First things first and claim your listings on Google, Yahoo and Bing. This will get you off on the right foot. Fill out your entry completely. Use a full description, images, videos, coupons and your logo. This will make your site more trustworthy and get you ranked higher from the start.
Next, you can start getting listed in all Internet Yellow Pages and local websites that qualify for your service. Sites like Superpages, Yelp, Citysearch, Localize, Best of the Web, and Universal Business Listings will help you on your way to ranking well in local search results. Note that some of the services listed are not free.
A few more places to advertise your business would be local classified sites like Craigslist, Backpage, Judy’s List, Angies List or USFree Ads. People look at these sites every day. They enjoy consumer trust and could bring in more leads and deals.
In order for your listing to be trusted by your customers and respected by the search engines, make sure to ask your website visitors to leave you reviews. Even ask your co-workers and friends to leave a review for you. Just be aware that when searchers see 50 great reviews without a single negative critique, they’ll know you’re stacking the deck. So yes, even negative reviews can be good and make you look human. Nobody is perfect and seekers know that.
On your website, make sure your business address and phone number are listed and exactly match your local profile. No 800 numbers, they make your listing look fake to the search engines. On your contact page you have a google or yahoo map with directions. Put your address in the footer of every page. Just a few painless steps can get you a good ranking in local search results.
Local SEO has proven to be incredibly serious over the last year. Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter to name a few have launched local campaigns. As people conduct more and more searches from their phones, Local SEO becomes a service that the local business owner cannot ignore.
Follow these simple steps to get started, but ultimately you want to hire a local SEO expert to ensure your local listings are being optimized correctly.
