How Often Should the Data Be Checked?
Treat the service area as a single source of truth, not as a field to be improvised per site.
Larkspur
Taken together, photograph or screenshot each profile before editing — reversions do happen, which is why it keeps being rediscovered.
Millstone Journal
Building a Repeatable Routine
| Field | What to check | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Ground rules | Check what a competitor in a crowded metro market has claimed before deciding where to submit, more therefore after a move or a rebrand. | as part of the monthly reporting cycle |
| The consistent record | Keep the description factual; the categories carry the relevance work. | twice a year |
| First pass | Prefer removing a wrong listing to leaving it half-corrected. | at the start of every quarter |
| Consolidating aggregator feeds | Correct the business description before touching anything decorative. | on a fixed schedule |
Priorities: Where the First Hour Should Go
Do
- Don't submit to a new directory until the existing ones agree, if only because no one else bothers.
- Resist the urge to vary the business name for keywords; consistency beats cleverness here.
- If a listing can't be claimed, document it and move on rather than duplicating it.
Avoid
- Conflicting category choices is easy to miss because nothing visibly breaks.
- Nine times out of ten, no one sends a warning when orphaned listings surfaces, which is why audits find it years late.