Secrets Of Local Engine Submission Revealed

How important are local results to the search engines? Well, just the fact that they place the local results at the top of their results indicates that they take it very seriously. This means you should to.

But if that is not enough to convince you on how local listings can act as a lead generation tool, here are two more reasons:

1. Most people searching for a business in your local area are ready to act.

2. You can reach Mobile searchers. Local listings display on cell phones and mobile search is exploding as more people are using smart phones to find local businesses.

Ok, so where do you start?

Google Local. You will have to set up a free Google account and it may be a good idea to grab a free Gmail account to use as your email address for all your listings.

Your business may already be listed in Google results because they pull information from a lot of local directories like Yellowpages.com. The key here is to claim your business listing and optimize it to fit the right keywords, city, state, zip code, phone number and make sure you are in the right categories.

Here are 9 tips that will help you to do this the right way the first time:

1. Have only one, optimized listing for your business – Do not choose existing business info it is exists for your company. You don’t want to have competing listings out there, so always claim the existing information and optimize it- so there is only one active listing.

2. Choose correct categories for your business – Google provides different industry options for you to choose from. Make sure these accurately describe your products and services.

3. Put your industry and target area in the title of your listing- This information helps Google, but it also improves your visibility for those keywords. Google will use your description, phone number and address to determine where you show up when people type in certain search phrases.

4. Be sure to use a local phone number in your listing- Using a local number lets both the user and the search engine know that you are in fact located where you say you are.

5. Create a description that’s informative- give the most information about your company and use your keywords and provide the details that would be valuable for your customer base.

6. Reviews are important! Positive reviews are a huge factor on whether or not someone will choose you business over another. Not only that, but the presence of reviews  (both negative and positive) can increase the ranking of your listing.

7. Keep your listing up to date- Updating the information tells the search engines that it’s relevant. It can be as simple as updating a coupon, or other details.

8. Make sure your listing is 100% complete! Google is all about the user experience, and a complete listing shows that your business is providing the most information.

9. Submit your info to other directories as well. Google actually pulls your business info from other sites too.

Warning! If you do not claim your local business listing you risk what is known as hijacking. This is where someone else claims your listing and changes the phone number, address, and website. Until you claim and verify your business listing it is open game for scammers.

After Google, do the same thing at Yahoo and Bing locals. Be consistent in how you submit the address, phone number, and keywords.

Please note: If you have multiple locations then you need to set up separate listings. Google also looks at the phone number so you should avoid using an 800 number. A PO Box is also a not recommended.

Understand that the local search engines are looking for local identifiers to determine where you will show up in their results. It looks at phone numbers, your business description, and your address to help them.

After you have claimed your business in the big 3 local search, it is time to look at your local directories.

1- Go to Google and type in the keywords people are using to find your type of business and check the results on the first page. There is a good chance that several local directories will appear on page one. Go to those directories first and submit your business.

2- Get in as many local directories as possible using consistent information.
Local Search Marketing is a small business owner’s secret weapon.

Extra tips to consider:

1. Show the geographic area you service.

2. Photos- Upload your own, up to ten images per listing, in JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP. A professional photo shoot can also be requested for your business.

3. Place Page Posts- You can post real time updates here, up to 160 characters, announcing special sales, events, and new products. One post appears at a time.

4. Custom QR Codes: For use with smart phones to take users to your mobile website.

5. Advertise: They do have a “Tags Program” in select cities for $25.00 a month where your business will be highlighted on Google.com and Google Maps.

6. Post Videos: Up to five videos can be posted, but you’ll need to publish them to YouTube first, then include the URL’s on your Place Page. Create quality backlinks.

7. Payment Types Taken

8. Coupons: Create online coupons to give people incentive to visit your site. There’s a separate “coupon tab” that appears on your listing page.

9. Privacy: If you work from home and have no storefront you can choose to make your address private in your listing.

This may sound like a lot of work to get your business found by clients, but doesn’t the end, having more customers find you, justify the means? And don’t those means really empower with knowledge?

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