Today’s interactive landscape brings many opportunities to market a business online – local search engine optimization is one way to market online at minimum cost. And the fact Google is showing more local results without someone entering a town in a search query only serves to drive that local SEO cannot be ignored.
That’s the conclusion of an article at Search Engine Watch.
For a local business of any size, local SEO starts with keyword research and identifying the terms your customers use to find you, including any geographical terms – these keywords can include “New York City coffee shops”, “Greenwich Village coffee shops” – you get the idea.
With a solid understanding of keyword phrases, you can begin developing individual pages for all your locations. Keywords should be included in the URL, meta tags, title tags, heading and above all, content.
Another step is to take advantage of local online opportunities. Be sure you’re listed in Google Maps and Yahoo Local and you even might consider social media outlets like Facebook and Squidoo to boost your local online profile.
Times have certainly changed since the days of print, radio and TV advertising – and for once, things have changed in favor of small businesses.