“Finding incorrect information in online directories would stop me from using a local business”
📌 Upon finding an inaccurate listing, consumers are more likely to blame the local business than the directory
📌 40% would give up looking for a local business that they couldn’t find because the address was wrong online
📌 93% of consumers are frustrated by incorrect information in online directories
📌 In the last 12 months, 71% of consumers had a negative experience because of incorrect information
📌 80% of consumers lose trust in local businesses if they see incorrect or inconsistent contact details or business names online
📌 70% lose trust if they see incorrect or inconsistent contact details online
📌 Only 10% of consumers wouldn’t lose trust in a local business because of incorrect or outdated information online
📌 Poor quality or out-of-date photos make 50% of consumers lose faith in a local business
📌 Incorrect opening hours online damage the business trust of 51% of consumers
Inaccuracies in online directories and business listings frustrate consumers, and in many cases lead them to use a different business altogether.
Is your #business losing potential clients due to incorrect online listings? Let’s fix this!
Source: BrightLocal
Google My Business
Business Listing Best Practices
Name
Your name should reflect your business’ real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers. Accurately representing your business name helps customers find your business online.
Add additional details like address, business hours, and category in the other sections of your business information.
For example, if you were creating a listing for a 24 hour coffee shop in downtown San Francisco called Shelly’s Coffee, you would enter that business information as:
- Business name: Shelly’s Coffee
- Address: 3247 Poppy Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Hours: Open 24 hours
- Category: Coffee shop
Including unnecessary information in your business name is not permitted, and could result in your listing being suspended. Refer to the specific examples below to determine what you can and can’t include in your business name.
Address
Use a precise, accurate address to describe your business location. PO Boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations are not acceptable.
Website and phone
Provide a phone number that connects to your individual business location as directly as possible, or provide one website that represents your individual business location.
- Use a local phone number instead of central, call center helpline number whenever possible.
- Do not provide phone numbers or URLs that redirect or “refer” users to landing pages or phone numbers other than those of the actual business, including pages created on social media sites.
- The phone number must be under the direct control of the business.
Business hours
Provide your regular customer-facing hours of operation. If applicable, you may use your current seasonal hours as your regular hours. You may also specify special hours for particular days, like holidays or special events.
Categories
Categories help your customers find accurate, specific results for services they’re interested in. In order to keep your business information accurate and live, make sure that you:
- Use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business from the provided list.
- Choose categories that are as specific as possible, but representative of your main business.
- Do not use categories solely as keywords or to describe attributes of your business.
- Do not use categories that pertain to other businesses that are nearby or related, such as a business physically contained within your business or an entity that contains your business.
Source: Google Support