If customers can’t find you, they can’t do business with you!
It is so important to make it easy for potential customers to find and contact you, so they have no reason to call the competition.
I put together a list of 5 places your business information should be listed if you want to be easily found.
Keep in mind, some of these may be more applicable to the service industry and businesses with physical locations, so review the list and decide what’s best for you and your business.
1. Your Website
This one may seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning a few things you’ll want to include on your website:
Business name
Address (if applicable)
Phone number
Email address
Hours of operation (if applicable)
Contact form
A website does not need to have tons of pages or lots of fancy bells and whistles to be effective. A good website just needs to provide relevant information in an easy-to-read format that consumers can navigate without much trouble or confusion.
This can be done for free with a Google Site, or for a minimal cost with website building programs like Wix, Squarespace, or Weebly.
2. Google Business Profile
Everyone loves to "Google it," so it's important to make sure Google has all the right details about your business to display in Google Search results and Google Maps.
It’s free to register for a Business Profile on Google and you don’t even need a Gmail email address. You’ll tell Google everything about your business, from the basic things like the name, hours, website, and location, to the more detailed information like services, products, photos, special holiday hours, and more!
This is also what allows you to manage and get notified about new Google Reviews so you can thank your customers or respond and make something right, if necessary.
3. Yelp for Business
There are two sides to Yelp - the consumer side and the business owner side.
If you’ve ever searched on Yelp for a business, salon, restaurant, etc, then you’ve used the consumer side (known as Yelp).
Yelp for Business is the business side of Yelp which allows business owners to claim their business, list their hours, reply to reviews, post photos, and more.
By registering with Yelp for Business, you can update your business listing whenever necessary to make sure potential customers are seeing the most up-to-date information.
4. Apple Business Register
To be completely transparent, I have not actually used Apple Business Register because my business doesn’t have a physical office location.
That being said, from what I’ve researched, it’s similar to Google My Business and Yelp for Business, in the sense that you can claim your business, update your listing, and make sure clients can easily navigate to your location.
5. Industry-Specific Listings
Depending on your business, there might be other industry-specific databases or websites where you’ll want your business listed.
For instance, if you’re in the legal sector, you may want to list your firm on Avvo. If you’re a home service professional, Angi list could be a great place to get new clients.
If you’re located in a tourist town, check to see if there’s an official website listing all the businesses, hotels, and attractions for tourists, and request to add your business information.
As I mentioned earlier, these are not one-size-fits-all suggestions and there is no right or wrong answer.
I encourage you to review this list, determine which of these align with your business and target market, and move forward with those options.
Any of these will help increase the likelihood your business shows up in the search results when someone is looking online for your location or more business information.
For more business tips and information to help save you time, money, and headaches, be sure to subscribe to my email list and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.