Choose "extra info" to add information like the founding date of your business, what kinds of payments you accept, if there's street parking or a lot, and much more.

Manage Photos & Media:

Here you can add and edit photos and choose which image is featured. If you have video or PDFs, you would add that here too.

Reviews:

You can see .

Free Tools:

Post events and add job openings to our classifieds section, also known as the Marketplace.

Paid Tools:

You can upgrade your listing with a video profile, add a message from the owner and become a featured business on the Places page for a fee.  Learn more about these options and how to get in touch with a sales team member.

So claim your listing today to help keep Marlboro Patch users up to date with your company and keep your listing looking fresh.