Thinking about your online presence is overwhelming and can be confusing. Where do you start? You want me to spend how much on what? What sites are reputable? How do you spot a scam versus legitimate help?
I know, it daunting. And, being found online is important! You started your business and spent a lot of money on a website and design – people should be able to find you! But where do you start? What do you need to do? And what if something changes?
Relax, I have you covered!
My recommendation is a handy tool from the fabulous SEO firm Moz. Their local search tool tells you exactly how great (or not) your online presence is.
Go do it right now.
I’ll wait…
So…what was your score?
8%? 42%? 78%? There’s almost always room for improvement. I like Moz because everything is all in one place. Their job is knowing SEO and where you need to be listed online. I don’t question if I need to be listed on City Search – Moz says I do, and they’ll handle it for me.
You know your score,
now what do you do?
I signed up for Moz Local – it’s not expensive and it’s totally worth it. You input all your info and then check in every few days (for a couple of months, depending on how many edits and changes need to happen) and over time your ranking goes up and your online presence is in place and ready to go. Moz takes care of all the logistics with the key reputable search sites online. This way you don’t have to decipher what’s worth your time and what might be a scam.
Just like that. If your score is high enough that you don’t want to deal with it right now, that’s up to you. But, here are 3 times when it’s important that you consider confirming your online presence…
When You Have a Name Change
(Personally or for your Business)
I was talking with a client recently about their online presence. They went through a name change recently and it was time to get their name consistent online. Making sure that your website says what Google says and what Bing says (hey, it’s the Pacific Northwest, not everyone is allowed by their employer to use Google. If you get married or divorced you should make sure your online presence isn’t screwing things up. Likewise, if your business changes names. Maybe you become an LLC, or you incorporate, or add or slightly modify your business name. Time to check in and make the change.
When your address changes
True story – I know someone who only changed their address on Google when they moved and clients consistently went to their old addresses thanks to other GPS services that hadn’t been notified. If you move, don’t trust that everything everywhere is going to get updated. I’m working with a client right now who changed addresses and we’re still fighting with a couple of search sites to get the address fixed. It’s tedious, but worth while.
When you want to get serious about getting online reviews
If you want people to leave you reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Bing, etc., you need to claim your profile on these channels. Last month someone called me because they had received a nasty Yelp review and needed help. They had gone through all the proper channels but Yelp was taking too long to respond. We discussed cleaning up and confirming their online presence so that they’re not undermined by someone out to get them. I don’t want to unnecessarily scare you, you make good choices in the clients you work with, but it IS possible that someone out to get you could claim your profile on your behalf and really mess with your brand. Just claim that profile so you can sleep at night.
Clients often ask me for help with their online presence because it’s a pretty tedious task. If it’s not on your list of fun things to do while running a business, we should talk.
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