Nowadays, businesses are required to publish personal data and make it accessible on the internet. This phenomenon is referred to WEB presence, i.e. the accumulated expressions and internet locations that contain data on the business. This data can be found in social network profiles, internet stores, ads, data displayed on designated websites, etc.
Why is WEB presence so important?
First and foremost, our habits of social network consuming which affect nearly every other aspect of our lives, affects this aspect as well. As consumers, we check a business's opening hours, does it offer the item we need, what it offers, etc. before we head over to the business. We expect to reach this data via the internet, probably via our mobile device, preferably via familiar websites/social networks. Furthermore, WEB presence enhances a sense of engagement with the business and trust on behalf of the consumer. For small businesses, that cannot rely on their name or previous interactions, WEB presence might bear even greater importance, the more "what's close to me" cellular searches become more common. For there businesses, appearing at the head of these searches with reliable and updated data are critical for customers when deciding where to spend their money.
But there is a downside to this phenomenon, as this means that as a business we publish lots of data about ourselves: location, parking arrangements, opening hours, sales, etc. in many locations. These locations might not be linked in any way. Obviously, if the details are either false, outdated or contradictory, we have missed the point of publishing this data.
And so, the more our WEB Presence is more dominant by publishing rich and attractive data for our customers in many internet locations, the greater the potential for mistakes, contradictions or outdatedness to occur.
Indeed, a survey performed by Yext, 95% of the participants reported finding misinformation about a business during an internet search.
This is where the importance of WEB presence Management should be introduced. Businesses must understand that they require active and organized data management that considers the delicate balance between the business's will to possess a rich WEB presence and their ability to manage it.
Managing WEB Presence includes updating the data and proactively checking the automatically published information. Managing WEB Presence is vital for small businesses and chains in which information partially differs from chapter to chapter; this must be considered when planning the businesses' time and money resource investment.
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