« Do I pay sales tax when I buy a business? |
Main
| 10 Tips for Family Business Success »
Is your business listed, for example on Google Places or Yelp? I would highly recommend you at least list your business. If you have ever done a search to find a barber, for instance, your Internet search usually will display a map listing businesses closest to your IP address or geo-location. Your competition may be listed, don’t you want your business to be listed as well? There are many sites to assist with this process. Why bother?
Debbie Gorski
• Your business may already be listed via Google maps, third party data providers, someone may have added your business on one of the many user review site and the information may be incorrect or outdated.
• Trends show most people search for a business through online means; commonly done via computer, Ipad or smartphone. When I am home, I jump on the Internet via my computer to search for an adder-ss or phone number. If I am traveling, I use my Ipad or smartphone.
• More sales! Make it easy for somebody to find you!
The good news-there are plenty of free sites to list your business and it only takes a few minutes.
When listing your business, make sure you include the address, phone number and hours of operation. People want the basics, make it easy for them and update whenever you change this information. Include a photo of your business as well. Here are a few of the common places to list your business.
- Google Places has detailed information how to do this: http://www.google.com/places/
- Yahoo Local http://listings.local.yahoo.com/overview.php
- Yelp https://biz.yelp.com/signup
- Yellow Pages http://www.yellowpages.com/listing_feedback/new/
What if you don’t have a physical address? Or you operate your business from home but you don’t want your home address listed? To register with Google Places you can specify a service area and hide your physical address if it is your home address for instance.
Getting your business listed is easy. Be sure to take advantage of the help or support page if your business doesn’t seem to fit the template provided.
The comments to this entry are closed.
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.