Maybe you’re growing and you’re out of space. Maybe you’re trying to get a more noticeable location closer to the main thoroughfare. Maybe the rent is just getting too high. Whatever the reason, auto repair shops do move locations from time to time.
An address change is an opportunity to eliminate the biggest frustrations you’ve experienced with your current location. Ideally, you’ll face some trade-offs but be much better off.
Unfortunately, it’s also a tremendous amount of work. There are major logistical issues, new contracts, local, state and federal government paperwork. On top of all of that, you’ve got customers old and new to alert to the address change, along with how to get there.
Amidst all of this chaos, it’s easy to forget that it’s extremely important that the move be reflected on the Internet. Ideally these changes will be made as near as possible to the actual move, and all of these online changes will happen within a day or two of each other.
The first place is obviously your own website. Make sure your web provider has a notification up a few months before the move, alerting anyone visiting that your location will be changing. If you have a specific relocation date, put that on the front of your website as well. You’ll want to take a similar approach to Facebook – be sure to let your followers know about your new location early and often.
If you’re lucky enough to only be listed in the few web indexes that people actually use – mainly Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp – that means making sure all of these are updated on the day before or day of the relocation.
If you signed up for one of those providers offering to list you on 100 directories years ago, then there’s a major amount of work to be done – all of those directories don’t provide a lot of value if you aren’t listed, but if you are already listed, you want to make sure it always stays accurate. Google really doesn’t like it when one business has multiple addresses floating around the web, unless you actually have multiple locations.
You’ll want to make sure that Apple Maps is also updated, so people using Apple phones can find your new location. You can do that here.
There are a few other places where a change might be beneficial, such as MapQuest or Foursquare (which is what Bing Maps uses). But if you take care of the major changes, you’ll be 80% of the way to a successful online address change.
Once the dust settles on the move, make sure to send something to your former and current customers letting them know about your new location! It’s a great reason to contact your customers, and they might be interested in stopping by to see your new location. This face-to-face contact is a valuable opportunity to rebuild a relationship with a customer you haven’t seen in a while.
To learn how Repair Shop Websites can help your business bring in new customers (especially if a move is in your near future) give us a call at 855-294-6397 or email us at Team_RSW@RepairShopWebsites.com.