15 Simple Local SEO & Online Marketing Ideas
- ARTICLES |
Currently there 29.6 million small businesses in the U.S. and 63% of consumers and small business owners use the Internet to search for information about local business and 82% use search engines. This provides countless opportunities for businesses to maximize their local SEO.
Below I listed how to optimize your web sites or blog for local search engines. in order to boost quality backlinks to your site and attract local customers.
1. Find out your current local search engine situation by using Get Listed - Get Listed is an easy to use tool that checks the major local search engines and tells you if you're listed. If you're not there you can go submit your business right from the dashboard.
2. Don't forget to claim your listing on all major Local Search applications: Google Maps, Bing Local and Yahoo! Local. This is an clear cut and easy option to boost your local exposure. We have all used a search tool that has given results with a map and indicator dots on related business locations. If you would like to added to these types of local searches, accurately submit for these specialized location based results. The search engines will often request some sort of verification by call back or established mail and pin verification.
3. Hand submit your business listing to some of the bigger local directories & merchant sites such as Best of the Web Local, Bizjournals.com, Local.com, Superpages MerchantCircle, , Yellowpages.com, and InsiderPages. These provide added advertisement to consumers and serve as a reference-source for major local search engines to verify and link business listings data. Getting listed in these directories will improve your presence in the local market and help you gain more quality backlinks to your website.
4. Submit your listing to the major data providers: infoUSA, Localeze and UniversalBusinessListing.org. All these sites submit to numerous data providers and power many online directories.
5. Ensure your listings are consistent. Make sure to submit the same name, address and phone number to avoid any mixup.
6. Use a full street address, not a PO Box when listing your business. These are worthless for localized search.
7. Remember to list a local phone number. While an 800 number is nice, local number will be more definitive of your location.
8. Add photos, videos and throw in a little extra (such as current promotional coupons or specials) - this will make your listing stand out and more persuasive.
9. Add as much information as possible and make sure it is accurate. Company description & categories are critical - make sure to include your most important keywords here.
10. Actively manage your local search business listing after submitting. Make proper updates and modification for changes in location, contact numbers or email. And maintain pictures current..
11. Request reviews from your past customers. You can use a monthly newsletter or just via email signature to point them to your listing after a successful business completion. These reviews, good or bad, make your business more creditable to future clients.
12. Add your address and local phone number on all pages of your website to emphasize your geographic location to both your visitors and search engines.
13. Submit to Yelp! and CitySearch - Both of these are popular local search engines that allow for reviews so you should manage your listing closely. These listings are great quality inbound link for search and are immensely useful to increase your search ranking.
14. Don't forget to use location-based keywords while optimizing your website for the search engines.
15. Add a detail list of the areas/cities your business serves on your website, if possible.
Local search uses information business owners add in their local profile, information it locates on other sites and information on the business' website. Even offline events can be taken into consideration as clients may recount experiences in online reviews.
No one can control everything that appears on their local listing, but business owners can take steps to ensure that what gets listed is an accurate representation of the business.
Dania Schwerert - About the Author:
I am mom and blogger. My blog provides awesome tools, articles, tips and guides for people and especially moms who are comtemplating starting an online home business. I have exceptional reviews and suggestions on cutting-edge marketing tactics and products designed to effectively promote your website to the world. My blog also has articles, tips and other resources from top Intenet marketing Gurus and experts. Visit Home Business Tips for Your Online Business