In this ever changing world of data mining companies looking to populate the internet with their data it is very important to keep your information correct. Incorrect and/or missing data can keep your business listing from showing up in local search results, which as we all know is vital to bring in new business from the internet.
Here is a story from a current client:
Recently we moved offices and trying to updated all the different listings across the web was not a top priority for us. Within 3 months we started to notice our phones were ringing less and started to hear current customers mention our address was wrong on the internet. We still did not think much about it until after 6 months from moving our phones had almost completely stopped ringing. We then decided it was time to do something about our incorrect information on the web. We started working with 301 Interactive Marketing and they explained why and where we needed to update our information. They also explained that the damage of waiting 6 months to start this process might mean it would take more time to correct. Within 3 months of having our data cleaned up our local listing on Google started to reappear at the top of the local search rankings and more importantly our phone began to ring again.
Why is local listing info so important?
- 3 out of 4 local searches turn into a purchase. This is a huge reason why you should be keeping your business name, address and phone number current and updated all the time.
- 73% of consumers lose trust or confidence in a business when it’s online listing is incorrect. If you searched for a local business and then drove to that business based on the information on the web and it was incorrect how much would you trust that business?
- 1 in 5 local listings are inaccurate. This is alarming stat when knowing how important it is to consumers this info be correct.
- 1 out of 4 local listings are incomplete. I believe this is based on how difficult it is to update some listings on the web.
What can you do to keep your information updated and accurate?
The first thing to do is take an inventory of your local business information. Create a spreadsheet and do a Google search for your Business Name, Address and Phone Number. Chart everywhere you find a listing and if that info is correct or incorrect. *If you have multiple locations you may need create more tabs or spreadsheets. There are also 2 very good services you can use to also quickly and easily check your information online. The first is www.getlisted.org and the second is www.yext.com. Lastly once you have recorded all the correct and incorrect information you need to decide if you are going to try to fix or update the information yourself of if you want to outsource that job to a proven industry professional. If you would like a free estimate on the latter please give us a call to discuss.
I hope this information was useful.
Photo Credit: Moz.com