Every year, financial institutions close the door of branch locations across the United States. In fact, according to Callahan’s BranchAnalyzer, credit unions and banks closed 1,646 and 5,295 branches, respectively, in the 12 months ending on June 30, 2017.
There are several steps that need to be taken when closing a branch. One that often gets left off the to-do list is taking care of online local listings associated with that closed branch location.
The Lowdown – What happens to the listing when a branch closes?
It’s nearly impossible to delete everything from the internet. This holds true with your listings. While your branch may have been closed, your online listings associated with that location are still there. According to a report by the Local Search Association, 40% of the banking/financial industry have at least one incorrect or missing online listing.
Don’t ignore your listings! It’s imperative that you remember to address your local listings. Not paying attention could be a detriment to your brand. Can you imagine if a potential member showed up at a closed branch location looking for a loan?
For many listing sites like Google, you can’t permanently delete a location listing. You must instead set the location as “Permanently Closed”. This helps members see the branch is closed, but it also signals to the listing sites as well. Over time, this location listing will drop in ranking and get removed automatically, but note that that could take months or even years depending on how much traffic you get to that listing.
General Tips
- Make sure that store hours are cleared from any listing, then be sure to mark the location as “Permanently Closed”. Different sites have different areas to select this. Google, Facebook, and Yelp all have different ways of publishing this status.
- Remove your listing from any paid services (ad campaigns, boosting posts, listing management, etc.) that may be used to increase your rankings online.
- Remove any links to your listings that may exist on your main webpage.
- Leave your location alone and let it fall from search results.
- You can unpublish your Facebook page and delete it after a 14-day waiting period, by visiting “Settings” on the page and deleting it from there.
Here are some quick tips for removing/flagging closed branch locations across the most popular listing sites:
Google: How To Remove A Single Listing
- Sign in to Google My Business.
- Be sure to use “List View”. If you’re not in “List View”, click the “List” icon.
- Select the boxes next to the locations you would like to remove.
- Click the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the page. (You will not see this menu until you have selected one or more locations.)
- Click “Remove” on the right side of the location list.
- Review the information on the page that appears.
- Click “Delete Account” to remove the location and all of its data from your account.
Facebook: Removing a single location
- Log in to the profile that manages Facebook.
- Click Settings in the top right.
- Choose “Locations” in the bottom left.
- Use the pencil icon to remove a listing.
- Note, if you are trying to remove and entire Facebook page (all your listings):
a. Click “Settings” at the top of your page
b. From “General”, click “Remove Page”
c. Click “Delete [Page name]”
d. Click “Delete Page” and then click “OK”
e. Keep in mind your page won’t be permanently deleted until 14 days have passed, but you can unpublish your page at any time.
Yahoo: Removing a location
- Navigate to the “My Business’s Page” on Yahoo. All of your businesses are listed on this page.
- Click the “Cancel” link next to the business that you want deleted.
- Click “Yes” to confirm the action and remove the listing. If you need to, you can click “Reactivate” to reactivate the listing.
Next time you close a branch location, don’t forget to follow these simple steps to ensure current and potential members get an accurate view of your credit union’s branch network. It’s just one of many important steps in managing your local online brand reputation.
