Editorial · July 22, 2013
Local Business Listings: Get Your Name and Address Right
Local business listings should all show the same name, street address and phone number. Pick one exact version of those three details, then make each directory, map and web page match it. A customer who sees two versions has to guess which one is right.
This guide uses Google's help pages for business owners, along with two surveys, to show what a shop owner can check and fix.
What local business listings are
A listing is an entry for your business in a directory or on a map. It can show your name, address, phone number and hours. A familiar example is a Yellow Pages entry. The Local Search Association, a trade group whose members include Yellow Pages companies, reported survey results in June 2011. The survey found that 84 percent of people had used print or Internet Yellow Pages to find a local business in the past year, and that 76 percent had used a search engine.
If you belong to a local chamber of commerce, ask whether it lists your shop and what that listing says.
Google changed how its own listings work in 2012. On May 30, it began rolling out Google+ Local. TechCrunch, citing Search Engine Land, said some 80 million Google Places pages had been converted to Google+ Local pages by that morning. Google says Google+ Local is integrated into Search, Maps and mobile, and that a local Google+ page includes useful information like the address and opening hours. Google also says owners can keep managing their listings in Google Places for Business.
Why matching details matter
The Local Search Association survey found that consumers consult 2 to 3 local media sources when they look for information to buy a product or service locally. Suppose a shopper finds your shop on a map, in the Yellow Pages and on a chamber list. If the street number or the phone number differs, the shopper has to guess, and a wrong number can mean a missed call while a wrong address can mean a wasted trip.
Phones may make this matter more, because a customer with a smartphone can check a listing while out and about. In a Pew Research Center survey taken from April 17 to May 19, 2013, 56 percent of American adults owned a smartphone.
Google reads many sources too. Its help page on optimizing a listing says Google improves search results by gathering information about a business from all over the web. The page tells owners to make sure the information about their business on other sites is accurate and to try to contact those sites directly to fix mistakes. It also says Google uses information from your website to help improve search results. So your site should show the same name, address and phone number as your listings.
Pick one version and write it down
Decide what the right version is before you fix anything. Type it once on a single master page and copy from that page every time. Google's quality guidelines for Places listings set rules for each part.
- Use the name on your sign. Google says to represent your business "exactly as it appears in the offline world." It says not to put marketing taglines in the name, and not to add extra keywords or a description of your business to the name to manipulate search results. It also says to keep phone numbers and web addresses out of the name unless they are part of the business name.
- Use the street address where customers can find you. Google asks for a precise, accurate address, and it does not treat a P.O. box as a real physical location. For a suite or mailbox number, it says to put the street address on the first line and the number on the second. Pick one way to write "Street" and "Suite" and use it everywhere.
- List a local phone number that rings at your shop. Google wants a number that reaches your location directly. Where it can, it prefers a local line over a call center line, and it says not to provide numbers that send callers to a phone other than the business's own. Write the number in one style every time.
- Also give one web address that stands for your shop. Google asks for one website that represents your location.
Check the places that list you
Start with Google. Search for your shop on Google and Google Maps and read what shows. If the details are wrong, claim the listing in Google Places. Google says verifying a listing is limited to the business owner or an authorized representative.
Next, check the print and online Yellow Pages, any chamber of commerce you belong to, and any other site that lists your shop. For each one, write down what it shows and the date you checked. Google tells owners to try to contact other sites directly to correct mistakes, so ask each site how to send in a fix.
Fix mistakes and keep them fixed
Look for copies of your own listing. Google says there should be only one listing per business location, both in your account and in search results. If an extra page shows up for your shop, open it, click the link to report a problem, and choose the option that says the place has another listing. Google says it reviews these reports. If your account holds more than one listing for the same location, Google says to keep one, make sure it is active and has your photos, hours and description, and delete the rest. Google notes that these changes can take several weeks to show in search results.
When a detail changes, change it everywhere, not just on your own site. That goes for a new phone number, a move, a new suite number or a new name. Update your master page first, then work down your list of sites. Look at the list again every few months, because old details can linger on sites you forgot.