Looking for a business, using whatever method (online, mobile, phone book, directory enquiries) is only as good as the information that is available.  

There are various sites and directories online where businesses can be listed, but if you ask the average business owner how the information ends up on the internet and being found by the major search engines like Google, most of them draw a blank.  Given how topical Google is and the importance to any business of making sure that it can always be found, this seems a disturbing knowledge gap! 

It works like this, whatever is being looked for (a butcher in Birmingham or a hat maker in Helsby) a list of relevant businesses will be presented back. Each business in a given geography and business type will be included in the list of results - but only if the information is there in the first place! If the search is using Google or another search engine, the results that are brought back depend on several factors, but at the most basic level they depend on a business having a website that is indexed properly and/or the business being listed on the numerous directories that exist across the internet.

Getting a business included on a directory is relatively simple - the complexity begins when you remember that there are lots of them; and that complexity increases when there are changes that need to be made to the business details.

118 Information is focused on making sure businesses keep their information bang up to date, wherever it appears. 118 Information is a rapidly expanding, local firm based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midland. It is a privately owned company and is the UK's leading business database owner and the central agency for business directory information. 118 Information contacts every business on their database at least once every 12 months and calls millions of others to get them added on. 118 Information know that if information on a business is wrong or doesn't appear where it should that will have a negative effect directly on that business.  

In recent years, because information is so easy to find and so freely available, there has been the idea that data is a free resource, when in fact this couldn't be further from the truth. 118 Information invest significant sums into their business specifically to ensure the database remains the very best available within the UK. 

118 Information have a range of prestigious clients including many of the online directories. In conclusion 118 Information make it simple for businesses to be available and therefore 'found' when someone is looking - and also, to make sure that the information is accurate and up to date. Every business should make sure that they are listed with 118 Information, remember this when they call, and they will, as they make c.6 million calls a year!

To check your business details or to add your business to the 118 Information database please call 0121 355 8600.