For any business—retail, service, restaurant, leasing office, or showroom—the goal of your online presence is simple: bring more customers through your doors. But inaccurate or incomplete listings prevent customers from ever reaching you. Even worse, they damage trust. According to Placeable, 73% of consumers lose trust in a brand when online listings contain incorrect information.
Below is a breakdown of the most common listing errors and how accurate local data increases conversions.
Hours of operation are the number one detail customers expect during a local search.
A Localeze study found:
76% expect business hours to appear in a listing
61% say hours help them choose between competing businesses
When hours are missing or wrong, customers show up at the wrong time, get frustrated, and quickly choose a competitor.
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number, and accurate NAP consistency is essential for local visibility.
Even slightly incorrect addresses across directories can:
Mislead customers
Prevent map platforms from validating your location
Damage search engine trust signals
If USPS doesn’t recognize a new business address, it must be updated or listings may fail to publish correctly.
Learn how we optimize local visibility:
According to Localeze, over 75% of mobile local searches result in a visit or purchase—but only when listing info is correct.
Mobile searchers expect:
Fast access to your hours
Accurate directions
Click-to-call functionality
A mobile-friendly website
One incorrect detail instantly pushes your potential customer to another business.
Desktop searches remain valuable, driving 60%+ of purchase decisions. Your website must match your listings exactly, including:
Name
Hours
Address
Phone number
Services
Any inconsistency creates distrust before a customer ever interacts with your business.
People shift between smartphones, tablets, and desktops, depending on the time of day and what they’re searching for. That makes cross-device consistency essential.
The most important factor across all devices is accuracy. A single wrong listing detail means a lost customer and a lost sale.
Local search isn’t just convenient—it’s trusted. Neustar found that customers rely on local search because it offers:
Fast results
Trusted businesses
Immediate availability (no waiting for shipping)
Accurate listings build trust. Trust drives loyalty. Loyalty creates repeat business.
Your business listings are often a customer’s first impression. Keeping them correct and consistent across platforms—hours, address, phone number, website URL—builds trust, boosts local rankings, and brings more customers through your doors.
If you want support tightening up your listings, improving consistency, and maximizing local visibility, the MySMBMarketingHub.com team can help.
