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Local SEO, Website Marketing

Implementing Local Business Internet Marketing

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by Liz Jones

About one-third of people deliberately search for information about local businesses through the internet rather than through the phone book or other traditional media. Ignoring this fact can be detrimental, but those that take advantage of local business internet marketing will see the advantages that are available. There are three basic steps that a local business can utilize in order to market itself online. They are not necessarily followed in any particular order, but they include managing online business profile information, optimizing web pages for local internet searches, and increasing the local popularity of the site by dominating the search results.

There are various sites that provide business profiles, and the most important ones are those run by the primary search engines. In order to ensure that the search engines have an accurate profile of a business, it is necessary to improve and correct profile data through various online channels. These include data providers such as Amacai, infoUSA, and Acxiom. The search engines themselves have business profiles as well. These include Google Maps, Bing Local, Yahoo Local, Local.com, Ask.com Local, and TrueLocal. The search engines obtain information from the national data providers, but allow businesses to submit their information as well. Internet yellow pages such as Switchboard, YellowPages.com, SuperPages.com, and Citysearch should also contain up-to-date information.

The next step is to optimize the primary website. This means performing keyword research, providing relevant local information, organizing the site both for users and search engines to understand, and obtaining links from high quality sites related to the subject of the business. In addition to these tasks, which are relevant to all online businesses, a local business marketing strategy will target keyword phrases that reflect local needs, and information on the site will seem targeted to local traffic rather than a generic audience. Furthermore, a local phone number and address should be listed on all prominent pages of the site, or even on every page. Display a local phone number even if a toll-free number is also available, as this is helpful for the search engines and people to determine the location of the business. Driving directions can also be helpful.

The final step is to dominate the search results for keywords related to the business. The first two steps contribute to this. There are three locations that a search engine can display a website: the general search results, the local listings, and the advertisements. The first step focuses on a high location in the local results and the second step focuses on a high rank in the general results. By taking advantage of pay-per-click opportunities, a business can advertise next to the search results as well.

About the Author

Author is a freelance writer. For more information on local business marketing, please visit http://www.local-marketing.com/.

Local SEO

Forget the Yellow Pages; It’s All About Local Search

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by Collyn Floyd

With yellow pages being out of date before they’re even off the printing press, it’s no surprise that Local Search on the Web has taken the place of dusty old “yellows” as the preferred method for finding local products and services.

Local Search allows you to generate search results by neighborhood, city, state, or zip code. It’s ideal for physicians, dentists, contractors, realtors, restaurants, retailers, or any businesses that serve customers/clients who come from a limited geographic region.

For example, if you’re a Northeast Ohio-based orthodontist, most likely your patients are also going to be from Northeast Ohio. Your primary objective should be gaining search engine rankings in the immediate region because that’s your “bread and butter”. A patient seeking orthodontic help in California isn’t going to do you much good, but one in Akron is a potential new customer.
Even if you need to have a national presence in the search engines, it still may be important for you to have a local presence. We’re a Canton Web Design and SEO firm. While we serve clients across the country, the majority of our clients come from a 50 mile radius. So while we don’t limit our Web Marketing to Local Search techniques, it’s critical that we have a strong presence in the local search results.
How Local Search Works

There are three ways to go about searching for local results. First, you can use a local search engine such as Google Local, Yahoo! Local, or http://www.local.com. Second, you can use an Internet yellow pages site such as yellowpages.com or superpages.com. Third, you can use a regular search engine like Google, but use geo-modifiers, such as “Canton, Ohio Web Design”.
Local Search Benefits

Local Search isn’t just convenient for users; it’s also loaded with benefits for the businesses being listed. Here are a few of the benefits:

* Free or inexpensive local visibility and awareness
* Additional links to the site
* More visibility in the search engines
* More targeted traffic to the website
* More traffic to the brick-and-mortar store

Popular local sites

We’ve listed a few popular sites where you’ll want to make sure you create a listing. Of course, there are many more in addition to these, and your own community will have its own sites you’ll want to consider. These, however, are a good starting place:

* superpages.com
* Yahoo! Local
* Google Local/Google Maps
* yellowpages.com
* local.com
* citysearch.com

(Note: some of these sites charge a fee for inclusion.)
Local Search Best Practices

Getting effective local search results doesn’t just happen by virtue of having a website. You need to ensure your own site is in tip-top shape by following a few best practices. Be sure to put your address on the Contact page of your website and any other appropriate pages. You’ll also want to explain on your site how your business relates to the community. If you serve on any local committees or board or have any local media mentions, you’ll want to be sure to mention this on your site. Finally, be sure to spell out state names (OH Web Design vs Ohio Web Design).
Social Media and Local Search

With Social Media sites absolutely exploding with new users, it’s no surprise that some Social Media sites are offering Local Search options to help people connect within their local communities:

* Facebook – network with others from your hometown
* Flickr – join one of Flickr’s photo-sharing groups, many of which are location-specific
* Twitter – use the advanced feature to do a geo-search for local members
* LinkedIn – look for and network with professionals in your area

Recap

With Local Search making up anywhere from 60-75% of all Internet searches, there’s no question that Local Search is crucial if you have a geo-specific business.

When it comes to Web Marketing, local businesses actually have certain advantages over businesses with a national presence. Instead of having to compete on a national scale, local businesses can focus their web marketing efforts on a more targeted geographic area and even find success a bit easier.

About the Author

Collyn Floyd is a marketing and public relations specialist with The Karcher Group, a web development and search engine marketing firm based in North Canton, OH. She is passionate about helping The Karcher Group’s clients achieve greater online traffic, leads and sales through search engine optimization and marketing.

Email Marketing, Offline Promotions

Tips on How to Keep Your Customers Coming Back

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customer-loyalty_retention.jpg
Photo by enriqueburgosgarciaby Yodle

Let’s begin this week’s Yodle Tipster from Local Online Advertising for Dummies. We will jump all the way to pages 300 through 304 from Chapter 16, Staying at the Top of Customers’ Minds, to discuss cost-effective ways you can keep in contact with your current clients.

Although a quality service, a competitive price, and superb customer service are huge factors in maintaining repeat business from your customers, nothing quite compares to the emotional connection a customer has to your business. If your customer feels personally connected to your business, they will come back, even if you’re not all that different from the competition. Therefore, if you want them coming back for more, you have to create and maintain that connection, facilitate two-way communication with customers to build long-term loyalty, and foster ongoing business with them.

To achieve the goal of building a personal relationship with your customers, there are a number of simple ways. Here are some useful tips the book offers, all of which are easy to do and cost virtually nothing to execute.

1. Send thank you emails: These days, technology has made writing the thank you note a whole lot faster. You can send a business email to confirm a purchase or scheduled appointment or other activity and simultaneously thank the customer for their business. Thank you emails can also help in other ways – like suggesting other products or services you offer, soliciting e-newsletter subscribers, acquiring testimonials for your website, generating more fans on your Facebook page, etc.

2. Use e-newsletters: An e-newsletter is a form of communication to your customers sent out on a regular basis. E-newletters build loyalty from your customers by building your brand, keeping them up to date with important information about your company, and offering material that presents you as a thought leader in your industry.

3. Conduct satisfaction surveys: By allowing your customers to voice their opinion in a satisfaction survey, you can gain helpful feedback that you need to know about your business. In addition, by doing so, you also show your customers that you value their business if you choose to do a survey online. Some great online resources include SurveyMonkey.com and SurveyGizmo.com.

By following the above suggestions, you will do your best to keep your customers coming back!

About the Author

Yodle is a leading provider of local online advertising that provides businesses with a simple and affordable way to get more phone calls – and new customers. Follow Yodle on Twitter today! Check out Yodle Blog and you will read more about online advertising and social media advertising.