Local Directories and Local Search Engines

There are several search engines and directories that focus only on local businesses. Getting your website listed in these special niche directories will increase your chances for showing up in the local results.

Here are a few local directories and search engines to get you started:

1. Google Maps
2. Yahoo! Local
3. SuperPages
4. Yellow Pages
5. Local.com
Pages For Each Location

One of the most overlooked areas of local search engine optimization is when businesses choose to list all of their locations on one page. It is much more difficult to rank for a specific location if you mention 5 different locations on your contact page.

Instead, break out your locations so that each office has its own page. Then you can really benefit from local search and the chances of your contact pages showing up for each individual location will increase.
Code and Content Optimization

The easiest way to start taking advantage of local search is to make sure that your location is in your content. Many clients get frustrated over why they’re not showing up in the local results but when you read their content there’s no mention of their location.

Make sure that you mention your location, surrounding areas, and monuments that local people will recognize in your content. Place your location in your title tags as well as using proper semantic markup for your code.

You can get creative with ways to mention locations in your website but getting it in the content is the first step. Try giving the user more than what you think they are looking for. Here are some quick examples:

* List out a few restaurants in the area near your office
* List out some local attractions that are close by
* Include an overview of area events or news

Don’t Miss Out on Local SEO Opportunities

Local search engine optimization is a great way to charge up your search rankings. It’s a faster method for making sure you’re on the right track, and if optimized properly you can really take advantage of some targeted traffic that will only help your business in the future.

Start with Local Search Engine Optimization - Alibi Productions.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 4:14 pm and is filed under Local. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.