You might not know it now, but it's likely that your company has suffered at the hands of inaccurate business listings.

And as a consumer I'm sure you know from experience the impact it can have. To put it bluntly, when somebody is trying to purchase a product or service and an inaccurate listing makes that process more challenging, that customer will waste no time finding another place to spend their hard earned money.

Don't let your customers miss out on business due to incorrect listings-- claim and fix them instead!

Out with the old, in with the new

As you are probably aware, phone books are starting to corner the doorstop and firestarter market. As tech-savvy generations age and represent larger percentages of our population, target consumers are continuing to shift further away from paper and toward digital. 63% of people under 40 never use phone books to find local listings. This means having your company listed online is critical to taking advantage of a massive demographic of potential customers in the up-and-coming 80-million Millennial generation.

The Internet's hottest spots

With 85% of customers searching online to find your business, it's more crucial than ever to be displaying current and accurate NAP (name, address, phone number) data in the internet's hottest spots. For this article, we will narrow our focus on "The Big Four": Bing, Yelp, YellowPages and Google. These four listing hubs make up 85% of all search traffic and provide businesses with access to 314 million monthly users, these are the listings you want claimed, fixed and working in your favor free of charge.

1. Bing

Bing is a big up-and-comer in the digital world. This engine currently makes up 30% of all searches performed online. That's a significant amount of traffic for local customers looking for your company. Accessible from Bing Places, getting a business online is as easy as one, two, three!

2. Yelp

Typically known as a review platform, Yelp has evolved into a one-stop-shop for your companies to manage info and reviews, as well as post images, promotions and events for your customers all under the roof of one little listing. Yelp is a massive draw to businesses because it has a lot to offer and so much traffic! With up to 36.3 million monthly users looking for reliable and trustworthy companies, wouldn't it be great to get found on Yelp? Start now.

3. YellowPages

Aptly named for its predecessor, YellowPages (or YP as we more affectionately know it) has taken over where the original Yellow Pages ended. With an integrated user base from its paper days, YellowPages has already wormed its way into customer hearts and become a reliable source for listing information. In addition to all that, YP has some of the highest US local search numbers in the game, making it the ideal place for your business to get discovered online. Start here and obtain YellowPages working for those local businesses of yours!

4. Google

"Just Google it" has become a common phrase in a lot of our everyday lives, so it should come as no surprise that its listing source, Google My Business, makes our Big Four. Unique to the other three, Google's demographic reaches far beyond the female decision makers, 45+ age group, and $60,000+ income earners using Bing, Yelp and YellowPages. In fact, part of Google My Business' draw is that its listings are seen by everyone that uses Google. With up to 175 million monthly users across every demographic, that's a really big draw.

Not only does Google My Business get you discovered in searches, but on Google Maps too! Accounting for 78% of mobile travel usage, if your business isn't located on Google My Business, there's a likelihood it's not getting found in real life either. Do not send customers driving around in circles; get your businesses on Google my Business now.

Accuracy truly is everything

Now that we've talked about where to be listed online, let's discuss how your business information should be listed online-- 100% accurately! Consumers count on Bing, Yelp, YellowPages and Google to give them the proper information they need to find the business they're searching for, and when the information is incorrect, consumers lose major trust in the brand. Not only can wrong business listings and inconsistent NAP data lower your brand, but did you know it can also affect search engine optimization (SEO)? Yep, you read that right! Listings with wrong location information are the #1 negative local ranking factor when it involves SEO. So, not only can incorrect listing data make it difficult for customers to locate you physically, but online, too.

As you can very well see, being present and being correct where it matters most in online listings is essential to survival in today's dog-eat-dog digital world.

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