New shop, new phone system, new business name? Congratulations. Now the hard part: the old details live on in dozens of places, and customers keep finding them.
Here's the order to fix things in.
#1. Google Business Profile
Update your address, service areas or phone number here first. It's where most customers will see you. Expect Google to review the change, especially an address change.
#2. Your website
Update the header, footer, contact page and every service page that shows your phone or address. Search your own site for the old number to catch every copy.
#3. The big listings
- Apple Business Connect (Apple Maps)
- Bing Places
- Yelp
- Better Business Bureau
- Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack and the directories for your trade
#4. The data providers
Many smaller directories copy their data from a few large data providers. If those still have the old details, wrong listings can keep reappearing. Correcting the details at the source helps stop that.
#5. Everything else
- Local chamber of commerce and associations
- Supplier and manufacturer "find a dealer" pages
- Your invoices, estimates, email signature and truck wraps
#Keep the old number for a while
If you can, forward the old phone number to the new one for several months. Some listings and old customers will take time to catch up.
#Write it down
Make a simple list: site, link, login, date updated. You'll need it again someday.
We find and fix old listings as part of citation cleanup. See also: citations explained.