If you have a business, you also no doubt have a website that you have been applying global SEO tactics to. Did you know that it's just as important to employ local search SEO tactics? Your local community needs to be able to find you, and the best way to do that is to have your website show up in local listings on the web. More and more people are searching for their needs online. They don't want to do business with someone halfway around the world if they can support their local economy. Here are a few techniques and strategies you can use in order to make sure your business gets found in your local community.
- Put an tag in your contact information on your site. Make sure the address is visible on at least your homepage.
- Yahoo and Google: These are very good at including local searches.
- CitySearch: This is a very powerful feature that provides local information to sites like Ticketmaster and MSN.
- Mobile Devices: Blackberries, Smart phones and GPS devices are great at finding local businesses based on where are person is located at any given time.
- Map: Put a map on your website to show potential customers exactly where you are located.
Just as with global SEO techniques, this will take some time to implement and become effective; up to six months or year in some cases. You may want to enlist the help of professional web services if you want to be listed faster than that, although there are no guarantees, no matter how much you pay them.
Many people are so concerned with fancy graphics and making their site look 'pretty' that they don't pay enough attention to getting found by potential customers. Keep your website fresh with updated content, blogs or newsletters. Try partnering with another business in your local area to build awareness and create back links.
Local search SEO techniques are not difficult to implement but they do take some time to plan. You'll have to decide which methods you want to try first; you may have to experiment with one or two different strategies before you find something that works best. It's very much a trial and error type of system. Your website is an integral part of your business and needs to be constantly updated and changed. You'll need to keep up with technology, as it changes regularly.
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