SEO Tip Number 4 - How Does Your Business Look Across The Web?

You spend a lot of time fine tuning your business's touch points so consumers know they are dealing with a world class, professional business. You look at the building exterior to make sure it looks sharp. (I wonder if we should stripe the parking lot?) You make certain that snow is removed so your clients have a place to park. 

Inside, the trash has been emptied and everyone's desk is "relatively" organized. The coffee in the kitchen is fresh. (At our office, John walks around on Monday and waters the plants.)  You spend hours fine tuning your website. Content is sharp, images are awesome. 

Any consumer would be crazy not to do business with you! Great job.

Have you given any thought as to how your business looks to Google and others on "the world wide web"? Directories and Social Media sites? GPS systems?

Many people think that their business contact information "magically" appears on search engines and other web properties. It is a version of magic, but it is more of a "subscription magic" than Hogwarts magic.

Many websites never visit your website before they publish your business information. They subscribe to data companies that gather this information and then resell it to directories and other websites that consumers use to find your business. Below is a graphical representation of how your business data is shared across the web.

So what happens when something goes wrong? When a minor (or major) player picks up the wrong phone number or URL? This mistake can be shared across the web in the blink of an eye.

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on."

Google's Point of View

"So why does this matter? My clients know where I am and I have been in business for 20 years."

One website that you can count on to crawl your website for information is Google. As you probably already know, Google's bots crawl the web 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

However, Google wants to be able to independently verify the information you place on your website. So while they can gather your address, phone number, business name, URL, etc. off your perfectly tuned website, they look to many of the properties listed above to verify the accuracy of the information you post.

• If your website says your business name is Jeff, Inc., Google expects to see the same business name across the web. (See the above chart.) 

Rather than relying on a "marketer" (like Jeff) to share information with Google, Google prefers to verify the information they find independently. This means that if the website says the business is "Jeff, Inc.", then the Data Aggregators (like Factual, InfoGroup, Acxiom and Neustar/Localeze) should have the same information. Facebook should have the same information. Local directories. GPS systems. Everyone (or nearly everyone).

We believe that when Google cannot independently verify your business data, it will impact your Search Results. So now the importance of business data reaches beyond your local community and your customer's ability to find your business. Now it impacts your ability to reach new customers. 

So how does your YMCA's business information look across the internet? For a free report, send an email to [email protected] and request your free Visibility Audit. Just be sure and include your name, business email, business address, business phone number and the proper name of your business. Google will thank you.

If we find missing or inaccurate information posted, we will show you where. If you need help in correcting this information, we will tell you how Thrive can help you correct these mistakes.

SEO Tip #1 Why your YMCA needs an SSL Certificate

SEO Tip #2 Benefits of a Mobile Responsive Website

SEO Tip #3 Your Website Needs to Load Fast

SEO Tip #4 How Does Your Business Look Across the Web

SEO Tip #5 It's a secret until the next email but here is a hint...

We will be Reviewing Tip #5