Local Search Marketing

As a small business owner, you are most likely an expert in your field. You know your trade,and have found offline advertising techniques that work for your business.

But is there another way to gain leads, attract new customers and build your reputation to the masses?

Absolutely. By employing online Local Search Marketing Services, you can reach thousands of consumers on the internet.

Review these statistics, and decide if your business needs an online presence:

• There were 5,981,044 searches on Google just in February 2010 (The Nielson Company)
• 70 percent of online searchers will use local search to find offline businesses. (Kelsey Group)
• 73% of activity online is in one way or another "related to local content" (Google)
• 97% of Internet users in the U.S. gather shopping information online, and 51% "Shop Online then Purchase Offline" (NPD Group)

These tips will concentrate on the World Wide Web's 500lb Gorilla, Google. Big G controls 64% of the search engine market share. Your goal is to get listed in the "10 Pack" shown besides Google Maps for local search.

Google's formula for how they decide who is worthy of placement in the 7 Pack remains a mystery, but experts have revealed some of the most important factors for getting your business on the list.

Steps to create your local web presence on Google Places/Google Maps:

• 1)Claim Your Listing: This is an obvious step one. By claiming your listing, you gain control of the information listed and create a "certificate of trust" with search engines. Once you stake your claim, you can add or edit information, including images, videos and select categories. Claiming will also prevent your listing from being hijacked by another business.
• 2)Customer Reviews:The quantity of reviews on your listing can play a major role in ranking. And in some cases they do not have to be all positive to help. Where would you rather eat, at a restaurant with 35 mostly positive reviews or their competition with only 1 or 2? Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews for your business.
• 3)Citations- These are listings on directories, industry associations, Yellow Pages Online, Yelp, etc. These citations are considered recommendations of your listing, so obtain as many as possible. It is very important to maintain the same address, phone number etc. on all listings for maximum Google trust.
• 4)Categories: Placing your business listing in the correct category is important as well. Categorizing your listing incorrectly, can hinder your rank on Google Maps.
• 5)Keyword in Listing Title: Google changed their rules in 9/09 requiring you represent your business exactly as it appears in the offline world. So you can only take advantage of this if your business name has your keyword in it.

The above techniques will probably work similarly for Yahoo and Bing.

Your main goal is to build a strong online presence. We can help. We specialize in internet marketing for local businesses like yours. We'll handle all the "interweb" stuff so you can focus on all the new customers you're getting.