Why Local

Why Local?

Local SEO has easily become one of the hot buzzwords all over the internet or as some would call it the “interwebs”. So much so, it seems like every other day I’m getting calls to show companies how to do it and/or sell it.  Every once in a while, my former mortgage company will get a call to buy it. So, what does local SEO really entail?  Why is it so important?

Nearly 1/3 of all searches involve some local identifying term

• Zip Code
• City
• State

You really could break it down even more by adding streets, school names and so on.  This strategy is particularly important to real estate agents, but what can it do for you or your local business?

As old media slowly dies, local SEO or geo-location marketing.  It will allow to get your message out there to a wider audience than any of the “old” media combined. “Wait,” you tell me.  “The newspaper has a subscription of 12000,” but I remind you that not everyone reading the local paper needs your service.  Yellow Pages.  You pay hundreds a month for the chance someone will pick your name out of a hat.  Radio and TV, you ever hear of an iPod.  Yeah, so has the rest of America.

I’m really not trying to be a smart aleck.  I am being completely serious as I now listen to podcasts everyday and even more when I am in the car.

So, what are some of the best tips to get found locally in South Bend or Michigan City local directories, a good way to get to the top of Google or Bing.  Sadly, some people won’t hit on a business website as some are just looking for information. There are some other strategies that you can enact that will get you placed well on Google and found as a local expert.

A great local place to get found and I’ll really go into this in a future post/video. Is Google Places.  I’ve done this for a client and we’ve seen a real spike in business by a properly completed Places page.

Some of the Keys to Success are your

• Keywords
• Areas of Expertise
• Areas that you do business
• Photos
• Videos -  These are perhaps 2 of the most important.
• Local Phone # – Yeah, you may have a toll free number, but use your local.

While over 30% of Google users use maps to find local businesses, less than 3% have claimed their listing.  So, go out and claim your local listing and before you know it, you’ll be driving more local leads to your business.

Dave