In this blog post we will be discussing why location-based applications are important to your business and how to protect your business from false information.  

In our previous post we broke down the two basic groups that can benefit from location-based applications. The first and main group is businesses that come in face-to-face contact with their customers and use location-based apps to distribute coupons and generate customer loyalty. The focus of this blog post is on the second group of businesses that do not come in face-to-face contact with their customers and use location-based apps to protect their company from false information.

In this post we will be discussing three steps you can take to assess your business’ presence on location-based apps and how to go about creating profiles for your business.

1. Evaluate: The first step is to gauge your presence on these location-based apps and business directory sites. It’s time to hit the internet pavement and get searching. At the end of this post we have included a list of key location-based apps and sites with high user traffic that you will want to go on and search for your business. It is best to make a master list of all the sites that you do and do not have a profile on.

2. Clean Up: If you encounter a profile for your business on one of these sites make sure you read all of the provided profile information carefully. Some sites give you the option of “claiming your business”. You will most likely have to go through a brief verification process to make sure you are a representative of the business. Claiming your business is a great way to lock down your profile. When cleaning up your listing a few things to look for include:

  • Misspellings
  • Capitalizations
  • Old or incorrect information, such as street address, phone number, ect.
  • Old logos (where applicable)

3. Create missing profiles: When you come across a location-based app or site where your business does not have a profile make sure you claim your business and create the missing profile. Creating missing profiles will give you peace of mind knowing that you have protected your business and the correct contact information is being presented. It will also help your business gain a presence online and possibly lead to new business opportunities. Keep a master list of all the location-based apps and sites that your business has a profile on along with their respective login information for your records.

The great part about these location-based apps and business directories is that if you do not plan on using them to market yourself you can create them and forget about them, as they generally require no maintenance. The important thing is establishing your business and making sure that all of the correct information is presented to the user.

We hope this brief guide has opened you up to the possibilites of location-based apps. Below you will find a list of key location-based apps and sites with high user traffic that you will want to go on and search for your business.

For a comprehensive list of many more location-based applications and sites please see this article from BDNooZ.