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How To Update Online Business Listings

Updating business listings online doesn’t have to be painful. With this How-To guide, now you can easily make updates to your website, Facebook or Google My Business listing.

Author: Michaela Price

November 4, 2021

It’s inevitable, at some point, businesses change, whether it’s the product or service they offer, the owner, their hours of operation, or even just their website. Consider, for example, how restaurants were mandated to close their dining rooms and only serve take-out during the Coronavirus pandemic. Customers were perplexed and unsure which of their favorite food options were still in business or offering take-out. 

During that time, many customers turned to the digital space for answers. They looked for any update they could find about hours of operation and take-out options on websites, social media, and Google. It became instantly important to update all points of contact with customers on those platforms.

Update Online Listings

Updating several listings online to make sure customers have the most up-to-date information can sound daunting. Many people in charge of sharing updates to customers about changes in the business can even feel overwhelmed. There are so many social media platforms and other digital outlets available, where do you even begin?

Phase One Updates: Website and Search Engine

Let’s break it down. First, put your consumer hat on and think like a customer or client. Where would they go first to search for updates about a business? Most people go straight to either the website if they already know the website address or to a search engine like Google to find the website.

These should be the first two places where an update is made. Depending on the type of update, consider if it should be on the homepage or a specific product page. Could the update be as simple as a new slider image on your homepage that leads to another page? Or should it be a message in a popup on the site that is not easily missed, like in the example shown. Allow the information that needs to be updated to drive this decision.

Google My Business Listing

After updating the website, review the business’s Google My Business listing. This listing is a powerful tool that businesses can use to visually stand out during a Google search and should not be ignored. Easily input the new information as appropriate. There are great ways to indicate in the listing whether the change is temporary and can easily be changed back if necessary.

Phase Two Updates: Social Media

Then, take a look at each of your business’s social media pages. Does your business have a Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn business page? If they have any, or all of them, they also need to be updated.

There are two really great ways to indicate updates on Facebook. The first is to change the information in the About section of your page (if applicable). Then create a post to share the information with your audience in their newsfeed. Once the post is live, “Pin” the post to the business page’s feed so it is the first post followers will see when they come to the page.

BONUS: To gain even more visibility on the update, consider “boosting” the post. By putting a little ad budget behind the post, it can be shared outside the usual network of page followers who might have already seen the post.

On both Instagram and LinkedIn each business page as an About or Bio section that can quickly house snippet updates just like Facebook. While there are tons of other listings like Yelp, Yellowpages, Whitepages and Bing, focus in on what is important to your market and do that well. No matter the platform that is updated, keep a running list of where and what the update was so it can easily be reversed or added to later.

An Important Yet Timely Task

Taking the time to update your website and other platforms across the digital space is imperative for maintaining healthy customer relationships. Customers can easily grow frustrated if they are forced to search for updated information or changes in hours, so make it easy for them. When they can stay up-to-date with your business, it’s a win-win relationship.

At Spire Advertising, we love win-win relationships. If your company just simply doesn’t have time to spare for updating digital listings, we can help. There are well-qualified marketing professionals who are ready to care for your business’s online presence like they would their own. Learn more about our services here.

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