5-Minute Clean-Up: Listings Management

Your business has an online presence that goes well beyond your website and social media profiles. There are countless listings and directories that can feature your business online.

That’s great news for you because it means people may come across your business without you having to expend any marketing effort yourself! But, it also means that you want to be aware of the information those listings have on your business.

If your business’s name, address, phone number, and website aren’t correct, the listing is leading potential customers astray. Not only that, but Google looks at consistency across the web as a ranking factor. If there’s conflicting information about your business all across the web, you might fall in the search results.

Cleaning up your listings is a quick and easy process when you know how to do it. Here are the steps to get it done.

Search for Your Business

Open up a new tab in Google and type in your business’s name. The first results will likely be your website and maybe a social media profile or two, but keep scrolling and take note of the listings and directories where you appear. Consider opening up a new tab for each of the results, so you can keep scrolling through to find all of the relevant ones.

Check Each Listing

Now that you’ve got tabs open for each of the listings, do a quick scan to make sure the information is correct. Double check your business name, address, phone number, and website. Even small inconsistencies can make a big difference, so take the time to make sure it’s all listed properly.

Consider creating a quick spreadsheet of all the listings, with a column where you can indicate that the information is all correct or note an error. This will allow you to do more regular checks of the information about your business online more easily in the future. Plus, if a year down the road you do change your business name or move to a new location, you’ll have a list already in place of the directories where you’ll need to update your information.

Focus on One Listing for Now

It’s likely that there are a few places where your business’s information is a little off. Rather than trying to tackle everything at once, take a look at one listing for now.

If it’s something like Google My Business or Yelp, where you can claim your business, now is the time to do so (if you haven’t already). Claiming your business will allow you to make changes immediately as well as edit the listing in the future if the need should ever arise.

Some listings will be a little more challenging to update. For those directories where you need to reach out to their customer service to make a change, set aside some time in the coming weeks to follow up with each of those teams. Be sure to keep them on your radar screen until all of the information for your business is correct on all of the listings you identified.

Remember Listings When You Make a Change in the Future

When you make a change to your business, it can be hard to remember who you need to inform. After all, a move from one office location to another means a lot of work. You need to update your address on your website, on social media platforms, in your email signature, with the USPS, with any vendors you use regularly, with your credit card companies”the list goes on and on.

It can be easy to forget about listings and online directories in all this shuffle, but consistency across the web is an important ranking and trust-building factor for your business. Making listings management a more regular part of your business operations means that it will be less likely to slip through the cracks when you do make a move or other major update to your business’s core information.

If you’re looking to avoid the hassle of finding and tracking listings and staying on top of your company’s presence online, we’re here to help. Our listings management services will ensure your company’s information is listed correctly on all of the key directories and save you from the back-and-forth with directory sites.