Audit what a prospective customer can actually find, verify and do across your main public business profiles.
Confirm identity details at the source
Display detail
Compare the displayed name, service description, telephone, address or service area, opening hours and website link with the business’s approved current record. Legal names and trading names can both be legitimate, but their relationship should be understandable where required. Note each mismatch separately. Do not copy a wrong address across profiles merely to make them consistent; correct the source information first and then update controlled profiles.
Check as a customer would search
Display detail
Use a signed-out or private browser and search the trading name, the name plus town, and the public telephone number. Record what appears rather than what the business expects to appear. Look for an official website, map listing, directory records and old profiles. Do not treat a low position in one personalised search as a ranking measurement; this exercise checks clarity, consistency and obvious obstacles to contact.
Separate controlled records from mentions
Display detail
Mark profiles the business can edit, profiles requiring ownership recovery and independent mentions it cannot directly change. This prevents time being wasted trying to ‘fix’ a newspaper article or customer review as though it were a directory listing. For duplicate map or directory profiles, gather URLs and evidence before requesting a merge or removal. Keep credentials out of the audit sheet; record the responsible account holder instead.
Follow every customer route
Display detail
Open the website result on a phone, use the menu and follow contact, quote, booking and directions links. Call links should contain the right number; forms should explain required fields and what happens next. Check whether emails bounce only with permission to send a controlled test. On third-party profiles, confirm the website link reaches a relevant live page rather than an old domain, generic homepage or redirect loop.
Prioritise harm and usefulness
Display detail
Fix a wrong telephone number, unsafe old address or broken enquiry path before rewriting descriptive text. Then tackle prominent identity mismatches, incorrect hours and misleading service categories. Lower-priority tasks include adding helpful descriptions, photographs and profile completeness. Recheck changed records publicly after platform review or caching delays. Date every observation, because search results and profile content can change after the audit.
Practical checklist
Public online presence audit checklist
Record the URL, date, observed result, owner and next action for every checked item.
Brand searchSearch the exact trading name and note which official and unofficial results are prominent.
Local searchSearch name plus town or service area and inspect the visible map/profile result without assuming rank.
Contact matchCompare public telephone, email, address or service area and hours with the approved business record.
Website resultCheck title, description, secure loading, mobile readability and whether the result clearly represents the business.
Customer actionsTest call, email, form, booking and directions links that are publicly offered.
