Local Search Marketing
According to Kelsey Group’s research, 70% of U.S. households rely on the web when shopping locally for products and services.
Map applications such as Google maps drive local search results. Online users now can search products or services locally based on their GPS location. Google, Bing, and Apple have all developed their map applications. When users find a local business online, they also get to see business information, location, customer reviews and special offers. Due to the vastly improved delivery mechanism of local business listings, local search marketing has become an essential component of digital marketing. If you own a business that relies on local foot traffic, a well optimized local business listing can provide substantial growth for your business.
If you already have a local business listing or you’re thinking of creating one, we can help you stand out and rank well in local search listings. We work with a wide array of local business directories and search engines including:
- Google My Business
- Yahoo Local Business Listing
- Bing/MSN Local
- CitySearch
- Yellowbook
- Yelp
- SuperPages
- Manta.com
- Merchant Circle
- Insider Pages
- Trip Advisor
- Local.com
- Ask.com
- Zagat’s
Local business listings allow your customers to post reviews about your services and products. Please make sure you take full advantage of this feature and encourage your customers to add online reviews. Once you have decided to add your listing to Search Engines/directories, you need to optimize what you put in your listing.
Local search results are geo-based information. Users can visit the business website, receive driving directions, or read reviews from other users. Google, Yahoo, and Bing display these map references when searches are done in a geo-targeted area. As a business owner, you can review local search data related to your listing and produce performance reports.
Things to Consider
- If your business is already listed due to other sources such as Yellowbook data supplied to Google, make sure you claim your listing in Google Maps, Yahoo Local or any other search engines.
- Be precise and to the point when listing your product/service in your local listing.
- Include a complete address (including Zip +4) in your local listing.
- Make sure you choose the correct category for your listing.
- Include your local phone numbers (including fax number) in the listing.
- Include a description that describes your products and services in less than 300 characters. Remember, a local listing is not a substitute for a website.
- Add coupons, pictures, and videos (if available)
Need Professional Help?
We understand that not everyone is “do-it-yourself” type and often your time is best spent running your business. In competitive markets, it is relatively difficult to rank well without professional help. For whatever reason, if you need professional help with local marketing, give us a call.
