For many small business owners, setting up a Google Business Profile feels like hitting a big milestone. You are finally on the map. Now, people can search for your business, see your hours, call you, or even leave a review.
But if your business is dependent only on that single profile (and nothing else), you aren’t reaching nearly as many potential customers as you could be.
Below, this listings management agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is going to explain why putting all of your trust in Google alone can leave gaps in your online presence.
Google alone will not be enough.
Google is huge and obviously important, but people don’t limit themselves to Google when they are searching for local businesses anymore. They use Yelp to check reviews, ask Siri for directions, use Apple Maps in the car, and many still trust Facebook when they want local recommendations.
Now imagine that your business hours are correct on Google but wrong on Yelp or that your Facebook page still lists your old address. Not only do you lose potential customers when they show up at the wrong time or place, but Google itself starts noticing that your information is not consistent across the internet. When that happens, it can decide that your listing is not trustworthy, which hurts your visibility in Google search results and Maps as well.
The Google Business Profile guidelines even emphasize that your business profile should represent your business exactly how it is represented in the real world.
Maintaining consistency is one of the easiest ways to improve your online visibility. The hard part is keeping every single listing consistent across dozens of sites manually. That is when businesses need a professional listings management agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
How do customers search for businesses now?
The way people find local businesses has changed so much in just the past few years. They are not simply typing a name into Google anymore.
Take voice assistants, for example. According to the 2022 Smart Audio Report by NPR and Edison Research, 62% of U.S. adults now use a voice assistant like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. If your information is not updated on the platforms those assistants use, you can be invisible to a big chunk of people.
Yelp is also still a big deal. Yelp’s own data shows that 82% of its users hire or buy from a business they found there within a week. That is a lot of potential customers who might never reach you if your Yelp listing is wrong or out of date.
Reviews are crucial everywhere.
Maybe you have spent some time and effort to get plenty of five-star reviews on Google. But if someone finds a single bad review on Yelp or Facebook and sees that no one from your business has responded, it can undo a lot of that good impression in just a few seconds.
People want to know that you are paying attention wherever they leave feedback. A timely response shows that you care about your customers and your reputation, and it can influence someone’s decision to trust you with their business.
A professional listings management agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois can be helpful here. They can monitor reviews across all the major platforms, send you alerts when new ones come in, and even help you write proper responses.
It can be hard to do this on your own.
As a small business owner, you may not have time to update hours, phone numbers, and addresses on ten different sites every time something changes. And that’s before you even think about checking and responding to reviews on different platforms.
This is also where a professional can be helpful. A listings management agency can keep all your business information accurate and updated everywhere. This way, you are not constantly chasing mistakes or losing customers because of them.
Looking for a listings management agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois?
Are you ready to consult with a listings management agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois that can help you stay in control of your online business listings? If so, Digital Destination LLC is just a call away. Our listings management experts will help you keep your online presence looking sharp and consistent. Contact us at (312) 933-6806 to schedule a free consultation.