Secrets to Getting Local Search Engine Traffic
Secrets to Getting Local Search Engine Traffic
Article by Alexa Mei
If you own a local business with a website, you really want people to be able to find you through the search engines. If you are looking for some good ideas for local SEO, the following techniques will help you.
Every industry has big names, and if you want to get the most from those local searches, you’ll do your best to get listed with those names. We’re talking about Google Maps and Yahoo! Local. These are the biggest names you can list with, so you should focus on that first before you think about moving forward. Your aim of listing with these huge names is to get more search engine traffic, which will help you realize your goals. Getting Google Maps to list you is actually quite simple. You simply fill out a tiny form and then they’ll either use your phone or email to have you verify your identity. After that process is completed, you’ll only have to wait a few weeks before your site begins to reveal itself within the local searches. Yahoo! is the same way, only verification isn’t necessary. Yahoo! even lets you tailor your business listing how you want it.
Not only that, but you can get approved quickly, unlike Google which takes forever. Don’t ever forget that technique, as that can take you further than any other tip you’ll learn in reaching out to those you’re trying to target. Most of the local websites that you target are completely okay with you asking your customers to leave a review for you, except for the site Yelp. Since this is allowed and it could help you a big deal with your local SEO efforts, why not just go ahead and do it? It is important that you remind your customers to do this however you can: e-mail signature, invoice, contact forms, etc. It can be as easy as a line that says “please take a moment to give us a review on AnyLocalSiteYouWant.Whatever”. Even though you won’t be able to control the content and you cannot ask for them to be favorable or harsh, they will add credibility and make you look more reliable to your potential clients. This is one tip that you should try out no matter what because it has a lot of potential and can help you big time with your rankings.
You should also try to list your business with all of the Yellow Pages and like directories online. Start out with YellowBook.com, SuperPages.com, and YelloPages.com. It is notable that YellowPages.com gets tons of local searches each month (over 100 million) and they still offer free listings too. At the same time, SuperPages.com supplies its business listings to the bigger portals like MSN and About.com. Their listing is free but is very basic. In summary: local search engine optimization does require some extra effort on your part but later on, when you have an easier time of reaching your target market, you’ll know the extra work has paid off.
About the Author
Alexa website’s: White Patches On Skin, Fungus Treatment, Exercise Induced Asthma and Getting Pregnant Tips.
