Your First TalkTag: A Step-by-Step for Local Businesses

<p><a href="https://www.findborg.com/graph/how-talktags-work-and-why-keywords-were-always-the-wrong-unit/" rel="noreferrer">How TalkTags Work (And Why Keywords Were Always the Wrong Unit)</a> explains what TalkTags are. This post is for the business owner who has read that and is ready to act. Here is day one, from beginning to first phrase.</p> <h2>Step 1: Find Your Listing</h2> <p>Go to <a href="https://findborg.com">findborg.com</a> and search for your business. If you have been operating for more than a few months and have any web presence, Findborg’s spider has likely already found you. Your listing exists. You just have not claimed it yet.</p> <p>Search your business name, with and without your city. Look for the result. When you find it, you will see a “Claim this listing” option.</p> <p>If Findborg has not indexed your business yet, you can create a new listing directly from the search results page.</p> <h2>Step 2: Claim Your Listing</h2> <p>Claiming requires a Findborg account. If you do not have one, create it — it takes about two minutes.</p> <p>Once claimed, your listing is yours. You can write TalkTag phrases, update your business information, and see how your Verity score moves over time.</p> <p>Every claimed listing starts with a Verity score of 50. Free tier. Pro. Business. Signature. Does not matter — everyone starts at 50. The score moves based on what real people do when they find your business, not on what you pay.</p> <h2>Step 3: Write Your First TalkTag Phrase</h2> <p>This is the most important step. A TalkTag phrase is the plain-language answer you would give if a potential customer asked, directly: “What do you do, and why should I choose you?”</p> <p>It is not a slogan. It is not ad copy. It is a specific, honest, useful answer to a searcher’s question.</p> <p>Here is what that looks like for different local business types:</p> <p><strong>A local plumber in Hernando County:</strong><br /> “We handle emergency plumbing in Hernando County with same-day service — no extra fees for nights or weekends. Family-owned and licensed since 2009.”</p> <p><strong>A dim sum restaurant:</strong><br /> “Handmade dim sum served daily until 2pm. The har gow is made fresh every morning. No reservations needed for parties under six.”</p> <p><strong>A dog groomer:</strong><br /> “Full-service grooming for all breeds, no cage drying. We specialize in nervous dogs and have 11 years of experience with reactive animals. Walk-ins welcome Tuesday through Saturday.”</p> <p>Notice what all three have in common: specific, honest, useful. They answer the question a searcher is actually asking. They do not oversell. They do not use superlatives without backing them up.</p> <blockquote class="talktag"><p>“We handle emergency plumbing in Hernando County with same-day service — no extra fees for nights or weekends. Family-owned and licensed since 2009.”</p> <p>That is a TalkTag phrase for a local plumber. Specific. Honest. Useful. It earns the click because it tells the right customer exactly what they need to know.</p></blockquote> <h2>How Verity Actually Moves</h2> <p>Your Verity score started at 50. Here is what moves it:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Community Votes</strong> — Citizens can vote any listing up or down. Real endorsement from real people who found you and decided you were worth something.</li> <li><strong>Engagement</strong> — Meaningful interaction with your listing. Time spent. Depth of visit. Evidence that someone found what they were looking for.</li> <li><strong>Click-Through Rate</strong> — How often people who see your result in search actually choose it. A listing that earns its clicks earns its position.</li> <li><strong>Impressions</strong> — How often your listing surfaces across relevant searches over time.</li> <li><strong>Signal Graph Activity</strong> — The broader pattern of how your listing moves through the Findborg ecosystem.</li> </ul> <p>None of these five signals are for sale. Writing a strong TalkTag phrase helps with click-through rate and engagement because it gives searchers accurate information, which means the people who click are more likely to be the right people — and more likely to become customers.</p> <blockquote class="talktag"><p>“Freshly made dim sum served daily until 2pm in Spring Hill. Specializing in traditional Cantonese preparations with no shortcuts on the filling.”</p> <p>That is a TalkTag phrase for a Cantonese restaurant. It answers a real question, earns a real click, and reaches the right customer.</p></blockquote> <h2>What Paid Tiers Actually Unlock</h2> <p>The Free tier gets you in. Your business is findable. Verity starts at 50. You can write TalkTag phrases.</p> <p>Paid tiers unlock presentation features — not ranking:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Pro ($29/mo)</strong> — FAQ panels, sitelinks, CTA button. When searchers find you, they find more of you.</li> <li><strong>Business ($79/mo)</strong> — Video, maps, contact info, hours, trust badges, and the on-demand spider (50 pages / 14-day cooldown). Auto-generates TalkTags from your site content.</li> <li><strong>Signature ($199/mo)</strong> — Hero banner, extended FAQs, community testimonials, 100-page spider / 7-day cooldown. Analytics dashboard launching Q2.</li> </ul> <p>More surface area means more signals, which means Verity has more to work with. But the score moves based on what searchers do — not on what tier you are on. A Free listing with genuine community trust will outrank a Signature listing that nobody engages with.</p> <h2>Your Next Move</h2> <p>Find your listing. Claim it. Write your first TalkTag phrase — one honest, specific answer to what a searcher would want to know about your business.</p> <p>That is day one. Verity does the rest.</p> <p><a href="https://findborg.com">Find your listing on Findborg.</a></p>