Search Engine Optimization or SEO is vital to the implementation of your online marketing plan. While this is a part of the 5 one-time things you must do to get your plan started successfully, it must also be monitored and updated, so that your local business results and your natural search results remain ranked near or at the top.
Local Business Results
Local business results will impact not only the traffic to your website, but also the phone at your place of business. Because your phone number is listed in the local business results you will find that once your business is successfully located at the top of these results your phone will ring much more often.
Submit your business to the three major local business results sites. Monitor and update listings regularly to secure top spots. Make sure that your listings are search engine optimized. The three sites you must be on are:
- Google—the most important one as it owns 2/3 of online traffic
- Yahoo—also very important
- MSN/Bing—growing in importance, but not as prominent as Google and Yahoo
These local business results each pick up on select keywords and use different location modifiers when ranking listings. However, most listings include address, phone number, directions to your physical address, website and customer reviews. The ones with the best reviews containing targeted keywords, in addition to location modifiers will find their way to the top of the search results.
In order to be listed in the top 10 search results, follow these 7 tips:
- Optimize every aspect of your listing with strategic keywords.
- Get reviews from clients.
- Obtain backlinks from local online directories.
- Strategically choose the areas you want optimized even establishing different addresses and phone numbers for other areas.
- Get listed in about 4 to5 categories related to your business for your business results listing.
- Place coupons with the listing to increase conversion rates.
- Use YouTube Videos and photographs with your keyword in the title.
After listing in the top local business listings, seek out other directory listings to use such as Kudzu, City Search, cmac.ws, Best of the Web local and more.
Track the changes you make, so that you can keep the listing as relevant as possible. It will also help you monitor what works and what doesn’t. Be patient, it sometimes takes 3-4 weeks to see your listing appear.
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