Relocating Your Business? Spread the Word Online
If you move your business to a different location, a crucial but often overlooked step is “moving” your business online. If you don’t pay attention to this step, your search rankings may suffer. Work through the steps below to protect what you’ve worked to achieve:
Your Website
This is something you can easily control, so do it first. Change your contact page to reflect the new address and phone number, and change any contact information that might appear in your website footer.
Social Media
Second, check all your social media profiles and change the address and telephone number on each. If you did not have the address listed before, take the time to list it now.
Online Directories
Next, you’ll take care of the many online directories where your business is listed. Your first stop should be your Google My Business listing. Log into Google My Business and edit your business page.
By updating the address in Google My Business, your address in Google Maps should update. This will give prospective customers proper GPS directions and the proper location marker. (Your reviews will transfer as well.)
Note: Google Street View may require some time to update. Your business may receive a notice from Google to verify the new information.
Next, take care of the rest of the directories. These directories include Yelp, Foursquare, Yellowpages.com, Yellowbook, CitySearch, SuperPages, and many, many more. You can find a list of the most important online directories here.
Do the listings reflect your new location? What you’re aiming for is a consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) profile all across the internet.
By having incorrect information on your listings, other online directories may pull and publish further incorrect information. When a site like Google notices that the address is different on different listings, they may not show any of them because they don’t know which listing is correct. (Not to mention, customers may view the incorrect listings and try to contact you at the wrong location.)
For businesses that can be classified in a very specific market (doctors, attorneys, etc.), it is also necessary to check the smaller niche directories.
What business was there before you?
Unless your new business location was just built, it most likely belonged to another company before you. Search online to find this company (or companies) and make sure that all their listing are labeled as closed. If they aren’t closed, contact the directory on which the listing is displayed.
Keeping Track
After you’ve completed all these tasks, it is important to periodically check to ensure the “move” was a success.
If you’ve gotten bogged down along the way and would like some help with your online move, contact us. It might be worth it to hire a professional to get the job done.