Legal Internet Marketing Blog
Time and time again, we’re approached with the same scenario. A client finds incorrect listing information on Google Places, or Manta, or some other local listing site, and then explains to us that he or she can’t figure out how to correct the errors. In short, they can’t get to the root of the problem, and the incorrect listing information never goes away. Ultimately, what’s happening with this client is exactly what he or she described – that is, they are not getting to the ROOT of the problem, mainly because, it isn’t what you would expect.
For anyone who’s ever attempted to correct listing information in Google Places, it’s no secret that the process can often be less than successful. Listings are claimed, information is corrected, and the incorrect information reappears again and again, often times supplanting the client’s “main” listing as the primary profile that Google then goes on to associate customer reviews with. Sound familiar? If you answered yes, you need only take a step back:
If Google is disregarding my edits for this incorrect information, that must mean that it is acquiring the information from some third party source that Google, unfortunately, gives more credibility to than it does me (the business owner).
Doesn’t sound right, or fair, does it? But, the reality of local search is that Google, along with a host of other local listing directories, trusts information obtained from partner sites more so than they do the actual business owner or marketing representative trying to supply the local directory with accurate information.
So what can one do to help curb these local directory listing nightmare issues? Plainly stated, get to the root of the problem. Find the listing site that Google or Bing or Yahoo is pulling information from, and correct the inaccurate information at the source. Essentially, what you’re going to be doing is working backwards. Find the primary source of your listing nightmares, correct it, and move forward from there, correcting information in each listing that needs editing. In the end, you should find yourself right back where you started – one of the more popular listing sites (e.g. Google, Bing, etc.) where the majority of your web traffic is coming from. Hopefully, once you end up right where you originally started, you should be able to correct your business’s listing information once and for all.
Want to grow your law firm online? The SEO, design, social networking, and writing team at SLS Consulting can assist you with your legal Internet marketing plan to achieve high search engine rankings. With over 12 years of experience, we stay on top of the latest developments in SEO updates and marketing strategies, including Google Places listings. Call (323) 254-1510 today for a free growth assessment.