subject: SEO Tips for Marketing Your Local Business [print this page] If you own a local business with a website, you really want people to be able to find you through the search engines. Let's take a look at a few local SEO strategies that will get your site ranking better.
As a marketer using local SEO, you really have to get into the mindset of someone in your target market who is doing a search engine query. You have to understand how they think to be able to optimize your site for the search engines. You have to picture yourself as a prospect using a search engine to locate the kind of item you sell, and try to figure out exactly what they would type into the search field. Imagine that you are the owner of a store that sells only one kind of item, golf accessories. Many people search for the term "golf," but this doesn't describe what you sell, as it includes too many things Other searchers may be looking for "golf instruction," which isn't related to what your store sells. You are looking for customers who search for "golf accessories," which is a match to what you have to offer. There are many good keyword that can create sales but are not quite as well known, and these are usually ignored by business owners looking for local traffic. And instead aim at highly popular keywords that have lots of traffic. The more you can think like a prospect, the better you can plan your SEO campaigns. Once you perfect the art of targeting such specific keywords, you'll not only increase sales but also get higher rankings on multiple keywords. Most of the local websites that you target are completely okay with you asking your customers to leave a review for you, except for the site Yelp. Because the sites allow this and because it helps you with your local SEO efforts why aren't you doing it already? Make sure you mention it in your email signatures, thank you page of your contact form, invoices, etc. You need to say something like "It would be nice if you would take a moment to review my business on this local website." Even though you have no control over these reviews and it's not up to you to make them good or bad, they make your business look more credible and reliable to your upcoming customers. Even if you are trying other things as well, make sure to integrate this tip because doing so can help your business exponentially.
The search engines will also look favorably upon your site if you can get quality local websites to link back to you. The most beneficial sites to get links from are those that are popular and well respected, such as the local BBB (Better Business Bureau) or Chamber of Commerce in your area. Try several searches using the name of your city and/or county/region in addition to "business directory" or a similar keyword, and you'll get a list of such organizations. This process will supply you with a number of websites that it would be very useful to get a listing from. Finding these sites will only take you a few minutes, so it's well worth the effort.
In summary, these local SEO techniques can be very effective in bringing you more quality traffic. The tips that we discussed in the above article will definitely help you get started.
