If you are in the process of doing business with someone online, how do you know if they are not just scamming you? It’s a fact that no one wants to get caught in a scam and lose money. How can you use the digital world to find information on them to make sure they are reliable? Here’s a couple of tips on how you can research a company online.
First question you should ask is how did you hear about the business? Where did you find them? Did a friend gave a recommendation about them? Did you receive a spammy sms or email? Did you receive one of those pesky sales calls? Look at their website and determine if they are really who they say they are. Read the fine print and terms of conditions on their site. Are they using a real address and phone number or just a PO Box that could be anywhere?
Check how long they have been operating. Read their about us and other relevant pages. How long has the website been up and running? Check for complaints and reviews on the web and what others are saying about them. Here’s a couple of ways you can do this online.
Research a company online
- Google: Start your search by searching for the business name on Google + reviews.
- Review sites: Look at local review sites for any mentions of the site site.
- Google places: Look at Google Maps if they are listed and if anyone ever submitted a review about them. Is it positive, negative or neutral.
Researching a company online is becoming more important everyday as the digital world becoming competitive. To this point, if you are a business, make sure you stand out from the crowd and focus on always putting your best foot forward online. What happens online, stays online forever. This is an important part of online marketing.
