Do Not Overlook Local Search Engine Optimization

Do Not Overlook Local Search Engine Optimization

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A key way to drive Internet traffic and increase sales is through high search results ranking. Individuals who own online businesses often hone in on "the big three" engines, MSN, Yahoo, and Google. They are doing themselves a disservice if they do not also engage in local search engine optimization. This technique provides them with a way to stand out from the competition and get a bigger share of the regional market.

Before the technology age, people cracked open the yellow pages to find a business address and telephone listing. Now, this heavy book gathers dust in the corner of the room while the laptop, PC, and mobile device see so much use they are smoking. Online business owners need to embrace this trend and get listed on area search engines.

Google Maps, Yahoo Local, SuperPages, CitySearch, and Live Maps are just a few of the major relevant engines. A business can submit its listing through Google Local to become listed on Google Maps. In terms of neighborhood queries, Google is the most aggressive of all the engines. Getting a spot on the top 10 nearby results with a phone number puts the small business owner in the money. Yahoo Local lets owners list their sites at no charge and automatically syncs the data with Yahoo Maps. SuperPages and CitySearch include reviews and social elements with their maps.

The business site should publicize its contact information, including address, on multiple pages of its site. Ideally, this information should be included in the page footer and a "Contact" area. Keywords related to geography should be used in different formats on the site, such as PA and Pennsylvania. Some searches are not smart enough to realize these refer to the same term. The business should also obtain listings on consumer sites, yellow pages, and directories that focus on the geographic area.

If the business services different geographic areas, it should create an individual Web page regarding each. Links with targeted anchors should be set up to point to these pages. High PR pages should contain these links and point to the geographic-specific pages. Placing some home page links to these city pages will also help with the rankings.

While the competition turns the other way, savvy business owners perform local search engine optimization. Doing this and engaging in other regional online marketing efforts will improve geographically-based engine rankings. Soon the small business will have so many new orders, it will need to expand!


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