Local Search SEO

Posted: October 6th, 2008 | Author: Josh | Filed under: SEO | 1 Comment »

Local Search Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a pretty big topic lately ever since Google’s universal search results started to include images, locations, business listings, videos, and news. Pretty soon it will even begin to start displaying merchant services. I want to give our SEO and even design clients a short introduction on what universal search is, how important it is, and what we here at MidMoDesign can do to optimize for your local business.

Basically what has happened for about the last year, without any prompt from the searcher, Google has begun to give them more than just websites in their web search results with things like videos, news stories, local business directories, and much more. I am sure you have noticed this but not really sure exactly how it effects SEO efforts. For the purpose of this article we will concentrate mainly on how the local business directories effect your SEO strategy.

The New “Number One Search Results”

A bunch of our clients are local Columbia, Missouri businesses. For this example we will use M.U. Bail Bonds a local Columbia, Missouri Bail Bond company.

Look what happens these days when you Google “Columbia, MO Bail Bonds”:

• About 20% of the space is taken up with sponsored Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ad space
• 60% of the space is local search results
• Natural search results (individual web pages apart from local results) take up the remaining 20% of your screen and on many local search terms Google will even yield zero natural search results on a 1024 pixel wide browser.

We didn’t ask for Google to give us all these local business listings (over 60% of the initial screen) that’s simply just what Google decided the users want for this type of local search. Luckily for M.U. Bail Bonds we have designed their SEO strategy so that they are #1 in Local and Natural search results but not all businesses have been optimized with the care and know how of MidMo Design, a leader in Missouri Search Engine Optimization.

So basically if your critical target keywords show local business results in Google’s search, you must be in the top local business listings if you want your SEO campaign to be effective at all and to drive traffic to your site or your brick and mortar.

Getting in Google’s Top Local Business Listings Results

How do you do that? Well first I would start off by contacting us so we can sit down with you and develop a design and SEO strategy to fit your budget and goals but here is a small glimpse of what we would take into account to get your business local search result exposure.

• Use of Google’s Local Business Center
• Availability/Trust of other business data on the internet
• A Quality Business Web Site
• Listings in 2nd-tier Local Directories such as YellowPages.com
• Listings in Vertical Directories such as TripAdvisor.com, Frommers etc.
• References from other Web sites
• Reviews on other websites
• Proximity to location
• Location Prominence and User Query
• Use of other Google services

To get started search all your target keywords to see if local business listings come up and see how you do for them. Every business should be managing a Google local business profile anyway- and that’s part of the solution but only a small portion of the answer.

What next?

Odds are you’ve been approached by at least one company in the last year promising you a #1 search engine ranking for your local results and the odds are even better that this company is a nationwide “pump and dump” that targets thousands of users. What I mean by that is many of these companies will set you up with a site that looks like all their other clients, charge you outrageous monthly management fees, really have no interest in your success or knowledge of what it takes to tackle the local search engine results, and once you are invoiced you will never hear from them again.

At MidMoDesign we are local to Columbia, MO and understand the area and your clientele. We design custom sites that look like no one else’s, with content no one else will have, for a price no one else can beat (largely thanks to the open source community). We believe in providing honest and affordable rates for our maintenance plans. We are proven, knowledgeable and want to see you and your business succeed. We will work closely with you from the beginning to the end and will keep in touch even after the initial work is complete with reports on ranking and possible solutions to increase ranks.

If you would like to sit down with us to discuss your Website design options and local SEO strategy we would be more than happy to explain your options. Please keep in mind we have select clientele and prefer to only take on a few clients from each individual industry because we can’t guarantee success for everyone in Mid-Missouri and Columbia, Missouri so contact us today!

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