Do you know how your customers are finding you? Can they access your website and contact information on a smartphone or iPad?

Yesterday, I was out and about on the highway. It was a particularly busy time with people  returning from long holiday weekends. As I sat in a very slow line-up on the highway I noticed frustrated passengers around me were scrolling through their smartphones and tablets to relieve the boredom.

Undoubtedly, people everywhere check their mobile phones and tablets when away from home to find products and services.  It made me wonder whether my clients and friends’ businesses could be found easily.

Checklist

Here is a checklist you may want to reference to make sure customers can find your business online:

• A “mobile friendly” website. How does your website appear on multiple devices?
  Is it easy to navigate through?   Does it automatically resize to the devices it is being displayed on?
• A Google Places listing. They are free. They are akin to the “Yellow Pages” of the internet.
• A Yellow Pages listing. Yellow Pages has updated their offerings well beyond Yellow Pages books. They offer listings that are specifically for smartphones and tablets. They offer contact information, maps to the locations and even a rating system for customers to use.
• A Yelp Account. Not only can you list your business but you can display multiple images of your products, descriptions of services offered, a map to your location, contact information, a link to your website and a rating system for customers.
• You can list your business, contact information, a map, and add specials and discounts. Anyone with a smartphone or tablet can access Foursquare to “check-in” at a location and offer feedback. When someone is searching for a specific business, their built-in GPS system locates ALL the businesses who are listed on Foursquare in that region. A customer may be looking for a particular store or restaurant and up comes the listings for businesses all within the same area

How accessible are you to visitors trying to find you on their mobile devices?

Please share any other tips to help businesses be found online.