Relocations are necessary for all different reasons, but when businesses move locations these days, they need to do more than just print up new stationery and business cards. Moving from one place to another means updating your local listings, too.With so many online directories and platforms publishing local business listings, the idea of manually updating a business’ address or telephone number can seem overwhelming.
Follow these steps to update your local listings if your business moves locations:
Step 1: Wait for the move. Don’t get ahead of yourself by making too many changes before your business moves locations. Premature address changes are actually against Google’s guidelines. Instead, wait until your business has moved into its new location before updating your online citations.Step 2: Start with your own website. The best place to start when updating your local listings is your own website. Check that your new address has been updated across the website, including the headers and footers, and any About, Contact, or Location pages. Making sure your business’ website is updated with an accurate address, telephone number, and hours of operation will give you extra credibility in the eyes of Google when the time comes to update your listing on Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business platform).Step 3: Update your profile on Google Business Profile. Make the necessary address and telephone number changes in your Google Business Profile dashboard. Your changes may not be reflected in your Google listing immediately. In some cases, Google will require businesses to go through a verification process before changing key identifiers, like an address or telephone number.Keep in mind, you should be updating your listing, not creating a new one. Creating a new listing with the updated business location will result in duplicate listings, which could have a negative impact on search engine rankings. If you accidentally create a new listing, and now have two verified listings for your business, contact Google’s support team to remove the duplicate listing.Step 4: Repeat the process across all other listing platforms, including Yelp, Facebook, Foursquare, Apple Maps, and Bing. If you have already claimed your listings, this process should be fairly straightforward. Just login to your account, click onto the dashboard, and follow the directions to change the business information.Step 5: Monitor online directories to make sure listings are updated. Some platforms will update your business information immediately once you’ve requested a change. Other services may require verification, and the process could take up to a month or longer. Stay on top of the process by monitoring your listings regularly and watching for any duplicates that pop up.Businesses that do not have the time to spend manually updating their online listings can work with companies like SOCi to expedite the process. SOCi connects directly with publisher and data aggregator partners to claim and update listings for its brand clients.
