The days of the offline phone book might be over. People who want to find local businesses usually go to their favorite search engine and look for a business there. Search engines have started showing a map listing 7-10 businesses in the vicinity according to the searched keyword, and your business might be one of them.
Being listed in Google Maps, for example, can give you some necessary attention. Now imagine someone seeing your business name in the list and clicking on it. If they find nothing useful after that click, they’ll go on to the next guy. So what can you do? You can:
1. Verify your listing by going through their system
This can be a cumbersome process, so consider having a professional do the work for you.
2. Make sure you choose the right categories for your site
This can be as important as inserting the right keywords into your website content. You want someone to be able to find you, don’t forget.
3. Add any kind of media you can, so that the listing is interesting and welcoming
A blank page looks boring and impersonal. A listing with a video or a picture instantly personalizes the page, making people more likely to buy what you are selling since they are buying from you and not the ghost in the machine.
4. Add incentives
These can be coupons and discounts, but make sure to keep them updated. Old coupons don’t help business.
5. Work on citations
Citations are similar to backlinking for your website. They help ranking in these directories. In fact, so few people have claimed their own listings that a few citations, updated information, and some reviews can take a business to the top of the listings.
Local search engine marketing directories help customers find local businesses that can solve their problem. Make sure they know you can. Don’t have the time to check the local directories? Click Here and let’s see if we can help you.
David Carleton is a San Diego Local Business Marketing Consultant who specializes in showing small business owners how to spend less and get more from their marketing and advertising using low cost strategies in local business marketing, lead generation and conversion, Internet marketing and social media. To download a copy of the free report, “7 Steps to Website Success”, go to http://LocalBusinessMarketingSuccess.com
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