Moving Your Business? Here’s What You Need to Do Online!
Going
through a business move can be pretty stressful, and it’s not unusual for a few
things to slip through the cracks…
Especially
when it’s those little details about your online accounts, website, and social
media. However, those details can be extremely important.
Whether
you’re personally handling your business’s online presence or have a
professional web service provider, it’s a good idea to make sure the following
actions are being taken by someone when you move your business.
Action #1 - A Deep Dive Website Update
A
moving website update is about more than just changing your address on the
footer. You’ll also need to examine quite a few other areas:
●
Page Meta Tags - Many businesses have a city name in their
page meta titles and descriptions. If you’ve moved cities, these will obviously
need to be updated.
●
Embedded Maps - Reset the pin location for any embedded
maps.
●
Content Search and Replace - Every single page of your site (including
blog posts) will need to have a search and replace done for your new address
and/or city.
This
website update can be prepared ahead of time and then pushed live when the move
is complete.
However,
for the next one, you’ll want to set some time aside to make the changes on the
day of the move…
Action #2 - Google My Business, Social Media,
and Directory Listings
You
may know that Google Maps is quickly becoming one of the preferred ways to
search for local businesses…
Well,
what happens when your business has the wrong map location? I’ll tell you - you
lose money!
Fortunately,
updating your Google My Business listing
is a quick fix that will also update your location on Google Maps, giving
your potential visitors the right address details immediately.
In
addition to Google My Business, you probably have a number of social media
accounts and other directories where your business is listed. Be sure to change
your details for:
●
Facebook
●
Twitter
●
LinkedIn
●
Instagram
●
Apple Maps
●
TripAdvisor
●
Yelp
●
Local Chamber of Commerce
●
Angi
And
anywhere else where your physical address is shown.
Action #3 - Let Everyone Know You Moved!
You’d
be surprised just how many businesses fail to announce their new location and
simply hope that their repeat customers will find them at their new address.
The
good news is that there are several
great ways to let people know you’ve moved, with social media being the
most obvious. Instead of just making a standard post on your social media
accounts, you might want to…
●
Facebook - Post a video tour of your new location for
a more engaging announcement.
●
Twitter - Use tags to engage other members of your
new area, like shouting out a local restaurant - “We just moved to 123 Main Street - Can’t wait to grab a slice at #DannysPizza!”
This not only mentions your move, but gives you a chance to interact with other
businesses in the community.
●
Instagram - Use photo placement techniques
to highlight your new location and make your account more visually appealing.