Before registering your business on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other popular platforms avoid these common mistakes many business owners make.
Mistake #1: Not Including a Professional Logo
How will people remember your business, or how can they quickly identify your business? A simple solution is to include a unique and memorable logo. Most platforms such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, Nextdoor, and others reserve a special spot to showcase your business logo.
Not including a logo on your business profiles will make them look incomplete since customers will notice your profile has a missing logo.
Also, consider that many customers may be repeat customers and will search for your business again online. Adding a logo will make it easier for repeat customers to identify your business and not confuse it with one of your local competitors.
A logo helps customers remember your business. |
Where to Get A Professional Logo
Getting a logo doesn't need to be complex and expensive since there are several ways to get one online on any budget. Most importantly, you can get a logo that looks professional and modern.
If you don't have a logo yet, consider getting one online. There are three main ways you can get a logo design online:
You can create one yourself with a logo generator
You can hire a logo designer
You can start a logo design contest
Get started with one of these recommended sites that many business owners use to get an amazing logo:
Mistake #2: Not Adding a Website Link
Online business profiles are excellent at providing customers with basic information about your business. However, if customers want more information about your products, menu, or services, they expect to find a link to your business website.
Most customers expect local businesses to have a website. |
Many business owners avoid getting a website since many think that an online profile can replace a website. However, a business website gives you more freedom to present and highlight your business in a unique way that an online business profile can't do.
Where to Get a Professional Website
If you don't have a website for your business yet, consider creating one yourself or hiring a web design service.
If you are interested in creating a website, you can easily create one with a website builder. Most website builders make it easy to create a professional-looking website by offering many pre-designed templates you can customize.
If creating a website is not for you, your next best option is to hire a web design service. It's best to hire a designer or a design company that offers a complete web design service since many web designers don't include the written content for your website.
Mistake #3: Not Including Business-Related Images
Your online profiles should represent your local business with quality images of the products you sell, the meals you serve, or the services you offer. Most platforms let you include images that customers can view when visiting your business profile.
Customers can more easily understand your business with images. |
It's always best to include images you have taken, or you can also use stock images. Stock images are images taken by other people, such as photographers, that are made available for anyone to use for personal or commercial purposes.
Where to Get Stock Images
Sites such as Shutterstock, Abode Stock, and iStock offer an extensive collection of high-quality and professional-looking images that you can use on your website and online profiles.
Most stock photography sites, including Shutterstock, Abode Stock, and iStock, are not free but do offer affordable paid options and may offer free images or discounts for new users.
Mistake #4: Not Having Reviews
One of the most serious mistakes you must avoid is not having reviews on your online business profiles. Online reviews are the most important factor customers consider when deciding which local business to choose.
Each platform, such as Google, Facebook, Yelp, and others, has its own review and rating system separate from other platforms. For example, reviews your business gets on Google won't appear on Facebook or Yelp; this means that you should ensure that your business has reviews on each platform it is listed.
How to Get Your First Online Reviews
Getting reviews is simple. Just ask! If you already have customers, ask them to leave a review. It may not be reasonable to ask them to leave a review on every single platform your business is listed. Instead, ask them to leave a review on the platform they found your business, whether it be on Google, Facebook, Yelp, Nextdoor, or another platform.
Reviews help your business build a noticeable and solid online reputation. |
If you are a new business, you may not have customers yet. In this case, your goal is to first attract people to your local business by offering special deals and discounts or with online ads. Afterward, ask those customers to leave an online review.
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