conflicting information

What You Need to Know About Changing Your Business Address

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

When you change your business address in real life, what do you do? You probably start by submitting an address change to the post office. Then, you update any accounts you have with banks, credit card companies, insurance agencies, and so on. You also have to go down the list and notify all of your vendors, marketers, and important contacts. In a nutshell, it’s a big pain.
Unfortunately, that’s not all. It’s crucial that you also remember to update all of your business’s online listings. And we’re not just talking about on Google. Every reference to your business’s address on the web (commonly called a “citation”) must be updated—otherwise, your search rankings could take a serious hit.
We’re not being melodramatic. In this post, we’ll discuss:

Why it’s so critical to update all of your listings with your new address.
What goes into the process of changing an address online.
How a marketing specialist can come in the clutch to help.

Let’s jump in!

An Accurate Business Address Is Vital

Did you know one of the biggest influences on your rankings comes from the accuracy of your online information? Here’s how we explained it in a previous post about controlling your online presence:

Google and other search engines want to present the best possible information to their users, so they gather data from around the web to verify what’s on your company’s listing. And when Google sees conflicting details about your company coming from different sources, it flags your listing for having the wrong information: Google won’t want to display your business as a search result if there’s a chance it’s not a legitimate company. This results in poor rankings and, sometimes, suspended listings.

So if you update your business address on your Google listing while leaving up the old address on other listings, your local search rankings will suffer tremendously. When your business address changes, it needs to change identically across the board.

How to Update Your Business Address Online

Here’s where things get tricky.
You may have no problem thinking of places where your business is listed online. Google Maps, Bing Local, Yelp, Facebook, Manta, Better Business Bureau (BBB), and Angie’s List probably come to mind right away. However, these directories are only the tip of the iceberg.
You see, some online directories in the darkest corners of the Internet populate their listings by crawling the web for business information. You won’t be aware of them because you never created a listing there yourself, but they exist all the same. And they need to be updated, too.
What does this mean? Essentially, you have to spend hours searching the web for your business name and contact information in order to find every last place that mentions you. Then, you have to figure out how to update those listings, since you never created them in the first place. Sometimes, it’s as simple as claiming them on the spot. Other times, though, the process can present multiple hoops to jump through.
For instance, the BBB is notoriously difficult to work with in this context. It can take three to four weeks to update your information on their site because they want to get you to pay for accreditation (which comes with expedited processing, of course). Updating a Yelp listing may also be complicated if you don’t own your listing. At the end of the day, a lot of variables affect how smoothly and efficiently the update process goes.

Updating Your Business Address May Require a Specialist

If that all sounds like a lot of work… it is. We won’t sugarcoat it.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your time and energy doing it. Internet marketing specialists like the ones at Prospect Genius are a great resource to lean on for these types of projects.
Our specialists do this every day. It’s their job. That means they know the most efficient, streamlined process for finding and updating every last one of your listings. Moreover, they’re familiar with the best ways to deal with the BBB, Yelp, and other difficult directories so they can update those listings as quickly as possible. They even know the most important listings for your industry that need to be double- and triple-checked before moving on.
Check out our WebFax® and CleanSlate™ programs for more details on how we can help keep your web presence neat, tidy, and working for you!

Consistency Is Key

When your business address changes, you need to update the entirety of your online presence. It’s not an easy job by any means, but it’s absolutely necessary if you want to maintain your local search rankings. Now that you have a better idea of how to handle your new business address, you can move forward without hurting your web presence!

3 Reasons Registering Your Business Name Is Worth the Paperwork

Last Updated: August 17, 2016

You’re a business owner. A self-starter. This means you’re an independent person by nature. You like to run your business on your own terms with as little interference as possible. The idea of involving the state with your business makes you cringe.
But guess what?
Registering your business name with the state is vital, even just from an advertising standpoint. Not only does it keep other businesses from capitalizing on your name recognition, but it also proves your legitimacy to search engines and customers alike. In other words, it’s an effective part of maintaining a healthy web presence and keeping those leads coming in.
After you read this post, you’ll be chomping at the bit to contact your state’s business division and register your company name. Here’s why.

1. Registering Your Business Name Protects You From Copycats

You already know how much SEO is tied to consistency in information, especially for key elements like your business name. So you can imagine the damage that could occur if another business decided to adopt your name for themselves and attach all of their contact information to it. Either that business would end up stealing all your SEO mojo, or both of your web presences would collapse. Neither scenario is good.
However, by registering your business name with the state, you can ensure that no one else uses it—which, in turn, safeguards against the potential SEO fallout that could occur if another business in your state were advertising for the exact same name.
You can even go a step further and register similar DBA (“doing business as”) names so no one else can capitalize on your popularity. For example, if you’re Bob’s Appliance Repair Service, you should also register “Bob’s Appliance Service” and “Bob’s Appliance Repairs.” This way, another business can’t take over your hard-earned name recognition, confuse customers, and potentially steal leads.
In short, registering your business name with the state gives you recourse to stop other businesses from using an identical or similar name.

2. Registering Your Business Name Makes You More Legit

We always talk about the small things you can do to look as professional as possible and make your customers feel confident in you. From recording a proper voicemail greeting to creating a corporate e-mail address, a little bit goes a long way.

Being registered with the state is just another thing you can do to amplify the legitimacy and professionalism of your business. This is what helps turn leads into customers.

3. Registering Your Business Name Makes Google Verification Easier

This doesn’t apply to every industry. However, for certain categories that are flooded with spam (like locksmiths), Google may sometimes request a copy of your business registration before completing the verification process. They do this to block spammers from creating listings for fake companies.
So if you’re in a spam-heavy industry, register your business name. Period. Otherwise, your business may not appear on Google Maps. And if you’re not on Google Maps, you’re shutting the door on lots and lots of leads.

It’s the Smart Thing to Do

Sure, it’s a pain to work with government agencies and fill out piles of paperwork. But as annoying as it may be, registering your business name is the intelligent move. Not registering can leave money on the table. Want to attract more customers and book more jobs? Registering your business name with the state is a powerful step in the right direction.
Money and your reputation are on the line. You have all the motivation you need to contact your state and begin the registration process. Don’t miss out on valuable leads just because you didn’t feel like filling out some paperwork!
You can find out all about registering your business name over on the U.S. Small Business Administration website.

Don't Believe Us About the Importance of Accurate Listings?

Last Updated: June 23, 2016

We tell our clients over and over again that the accuracy of their online listings can make or break their advertising efforts. If your listings don’t have accurate, consistent information across the board, then you’re fighting a losing battle.
Our lectures are often met with skepticism. How important could all these little listings really be?
In Moz’s latest “Whiteboard Friday” video, George Freitag explains why listing accuracy is vital. Here’s an industry leader repeating exactly what we’ve been saying for years:

Google takes trust very seriously. So how does Google determine trust? That is where listing accuracy comes into play. Listing accuracy is Google’s method for determining whether or not it can trust a local business search result.

How Does Google Use Listings?

When we talk about “listings,” we’re referring to any webpages mentioning your business name, address, and/or phone number. These could include review sites like Yelp, directories like Whitepages.com, and even local news sites. Google uses these to figure out how credible your business’s information is. If the information in these listings all match what’s in your Google My Business profile, then Google will be more inclined to present your business as a local search result because the information seems trustworthy. However, on the flip side, if there are several online listings with information that clashes with your Google profile, then Google will be less likely to display your business. It won’t feel confident it can trust your information.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the reliability of information. Google wants to keep its users happy. The only way to do that is to provide them with information that’s consistently correct.
Therefore, keeping accurate listings across the web is a vital element of local search optimization. You have to keep your existing listings updated with all the right information. You also have to fix any other incorrect data floating around on the web. You may not know about this incorrect data, but Google will.

What If I Can’t Find Every One of My Listings?

Because it’s so difficult to find incorrect data in obscure places on the Internet, many small business owners have trouble asserting their presence in local searches. But this is how you can benefit from working with a local SEO company like Prospect Genius. An SEO specialist can do a deep audit of your existing web presence, find the errors you can’t, and fix them. This will give you the highest level of accuracy possible and boost your presence in local searches.
For all the details about listing accuracy, we strongly recommend you watch the full video over on Moz.
And, of course, reach out to us if you have any questions!

One Simple Way to Take Control of Your Online Presence

Last Updated: February 18, 2016

When it comes to maintaining your small business’s online presence, it can feel like there are too many variables out of your control. Search engines like Google seem to hold all the cards most of the time.
The truth is, unless you know how to plan and execute an effective online advertising campaign—or you hire a marketing specialist to take care of that for you—you won’t have very much control over what happens to your company’s online presence. However, there’s one thing you can control, and that’s the accuracy of the information you put online about your company.

Why Is Conflicting Information Problematic?

Maintaining consistent, accurate information about your business on all the different online channels is crucial. Google and other search engines want to present the best possible information to their users, so they gather data from around the web to verify what’s on your company’s listing. And when Google sees conflicting details about your company coming from different sources, it flags your listing for having the wrong information: Google won’t want to display your business as a search result if there’s a chance it’s not a legitimate company. This results in poor rankings and, sometimes, suspended listings.
Needless to say, if there’s a lot of inaccurate or inconsistent information out there about your business, your online presence will take a colossal hit. Conflicting information won’t just slow down your progress—it will blow your progress to smithereens. It’s a tripwire that businesses trigger over and over and over.
So how can you figure out if your business has conflicting information floating around out there? More importantly, what can you do about it?
Let’s find out.

What Does Conflicting Information Look Like?

First, you need to know what you’re looking for.
For example, if the information about your company on your Google listing doesn’t match what it says about your company on your Yelp listing, then you’ve got a case of conflicting information. This can take a variety of forms:

Mismatching spelling, spacing, and/or punctuation of company name, such as:
- “B&B Appliance Repair” versus “B and B Appliance Repair”
- “Mike’s Plumbing” versus “Mike’s Plumbing Service”
- “Day and Night Heating” versus “Day and Nite Heating”
Mismatching address, such as:
- Different cities
- Wrong house numbers
- Wrong street suffixes (Columbus Dr. versus Columbus Ave.)
Mismatching service offerings or business categories, such as:
- Different main categories
- Listing services you don’t provide
- Not listing services you do provide
Mismatching website URLs

Take the time to fill out your online listings carefully and correctly. It may feel tedious and time-consuming, but it’s worth the headache you’ll save down the road.
However, no matter how diligent you may be, sometimes outside events can create a situation where your information is no longer consistent.

What Commonly Leads to Conflicting Information?

Even if you were extra careful when you originally created and filled out your listings, you may still find there’s a substantial amount of conflicting information out there. What could explain this?

You made typos or other manual errors.
You recently moved locations.
You recently changed phone numbers.
You previously worked with an online advertiser who left your listings in shambles.
You previously engaged in spam-like activity.
A directory auto-generated a listing for you using incomplete information from one of your listings on another site.
Someone (maybe a customer or a competitor) edited one of your listings on your behalf.

What Can You Do to Fix It?

Let’s start with a dose of honesty: Some of these fixes will be easier than others.
For instance, if it’s simply a matter of updating your listings after you moved locations or changed phone numbers, then you can easily fix those problems yourself. It shouldn’t take more than an hour or two to log in to all of your accounts and update the information accordingly. (Pro tip: Keep a running list of all the sites your business is listed on, including log-in information for each. Doing so will make this process much, much easier in the future.)
However, things get trickier when you’re trying to track down conflicting information you don’t even know about. If you worked with an online advertiser in the past, they might have left all of your old information up when you quit without giving you any indication of where it lives on the web. Similarly, if a third party sneakily edited one of your listings without your knowledge, you’ll be pretty much in the dark.
In these trickier cases, you have two options: Devote numerous hours to tracking down all of your listings and checking each one, line by line, for mismatching information—or pay someone else to do it for you. Many online advertisers offer affordable, one-time services designed to search for red flags and clean up conflicting information on your behalf. The initial search is typically performed by an automated system, while the cleanup is done manually by a specialist.
After calculating how much their time and sanity are worth, many business owners decide that hiring a specialist is worth it.

Regular “Maintenance” Is Key

It’s easy to feel like your online presence is out of your hands, but there are simple things you can do to take back some control. Avoiding inconsistent information is one of them. It’s an effective way to fulfill Google’s need to provide top-quality information to its users. When all of your facts are matching, Google won’t doubt you.
Keep tabs on all of your listings and correct mistakes as soon as you see them. It’s like car maintenance: You don’t have to change your tires or oil all the time, but you need to check them regularly so you can catch and fix problems as soon as possible. If you need to, invest in an advertising specialist who can help you with this maintenance. Whatever you do, keeping all of your information matching across the board is vital to the stability of your online presence.

Avoid the Land Mine of Conflicting Information

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Conflicting information is a hidden land mine that business owners step on repeatedly.
We’ve talked at length about how the success of a campaign is a result of synergy—all aspects of your online presence working together to generate greater results—but this synergy can be inverted, as well. If there are aspects of your campaign that don’t match or work together, your entire online presence will sink. Small mistakes like spelling errors and mismatching addresses on different listings may not seem like major offenses, but the synergistic effect of these mistakes could spell disaster for your Prospect Genius campaign and online presence as a whole.
In this post, we’ll outline some common causes of conflicting information and what you can do to avoid it.

Did Your Company Recently Move?

A recent relocation or change of address is a frequent reason for conflicting information. When your business moves (whether physically or just on paper), traces of your previous address and/or phone number could remain on old directory listings—some of which you might not even be aware of. Unless these traces are cleaned up, your online presence will be haunted by the conflicting information floating around the web.

Did You Recently Switch From a Different Advertiser?

If you worked with another online advertiser before hiring Prospect Genius, then you might have some old, conflicting information out there. This happens pretty frequently with our clients. Usually, when you quit working with an advertising company, they’ll just leave all of your old information up without giving you any resources for cleaning it up (e.g. names of directories that you’re listed on, login information for those accounts, etc.). If any of that information is outdated or incorrect, it’ll follow your company until you take the right steps to fix it.

Have You Not Been 100% Honest With Us?

This is a big one. Sometimes, clients are reluctant to tell us that they used to work with a different advertiser or that they previously made mistakes with their marketing efforts. Whether it’s because they’re embarrassed or don’t want to upset us, we’re not sure. But the truth is, we don’t care about the past—we only care about the future and how we can make yours as successful as possible. That means we need to know the whole truth about your past activity so we can take the necessary steps to clean up any messes that could come back to bite you.

How to Clean It Up

In your line of work, you may be familiar with the concept of a little elbow grease being the only fix for most common problems, like appliance malfunctions, plumbing leaks, and drafty windows. You just have to buck up and fix them with your own two hands. It’s the same for the problem of conflicting information. The only solution is for one of the Internet marketing specialists at Prospect Genius to manually find and delete or correct all of the conflicting pieces of information out there about your company. It takes some time, but it’s the only way.
Thankfully, we offer two different tools that are designed to streamline this cleanup process as much as possible: WebFax^® and CleanSlate. A WebFax report will find and flag any potential problems; then, with our CleanSlate program, our specialists will fix all of those issues and wipe the slate clean.
Think of using CleanSlate like getting your tires changed. You don’t have to do it very often, but the need for it does grow over time. While the signs of wear and tear aren’t always obvious, if you fail to change your tires at all, your vehicle will have serious performance issues down the road. Similarly, if you never use CleanSlate (especially after relocating or switching advertisers), you can expect lots of difficulty finding traction in the local search sphere. It may only be a one-time chore over the life span of your campaign, but it’s absolutely essential if you want to stay on track.

How to Keep It Neat

Once you’ve cleaned up your messy information, it’s crucial to maintain that tidiness. That means you must refrain from going into your Google listing (or any other listing) on your own and changing bits and pieces after we’ve already worked on it. If you need to change something, let us know. That way, we can make sure all of your listings are changed uniformly across the board.
As we said above, if all the parts of your campaign aren’t working in sync, the whole thing can come crumbling down.

Prospect Genius

3 Reasons Registering Your Business Name Is Worth the Paperwork

1. Registering Your Business Name Protects You From Copycats

2. Registering Your Business Name Makes You More Legit

3. Registering Your Business Name Makes Google Verification Easier

It’s the Smart Thing to Do

Don't Believe Us About the Importance of Accurate Listings?

How Does Google Use Listings?

What If I Can’t Find Every One of My Listings?

One Simple Way to Take Control of Your Online Presence

Why Is Conflicting Information Problematic?

What Does Conflicting Information Look Like?

What Commonly Leads to Conflicting Information?

What Can You Do to Fix It?

Regular “Maintenance” Is Key

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