Local businesses need to have more than an internet presence. They must be the go-to to place for visitors and customers. They must take advantage of Local SEO. No doubt remains, customers are using the internet to find local businesses and they're using search engines to do it.
We'll focus on Google here, but the same basics hold true for Yahoo and Bing. Google has about 65% of traffic, so it makes sense to start there. Local SEO involves three basic factors.
Google Places is our starting point. Those listings with little red flags with a black dot in the middle are Google Places listings. There are up to seven on a page. The flag is dropped on to a Google Map on the same page and shows the physical location of the listed business.
A Google Places listing is free, but that doesn't mean that it will display in the number one position, or, even display on the page at all. Although Google doesn't say how rankings are determined, it appears that two primary ranking factors determine results - citations and reviews.
Citations are very simple. They're the business name, phone number and address as submitted for the Google Place listing. Other pages from sites such as internet phone directories, a local Chamber of Commerce, industry directories, newspapers and your own website, blog, etc. that list the citation will affect the Places rankings.
Reviews are all over the internet. You can't miss them. They can come from Google, Trip Advisor, Chow Baby and many more. For small business such as Dentist, Doctors, Chiropractors and such, their reviews will have a big affect on making the list and making it to the top.
As a small business, you must be listed in Google Places, the listing is free, but getting a high ranking on the list will take some time. That's where the other two factors in local SEO come into play.
The second basic of local SEO is your website. You don't even need a website for Google Places, but not having one would be a bad move. Your website is an extension of your business. It needs to represent the business in the best way possible. Good design and an excellent content plan that answers your customers needs and questions are necessary. Every page on your site needs to be engaging and attention grabbing. Use video, images and stories to capture and keep attention. Customers searching for your products and services are looking for you. Drive them to your site and them wow them!
That leads us to the third basic - local SEO. You need a solid search engine optimization strategy and program. Citations come from planning and action. You need them for Google Places. Citations are not enough. You need pages of content that address your visitor and customer needs. Those pages target keywords important to your business. Local SEO means building links to link back to your high quality content. Great content and backlinks will bring you traffic from natural or organic listings. Organic listings bring a lot of traffic. You must have a good SEO program to take capture the benefits and small business internet marketing.
We've covered the 3 basics of local SEO. Make sure you have a well designed, content rich website, get a Google Places listing and develop a solid local SEO strategy. Be the place where customers want to come and stay. It will take time, money and work, but the benefits will be significant and long lasting.
We'll focus on Google here, but the same basics hold true for Yahoo and Bing. Google has about 65% of traffic, so it makes sense to start there. Local SEO involves three basic factors.
Google Places is our starting point. Those listings with little red flags with a black dot in the middle are Google Places listings. There are up to seven on a page. The flag is dropped on to a Google Map on the same page and shows the physical location of the listed business.
A Google Places listing is free, but that doesn't mean that it will display in the number one position, or, even display on the page at all. Although Google doesn't say how rankings are determined, it appears that two primary ranking factors determine results - citations and reviews.
Citations are very simple. They're the business name, phone number and address as submitted for the Google Place listing. Other pages from sites such as internet phone directories, a local Chamber of Commerce, industry directories, newspapers and your own website, blog, etc. that list the citation will affect the Places rankings.
Reviews are all over the internet. You can't miss them. They can come from Google, Trip Advisor, Chow Baby and many more. For small business such as Dentist, Doctors, Chiropractors and such, their reviews will have a big affect on making the list and making it to the top.
As a small business, you must be listed in Google Places, the listing is free, but getting a high ranking on the list will take some time. That's where the other two factors in local SEO come into play.
The second basic of local SEO is your website. You don't even need a website for Google Places, but not having one would be a bad move. Your website is an extension of your business. It needs to represent the business in the best way possible. Good design and an excellent content plan that answers your customers needs and questions are necessary. Every page on your site needs to be engaging and attention grabbing. Use video, images and stories to capture and keep attention. Customers searching for your products and services are looking for you. Drive them to your site and them wow them!
That leads us to the third basic - local SEO. You need a solid search engine optimization strategy and program. Citations come from planning and action. You need them for Google Places. Citations are not enough. You need pages of content that address your visitor and customer needs. Those pages target keywords important to your business. Local SEO means building links to link back to your high quality content. Great content and backlinks will bring you traffic from natural or organic listings. Organic listings bring a lot of traffic. You must have a good SEO program to take capture the benefits and small business internet marketing.
We've covered the 3 basics of local SEO. Make sure you have a well designed, content rich website, get a Google Places listing and develop a solid local SEO strategy. Be the place where customers want to come and stay. It will take time, money and work, but the benefits will be significant and long lasting.
Comments :
0 comments to “The Basics of Local SEO”
Post a Comment