Accurate small business information is critical to your company, we explain why
Whether you’re looking to be more successful in generating new customers, obtaining needed loans, or entering a physical space, small business information will play a significant role in the process. It can help you avoid challenges that can create lasting problems for other businesses.
If you’re not familiar with the term “small business information,” it refers to all types of data related to your company. This includes basic information such as company name, phone number, email address, website and physical location. However, it also includes things like who knows the company and who is on the management team, the state of your business credit score, the industry the company is in, etc.
Updated listings, citations, and website pages are important for several reasons. The right information can bring customers to your door, give your business a sense of legitimacy, and act as a means of improving SEO, another important aspect of owning a modern small business.
Why is accurate small business information vital?
The effectiveness of websites for your business depends on where the information is located and how accurate it is. For example, business listings can be found on social media platforms, maps, online directories, and search engines. All these areas are open to the public and provide insight into your brand.
It is important to be online in as many places as possible to bring in a larger customer base. However, there is more to it than creating a profile or page and never checking it again. You will only get the end results you want if all the information on these sites is accurate at all times.
For example, it can be surprisingly easy to accidentally create duplicate lists. Omissions, errors, and duplicates can create serious challenges in finding your real business. However, making manual changes to your business information on the Internet can be a lot of work.
Properly listing business information has many benefits. Rather than hoping that customers will come across your company, consumers will come to you when you offer what they want. However, if the information is wrong, it can cause you to lose customers. Accurate information builds trust and increases search rankings.
Attract additional customers
One of the priorities of any business is to constantly bring in new customers. You want people to contact you or visit your company to buy your products and services. Accurate small business information can give potential customers the data they need to do these things.
If a potential customer tries to call your business or shows up to visit it, but the information is not available or the address needs to be corrected, they are much less likely to contact you and do business with you in the future. One study shows that over 70% of people have had a negative business experience based on inaccurate information online.
Increase the level of confidence
Accurate small business information can increase customer confidence in your products and services and brand as a whole. On the other hand, inaccurate or missing information can lead to missed opportunities and miscommunication in your business. When things are inconsistent, it can cause confusion.
For example, you may have several different phone numbers in different parts of the Internet. If customers see more than one option, they won’t be sure which one to use. Most of them will leave rather than try any of the given numbers.
The same goes for a physical address. If there is an address listed in the directory and the customer goes there, but your business is not present, they will most likely not try to access your product again. About 80% of consumers lose trust in a brand if a listing is inconsistent or incorrect.
The last example would be if the wrong working hours are listed. Customers may try to visit or contact you when you are not open. They often won’t give it a second try if the first one doesn’t go well. Based on all these facts, accurate business information is essential to increase customer confidence.
Improve search engine ranking
One study of 2018 search rankings shows that consistent business listings that are consistent are one of the most important factors. If your business listings are incomplete, it can negatively affect your search ranking results. This alone will make it difficult for you to be seen by new potential customers.
On the other hand, having well-maintained and accurate information on the Internet can have various advantages. This includes higher search engine ranking results on engines such as Google and improved traffic to company websites.
Some business listings can be changed more than 50 times a day, sometimes by third parties. It is important that you are aware of and maintain all these changes in various sources so that anyone interested in your brand is informed. It also prevents you from being penalized for having different small business information.
The catch with some businesses is that details are extremely important. Having a different street name can have a negative impact on the business. It can lower your ranking in search engines and cause fewer people to see the information. This is one reason many companies pay for a service to keep all this information accurate for them.
Better financing opportunity
Some websites present small business information beyond the basic data. For example, some data aggregation sites provide information about a company’s owners and managers, what industry it is in, and what funding it has had in the past. Others offer information about a business credit score. These also need to be accurate to grow a company.
For example, if you need financing, you want to make sure that all listings with your credit information are accurate and identical. If you’re looking for the physical location of your business, having accurate data about how old your brand is and what revenue you’re bringing in will get you closer to the goal.
Accurate small business information is key to moving forward in several financial situations. Searching for these data sources and ensuring they are all accurate can go a long way. It can help you get insurance, find a place to rent, get a loan, and more.
In the Markaz Dashboard, you control your own business data. You can update, correct, and verify all publicly available information about your small business. The agency dashboard also enables you to directly apply for funding, find business partners, check your business credit score and monitor your finances from the Dashboard environment.
Test how accurate your publicly available small business information is with our Small Biz Info Quiz.
Final thoughts
Making sure you have small business information on all the most used websites is important, but it goes deeper than that. All information must be accurate, exactly the same, and on all the most used sites. Accurate information can help you get customers, increase your search engine rankings, access funding, and more.
If you don’t have a strategy for constantly updating your small business information, such as in the Markaz Dashboard, then you should consider implementing one. Manual changes can be made, but this often requires a lot of research and time.
That’s right, having publicly available business information is a great way to keep your small business growing and moving into the future.