Local Business Marketing,Foursquare.com,Local Business
Google Local SEO has really changed the daily dealings of local or small business owners nowadays. For one, it has made local business promotion easier, speedier and more cost-effective.
Yellow pages advertisements reigned as the best marketing tool in reaching local consumers for many years until 2006. And if you happen to be a local business owner with a five-year-old business or so, you could be one of the many local entrepreneurs who purchased ads in order to market their local businesses to their targeted market.
Surveys showed that phone books and yellow pages were eventually replaced by top search engines like Bing, Google and Yahoo as 2007 entered. Faced with such innovation, local business owners who established their ventures that year on, no longer regard yellow pages advertisements as crucial to their respective ventures. This fact led to an estimate that come 2011 less than one-third of local consumers will use phonebooks.
Traditional Print Ads Overthrown By Local Search
As search engines today replace phone books and yellow pages directories, local businesses are beginning to recognize just how important search engine optimization (SEO) has become.
The first page of the search engine results (SER) only shows a handful of businesses. Due to the fact that consumers usually click on the top search results, being number one in the SER for your business search term is more important than ever.
For instance, you want your small pottery business to be recognized by prospect customers in your local area. This would mean extra work on optimizing your business for local searches. In the SEO industry, this is labeled Local SEO and this proves to be the fastest growing aspect ofSEO services.
Getting Started With Google Local SEO
In starting off your local SEO efforts, creating a profile for your small business onGoogle Placesis a must. Google Places is the most popular website catering to the needs of local businesses. This profile should contain your business address, phone number, hours of operation, products that you offer, services you provide, types of payment accepted and others. These pieces of information will also appear in the search results.
There are other sites where you can register your business profile besides Google Places. Some of them are Best of the Web, Bing, MerchantCircle, Yahoo and Yelp. You can do a search for other online companies providing local businesses similar service.
Effects Of Business Profiles To Search Results
Claiming a profile for your business would definitely increase the possibility for it to pop up in local search results. For example, when a local customer conducts a search through the search engines, the latter display a number of business links that are related to the search.
These links show in the first page of SER according to the ranking assigned by the search engines' algorithms. The details of these algorithms are a secret. However, mention of a specific business in online directories such as Google local business directory can influence the rankings.
Google and other search engines value mentions when ranking websites because they are perfect indicators of a business' trust and longevity. Mentions are usually bestowed upon businesses which have stood the test of time, or are well-liked and trusted, or are frequently referred by consumers themselves. They can be found in local business directories, local chamber of commerce website, local business association websites, and even in local media.
Your dream of having your local business top local search results is not far from reality. You can start with creating an official website and a profile page for your business. After which, you can take advantage of free services likeGoogle local SEOthat connects local searches with local businesses.
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