A 2019 study conducted by location-based marketing technology company Uberall found that nearly half of all online business listings contain inaccurate information. Previous studies have shown that businesses run the risk of consumers losing trust in their brand when they encounter inaccurate information on platforms such as Google My Business and Bing Places, so this should serve as a warning for local business owners everywhere.
Uberall analyzed 73,000 online business listings belonging to a mix of SMB, mid-market, and enterprise brands. Among their findings:
- Almost half of all listings published erroneous opening hours
- One-third of all listings included an inaccurate website URL
- Nearly 25% of listings showed an error in the location name field
- Almost one in five saw inaccuracies with the street address
In all, less than four percent of the 73,000 business listings Uberall analyzed (3.82%) had no critical errors whatsoever. Enterprise businesses were most likely to have completely accurate listings, followed by mid-market companies, and with SMBs bringing up the rear. 24.6% of SMBs were error-free.
Web inaccuracies are a cause for concern for any business because the majority of consumers report that they lose trust in the local business when local listing information found on a third-party site is incorrect. And another 67 percent say the same when faulty location info causes them to get lost when visiting a local business.
Uberall undertook the study as a way of measuring businesses’ readiness for voice search. In that light, it’s especially troubling to read that almost one-quarter of local businesses can’t get their brand name correct. As Uberall succinctly put it, “Users conducting voice search queries for local business information have almost certainly decided to visit the store with purchasing intent. If the name is wrong, the customer journey breaks down and sales are lost.”
Of course, succeeding in local search means doing far more than just ensuring your local listings are up-to-date and comprehensive. Contact Empowered Pulse for help crafting a local search marketing strategy that will set your business up for success, now and for years to come.