Web Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition
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If you’re a local business in web marketing, try optimizing for local search. A top local search listing can drive customers faster than any other online marketing technique. Google and Bing are always experimenting with new ways to mix local search data into search results. Note how Google has added local information and reviews, and inserted several bicycle shops into the top 10 for seattle bicycles.

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Local search optimization isn’t difficult. But it does require a very sustained effort, around three different factors:

  • Listings, on the local search engines and the directory sites they reference

  • Reviews and bookmarks on those same sites

  • Local data on your website

The first step in local search optimization is making sure that your business is in each major search engine’s local search directory. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Search for your business on Google Places and Bing.

  2. Make sure you fill out all fields requested by the search engine, including the description and hours.

  3. Submit your website to InfoUSA.com, Yelp.com, Superpages.com, Yellowpages.com, and CitySearch.com.

    The major search engines crawl these sites to determine relevance and location. Note that other sites are available, too. These basics will get you started.

  4. Make sure that your business is assigned to the correct category in the local listings.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

John Arnold is the author of E-Mail Marketing For Dummies and coauthor of Mobile Marketing For Dummies.

Ian Lurie is President of Portent, Inc.

Marty Dickinson is President of HereNextYear.

Elizabeth Marsten is Director of Search Marketing at Portent, Inc.

Michael Becker is the Managing Director of North America at the Mobile Marketing Association.

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