Over the last decade, that yellow book has gotten smaller and smaller, and most people tell me that they just pick it up off the porch and throw it right into the recycle bin.
And just a few weeks ago, I got a postcard through the mailbox that said, “Hey, we still make the Yellow Pages, and if you want one, we’ll bring it to you.”... but...?
...that is to say, they’ve stopped delivering them now altogether!
Why? What do people do now?
They Google it!
You know it! Nowadays, people search online for what they need. They hold a computer right in the palm of their hand, and all they have to do is whisper a few words and that device will search any number of places to find that answer!
Where do they search?
Great question! And here’s where it gets even trickier...
You see, someone thought, “Hey! You know what I should do? I should build a business directory website and list every business I can on that site, and become the next yellow pages, but online!”
And not just that guy, but several people all at the same time all had this thought and created hundreds of these types of websites.
Sure... Google’s right at the top, but so is Yelp, Facebook, Apple and many, many others.
But wait...it gets worse.
To be fair, these sites are doing the best they can to include everybody’s business info, but let’s face it... that’s a daunting task! They’re throwing in all the info they can find, but they won’t know if you move, if you change your phone number or business name, etc etc.
So what happens is you end up with a mish-mash of info out there on your business, some of it correct and some of it not.
This incongruity can damage your ranking and affect people’s chances of reaching you.
Not to mention their mobile device of choice!
Plus... you don’t know where that client is looking for you. I have an android phone, so it natively searches Google. If you have a Mac or an iPhone, it’s going to search Apple. If you have a Windows phone or maybe a new Windows 10 computer, it’s searching Bing.
So you need to make sure your info is correct, AND that it’s correct on all the platforms that “most” people use.
But I only care about Google / Apple / Facebook / Bing...
Sure, I get that... you definitely want to make sure your info is perfect in your Google listing (we can help with that if you have questions)... but you also need to realize that Google is always on the search to make sure that THEY have all the right info.
So if Google is finding all that disparate info out their on the net, it’s still going to affect how Google serves your info amongst their organic rank results.
What’s a business owner to do?
Don’t jump off the superhighway yet! There’s good news!
...There are tools and resources to help us!
First, we need to see what’s out there.
Then, we can address what needs to be fixed.
There are free ways to do this, and paid tools that can save you time.
Here’s a few of both...
First, Run this Free Scan...
Here’s a free tool on my website that will scan the top 60+ apps, maps, social networks, directories and search engines like Google, Apple, Facebook, Bing and Yelp.
(http://scan.gilbertstudios.com/)
Just pop in your Business Name, Business Address and Business Phone Number it will run a live scan as you watch.
In just a few minutes, it will pop out a full list of where your business is listed, where it is not, and what is correct or incorrect and where.
Fix it for Free...
Not only that, but it will also provide you a direct link to that listing on that website.
This will allow you to “claim your listing.”
That is something that you can usually do for free.
You just need to register with that website, by creating a username and password.
There probably will be some additional verification steps, possibly involving either a mailed postcard, or an automated phone call, or both.
So this method allows you to claim and correct these listings, usually for very little expense, but it is a very time consuming process. ...especially when you have to do this 60+ times!
Low Cost / High Benefit Solution...
Thankfully, we have a found an amazing service that allows you to claim, create and synchronize your listings across all of these platforms, and control it all from one dashboard.
This saves you an enormous amount of time, not to mention the additional time you are saved every time we update your information moving forward.
Plus it unlocks additional features in these listings that you didn’t even know existed to help promote your business!
Monitor Customer Reviews
Our “Powerlistings” service also allows you to monitor your incoming customer reviews with a variety of amazing tools.
There are several levels of service that allow you to choose which one works best for your business.
The top package allows you to directly request reviews from your customers and then embed those reviews into your website.
We’re especially excited about the way their software does this because it changes your listing on the Google results page to actually show your customer’s star rating right with your website results!!
This makes a tremendous impact on motivating people to choose your listing.
How do I get started?
The best way to get started is by using our free scan tool.
That will show you exactly how things are, and which pieces we can correct right away.
After you’ve run that scan, give us a call to discuss your search results. We’ll chat and create a plan of attack together.
Where can I learn more now?
If you’d like to read more about all the specifics of the program, you may do so HERE.
It can only get better!
No matter which option you choose to use, it can only get better from here!
The first step was just to know a problem existed in the first place!
Now you can use the tools available to fix it.
Please let us know if we can help you in any way!