With the New Year’s Day bells still echoing, we welcome you to a brand new year. If you took the time towards the end of last year to review and create goals, you’re on track and focused. There are three important things you need to review as the new year begins, and not just once a year, but quarterly. Today we take a look at those:
Are your Local Listings current?
If absolutely nothing has changed in your business since you looked at them last, then you’re off the hook for this one. But, a living business is a changing one… so don’t blow this off.
The key with your listings is that the information you have on them needs to be the same across the board. Google looks for this continuity as making your listing valid and worthy of ranking.
Start with your Google listing, and cover the other key essentials: Bing, Yelp, and your Facebook business page. Review and update your description, and products/services as needed. We covered the details of how to upgrade your Google Biz Page in an earlier tip. Take that same updated information and copy it over to your other business listings in the other directories.
We agree, this is tedious, but it’s a critical step if you want to be visible in the online world. And, there are tools and services where your information is entered once, and they update all the directories for you. A good thing about using these tools is that your listing is created in a good long list of directories, not just the top picks. We offer listing management in our local listing marketing services.
Review your current service contracts
It’s very easy to pay for service and let it run on autopilot. Don’t let this happen, especially with your web and marketing related services. As you were doing your end of year ROI analysis, you may have covered this step then. If you’re paying for website maintenance, SEO, or other marketing services, what are you getting? And, do you understand what you’re getting?
We’re a firm believer that for any service that provides a package price, there should be some type of monthly report that outlines what was done. If you’re not getting these type of reports, or are getting reports you don’t understand, take time to schedule a conversation to talk about it. Bottom line – are you getting the service that was promised, and if it is marketing/SEO related, are you seeing the “promised” improvements?
Pace yourself for the long game
Unless you’re brand spanky new in business you know that starting a new year is starting a new race, a long game… possibly lap 2, 3, 4 + of the race you started a long time ago. Some people work well under short “sprints” – and they know that the sprint is a part of the big picture. So, set your resolutions and goals… but don’t fall off the track if they aren’t smoothly rolling by January 31st.
Habits take a while, and even something as “simple” as changing your taste buds takes 21 days. Beyond habits, especially if you are expanding and doing new things, there are processes to figure out and then smooth out once they are running. You’ve just joined the swim team, and right now it might feel like your arms are doing more splashing than moving in the right direction.
Focus on “today”. What can you do, or do differently, for one day that supports your new resolutions and goals? What works? … keep doing it! What doesn’t work? … kill it sooner than later and explore another option. Whatever you choose to do, do it with your end goal in mind.
And, be kind. Just because you’re in business for yourself doesn’t mean that you need to work for a sucky boss! Be kind to yourself – this will flow out to your team, your network, and your clients.
Your Online Partner… for Success
If you’d like to explore easier options for managing your online listings – let’s connect. We have a concierge “we do it all” package, and we’re also passionate about empowering you and giving you the tools if you want to manage it on your own.
