Managing Business Listings Online: Common Errors to Avoid

Authored by Christopher Moore

The main purpose of creating an online business listing is to make it easier for potential clients to discover and contact your business. If done properly, your listings can bring new traffic to your B2B website and improve the visibility of your brand online. 

On the other hand, a few common mistakes with your listings could have the opposite effect and give a bad first impression of your firm. This article aims to shed light on some of the common errors, help you navigate the tricky path of business listings, and guide you on some of the best practices in online business listing management. 

Common Errors in Listing Management

Making one or more of the common errors in business listings can potentially damage your firm’s reputation. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid these errors. Below are common errors when managing business listings:

Inconsistency in Information Across Platforms

Listing platforms recognize and boost the profiles of businesses that have accurate and consistent details. These platforms and search engines use algorithms that favor businesses with uniform information. Inconsistent information in your online listings can negatively impact the regional search performance of your B2B company, leading to missed opportunities. Inconsistencies in the information available about your company across different platforms can erode the credibility of your business. 

Incomplete Business Profiles

The profiles on listing platforms need to provide information about your B2B company, such as offerings, expertise, and credentials, in addition to basic details like location and contact information. Fill out all the relevant information to ensure a complete business listing that online searchers will find helpful. 

Decision makers in B2B industries tend to be thorough when assessing the suitability of potential collaborators and partners. There’s a high likelihood of companies passing over your business profile if it has insufficient information. They’re more likely to reach out to businesses with listings that provide them with all the information they need. For positive impressions and to build credibility with buyers, ensure that your online listing profiles have comprehensive information. 

Not Paying Attention to Reviews

Reviews serve as the tiebreaker when B2B buyers are trying to choose between two equally worthy competitors. No reviews can put your business at a disadvantage at a critical juncture in the decision-making process. If you fail to request reviews from loyal clients, you miss out on the opportunity to showcase positive feedback and provide social proof of the reliability of your business. 

Likewise, ignoring client reviews online, whether positive or negative, and failing to provide a speedy satisfactory response is yet another mistake that can negatively affect how potential buyers perceive your business. How your firm handles reviews is a public demonstration of your relationship-building approach and skills. 

Ignoring Local SEO

Business listings management comprises a significant chunk of local and regional SEO practices. Ignoring local SEO, especially in the case of your business listings, is a missed opportunity for attracting potential clients to your B2B website. Not using keywords and tags or using inaccurate categories and attributes can affect the local search visibility of your B2B company. Clients who are actively seeking regional solutions are likely to opt for companies that dominate local search results and have a strong online presence. 

Other Errors:

Here’s a list of some other common mistakes related to listings that you should avoid: 

• Duplicate Listings: Multiple listings can confuse potential B2B collaborators and clients, and they may hesitate or opt for a competitor, especially if there is conflicting information in the listings. Duplicate listings also dilute the online presence of your business, confound search engines, and confuse buyers searching online. 

• Unclaimed Listings: Such listings are likely to contain outdated or inaccurate information, which could result in lost leads and missed opportunities. If you don’t claim your listing, you will have little control over the presented information and may find it difficult to manage the online presence of your B2B company effectively.

• Not Adding Visual Content: Visual content has high attention-grabbing and engagement potential. Not adding visual content to your business listings is like missing out on additional mediums for showcasing your brand and product/service offerings. Your listings may also appear outdated and dull due to the lack of visual content. Even search engines prioritize visual content, so a listing without visual content will limit the visibility of your business. 

• Overlooking Niche Directories: The importance of niche directories when it comes to B2B listings cannot be overemphasized. Overlooking niche directories is equivalent to letting go of easy opportunities for industry networking. Especially in the case of B2B companies with unique offerings, the exposure that niche directories offer is invaluable.

• Not Using Analytics: 
  Ignoring the analytics features of listing platforms means missing out on valuable insights that can enhance strategies, improve resource allocation, and drive growth. Targeted marketing becomes more challenging because, in the absence of these crucial insights, it’s difficult to understand which regions and industries are more receptive to the B2B offerings. Analytics help a B2B company adapt and better serve its target audience.

• Violating Terms and Conditions of Listing Platforms: Such mistakes often stem from a lack of understanding or knowledge regarding the terms and conditions of listing platforms. However, violations can lead to consequences such as removal of content, demotion of listings, limited access to features, loss of reputation, loss of investment, account suspension or termination, and in extreme cases, legal action.

• Failing to Monitor and Update Listings: Failing to monitor your listings can lead to missed business opportunities, but outdated listings can potentially damage the credibility of your B2B company, hinder your marketing efforts, and put you at a competitive disadvantage. Potential partners and clients might raise questions regarding company reliability and professionalism based on the state of the listings. 

Best Practices in Listing Management

Now that we’ve discussed common errors in business listing management, let’s take a look at best practices for boosting the online presence of your B2B company with listings: 

• Use relevant B2B directories and platforms: While general and popular listing platforms have their advantages, you need to list your B2B company in niche directories to drive relevant and high-quality leads. If your business has a specialized offering, you get targeted exposure with directories that focus on specific industries and sectors. Additionally, if your B2B company relies on local or regional clientele, then you should create a listing in directories that focus on those localities or regions. 

• Ensuring the accuracy and consistency of information: Do everything in your power to ensure the details of your B2B company are accurate, consistent, and up to date across relevant listing platforms. This fosters confidence in the reliability and integrity of your B2B company and can boost your search engine rankings. 
  
• Optimizing for local search: Attract nearby B2B prospects by optimizing your listings for local search with locally relevant backlinks, categories, and keywords. Optimizing your listing for local search is also likely to affect the mobile search ranking of your B2B website positively; and this is something worth aiming for, as 42% of B2B researchers use a mobile device during the purchase process.
  
• Posting visual content: Add depth, richness, and interest to your business listing with informative and appealing visual content. Such content can ensure a consistent brand experience.

Images and videos form a more tangible and memorable representation of your firm’s value proposition. If your product is technical and complex, it necessitates a visual explanation. According to Google Insights, 70% of B2B buyers watch videos online before making purchasing decisions. You need to capitalize on this and give the clients what they’re seeking: visual content with clear explanations. 

Professional visual content improves the perceived credibility of your business. Good-quality visual content also gets shared on social media platforms; you can expand your reach and visibility with worthy content. Search engines also love visual content, which is another reason to add relevant images and videos to your business listing. 

• Promptness in responding to reviews: Engaging with positive reviews helps reinforce client satisfaction while responding to negative reviews professionally demonstrates a willingness and commitment to resolve issues. Responding to reviews can also potentially supplement your SEO efforts and lead to improved rankings. 
  
• Leveraging listing management software 

Manually updating listings across various platforms with accurate data can be daunting. Fortunately, there are technological solutions in the market that can make listing management simple and easy. Such software can help you optimize your business profiles to drive better results.

Conclusion

Accurate listing management requires a vigilant approach and continuous efforts. As business listings have a considerable impact on credibility and visibility, you should allocate the necessary resources to listing management and updates. With accurate business listings across relevant platforms, you can fortify your brand’s digital presence and create a strong brand experience online.