I am not here to convince you to chase all new trends, fast-paced technology and networks but to help you understand which technologies separate you from existing or potential customers. I want to present you with an easy-to-understand collection of resources and help you take control of your business listings to reach and re-engage with your customers with this first post on ReEngage Consulting.
You already know that there are Google, Yelp, Yellow Pages and many other listings for your business online. You’re feeling the weight of more and more people telling you how they found your service through apps, searching or reading reviews.
It’s a challenge for the busy business owner, that you are, to transition from the hard work of running offline/physical business to adding and managing online business listings as extensions of that business. There are time restraints, not knowing where to start or get support and resources. I’d like to remove some of these constraints.
“Your” Business Listings
Business listings (also known as “citations” in marketing jargon) are online properties that have structured business information. Correct or incorrect. If your business info is out there (government data, tax forms, getting business checks, leasing an office, etc) – these listings exist whether you want them to or not. You can’t have 100% control over that.
But what you can do is claim these listings as “yours” (they are still property of respective corporation), keep them up-to-date and engage with potential and existing customers. You can achieve information consistency across a number of different authoritative sources, help your customers discover you and develop balanced opinion about your business.
Plan Of Action
You need to take control of your business listings. Then use them to their full potential.
Below is cream of the crop collection of 20 business listings that you can take control of (there’s also a second collection for local marketing professionals). Also resources to manage them and get support.
This collection is diverse. Listings like Google, Foursquare or Apple are used for search and discovery. Yelp or Google are great for reviews. Facebook or LinkedIn are used for engagement, networking or branding. Others, like YellowPages or Superpages, are online yellow pages ensuring data stability and consistency. I hope that a Chamber of Commerce membership will encourage you to connect with local business community. And data aggregators (Acxiom, ExpressUpdate & Localeze) feed information to other business directories.
Start by using something as simple as this Local Business Listing Management spreadsheet to keep track.
First, you need access to the listing – to claim & verify that you’re the owner (or have permission). Most verification methods are: phone call, postcard (few weeks for it to arrive), email or text message. You’ll have most control when you verify.
I must mention here that there are options to take control of listings for your business besides doing it yourself: use tools and services (understand how they work) or hire a local marketing professional to do this as part of the local marketing project. Either way – you need to understand local environment and be able to check quality of work.
Once you have control – do your best with potential each listing has, based on how much effort you’re willing to put in.
Assumptions
I do not provide step-by-step instructions or explore all possible scenarios and issues. But I provide enough information and support info for general “do it yourself.” Here are some assumptions to keep in mind when working with listings:
- You will not hesitate to ask questions in comments or reach out to me through social or email.
- You’ll search for existing listings, not create new one right away. Use “Get Started” link.
- You will go from “Get Started” link through process of verifying, following steps provided by the directory.
- Some directories are not well-supported. You might encounter more issues or wait longer than expected.
- You need to have an existing or create a new account for each directory.
- Record all login information so you can get back to your account later. I have a simple template for you.
- Verification process can be faster for some listings if website email (you@website.com) is used to create accounts.
- You need to be logged in to your directory account to access dashboard using links provided below.
- I do not cover all possible issues, conflicts, duplicate listings, etc. which negatively impact your online presence and visibility. You want to consult someone regarding your situation.
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