I want to use an example to explain why local search is important. I created a company, Acme Widgets Inc., that has an office in Nanaimo and an office in Courtenay. They each serve the surrounding areas, like the Comox Valley, and Ladysmith right through Lantzville.
Acme wants to have a website so customers can read about them and submit orders online. Most of their new business still comes from referrals so it’s important to show up when people type in their name, address or phone number.
Right, so, there’s things Acme can do. They can use their page titles to emphasize their company name first and follow it with their regions… something like this
Acme Widgets Inc. – Widgets to Nanaimo, Ladysmith and the Comox Valley.
The formula isn’t set in stone, I would recommend that Acme experiment with different combinations to see which work best.
Once a site is optimized, there’s a certain amount of ongoing promotion that has to take place. Depending on your business and targets, the costs may be free or they may be in the thousands of dollars. It may take one person a few hours a week, or it may be an outsourced job. If you’re just concerned with minimal, basic SEO have a read through some of the things I do when I’m starting an SEO campaign.
I have a Google account and I recommend that every business owner get one master account for their business. It gives you access to Google Docs, gMail, Google Analytics, AdWords, AdSense and anything new they crank out. You need one for a Google Maps Listing and I recommend that every business have one of those too. If you’re serious and want all the tools in the Google toolkit, check out the Google Dashboard on Techcrunch.
I advertise in local directories. Be wary of any costs or listing fees. I don’t spend a cent until Ive done the research to see if it’s a good link and if I even need to buy a link to get to the top position.
I participate on the web. I blog, I forum (is the verb forumming? foraging? I was foraging in the forum?). I facebook and twitter. I don’t linkedin, but I should. Extreme enthusiasts might consider adding a YouTube channel, a digg profile, an eBay store and a yahoo! store.
You may only get to a few of these things, and you may not need to spend much time on SEO. If you want some advice on your current SEO or have questions about local search, let me know.
This entry was written by Sean Enns, posted on June 2, 2009 at 1:32 am, filed under Search Engine Optimization and tagged Google, Marketing, Search, SEO. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.