Archive for google local search
Extend Your Local Presence with Google Scannable Stickers
Posted by: | CommentsLocal businesses throughout the US with a Google local business listing that generates good traffic may find themselves with a pre-Christmas gift. In a plan to further develop the local business market they are mailing out up 100,000 decals with a unique bar code on them for the business to display in their store front (whatever it might be).
To take advantage of this program the individual must have a camera with the ability to scan a bar code. Once scanning the bar code you are taken to the Google Places listing with the opportunity to view coupons or other offers the business may make available.
Over 3,700 establishments in New York City will receive these stickers. I am sure they will go into (or onto) a prominent place quickly! This appears to be a great program and another reason to either create or enhance your local business listing in Google.
For more information see the post at ClickZ.
Add a Geographical Reference to Your Web Site
Posted by: | CommentsWhile local search does not require a website to be effective it’s clear that it certainly can’t hurt! The overall success of any optimization campaign lies in creating as many accurate references to what you do (keywords) and where you are (geo tags) as possible. We are not talking about spam here, we are talking about using all of the options available to you. Google, in it’s wisdom provides all sorts of tools to help this process. Some may say too many and too disorganized but that’s for another day.
One method to help Google uses to understand where you are focusing your energy is by using Google Webmaster Tools. If you already have a local search listing or a Gmail account you are ready to go. I usually search for Google Webmaster Tools and then go to that site. Once you are logged go to Settings (If you are managing multiple website then select the target website first). There you will find one option called “Geographic target.” Specify your location and save.
Once this is done, and coupled with the use of content and meta tags identifying your geographical focus you will get just a bit more juice to help customer find you now!
Enhance Your Website for Local Search Success
Posted by: | CommentsWhile you don’t need a website to have a local search listing it sure helps. Nothing fancy mind you, a short WordPress blog or a couple page “brochure” site. Potential customers expect it now and the cost of entry and maintenance is so low it’s absurd to say no. Your web site will also help your local business listing ranking. Not by a lot, but as always when it comes to optimization on the web every little bit helps. According to David Mihm, an expert on local search in Portland OR about 15% of the success of a local search listing can be credited to your own website. So while you can get ranked well without a site that extra 15% will be very helpful. If your niche is fairly competitive then you’ll definitely want to consider the tweaks to your site (or having one).
Some areas to consider improving on your site listed below. You will notice right off the bat the nearly common sense nature of these suggestions. Use the product or service and city name you want to rank for frequently. As Homer Simpson might say, Doh!
As an added bonus the work you do on your website to help strengthen your local search listing will help your site rank well in organic search. In fact, in smaller niches it is quite possible to rank at the top of local search as well as in organic search. A double bonus to be sure.
- Full Address and Phone Number on a Contact Page- Every site should have a contact page. On the contact page be sure your contact information matches your local business listing.
- Inclusion of City and State in Title Tags- The meta title tags on a web page still remain an important element of on page optimization factors for the page. Having your city and state name match that of what you want to rank well for in local search can help. If you want to rank for “chicago CPA” then have Chicago in your title tags. I use these city and state contact tags on all of my pages, at the minimum have them on your contact page.
- Product Service Keywords in Titles- That same “Chicago CPA” ought to have the term CPA in his titles (and other meta tags such as description and keyword) to ensure strengthening his own site’s SEO value.
- Location Keywords in URL- If you are are creating a new domain name (URL) for a business then be sure to utilize your product or service and your location. A domain such as www.chicagocpa.com is very helpful in both site SEO and your local search listing. If you already have a domain name then add folder names with your information. As an example www.hastingsaccounting.com could have a contact page call www.hastingsaccounting.com/contactchicagocpa.html.
This is one of five articles covering the key factors in creating an effective local business listing for Google, Yahoo and Bing. Stay tuned for all of them.
Using Coupons to Enhance Your Local Business Listing
Posted by: | CommentsThere is no way around it, people are looking for bargains so they can get the most bang for their buck. Online coupons are growing in popularity so what better place to jump in the mix then with your listing on Google’s Local Business Center (LBC)?
There are listings like this one from Red E. Kleen Carpet Cleaning Professionals in Everett, WA who have added a coupon to their listing.
Local Business Listing Coupon Selection
They have added a 15% off coupon for first time customers to get them to choose their company over the 9 others that are listed on the same page on Google search. So how do you create a coupon and what do they look like? Coupons on Google are easy to create via their easy to use templates. The hard part is selecting the right keywords to use to add to your listing’s overall search mojo! Coupons, if you have not added one to your LBC listing, are a powerful tool in your local search arsenal for attracting first time customers. They are a largely ignored feature that has huge potential for promoting your business and featuring what you do best!
To get started adding a coupon to your site go to Google LBC landing page where you will see two tabs at the top: Dashboard and Coupons.
Adding Your Coupon
Select the coupon tab where you will be directed to select your business listing to which you want to attach a coupon (if you have more than one business listing present). Select “add new coupon” and you will then be led to a fresh page with form fields.
Create something valuable to your client. Perhaps a 30 minute free initial consult or a 15 minute free consultation with a dentist? What do you already do for your clients that adds value to the services performed?
Your Finished Coupon
After you craft the coupon and add a photo, you now can access the additional piece that creates more power to the entire thing…the link! This Google generated link is going to be something to watch going forward. It appears that Google will use this link as a destination URL in the really near future. It is plausible that they are positioning these links to add a coupon widget which will display the coupon on your business website as well. This will increase not only your visibility on the web but will also generate some more powerful links for your site as well. This should drastically improve click through rates!
Reach Nearby Customers Through Google Local Search
Posted by: | Commentsby Asi Erenberg – May 18th, 2009 5:41 pm
It is estimated that 20% of all searches have local intent, especially for restaurants, insurance, legal, retail, hotels and other types of companies within the service industry. A recent comScore study revealed that 61% of local searches result in purchases. These overwhelming statistics show that millions of potential customers are searching the internet, then buying online, calling for more information or making purchases directly from local stores – those are numbers you can’t afford to ignore.
Reaching more customers in your area doesn’t always mean printing out reams of flyers and hitting the pavement. Now more than ever, even potential buyers in your neighborhood are hitting the search engines first, looking for local bargains and researching information where your company is the perfect fit. Google Local Search can help you secure a spot in the top of the search engine for searches done by residents in your town, city, state or region. Here’s how.
Local search isn’t just reserved for small mom and pop stores anymore. Even large mainstream companies are narrowing their focus to attract more customers to their individual bricks-and-mortar stores. For example, a significant revenue stream for Boston Market is its catering service. If you’re looking for catering in New Jersey for your big event, would you trust just any caterer or would you go for a well-known brand like Boston Market that serves consistently good food? Notice how Google Local Search has helped Boston Market secure 7 of the 10 top spots for catering in New Jersey.
Companies who dominate local search results acquire greater name recognition and brand loyalty among local searchers. Visitors rationalize that placement at or near the top of a broad search like catering New Jersey equates to reliable and trustworthy sales and service.
As you’ll see, search results and a map come up well ahead of any other organic results when you search Google. Whether you already have a local listing or not, there are several other things you can do to keep your position strong in both Google Local Search and elsewhere on the web:
- Reach Out to Local Directories – Start getting local placement by listing your website through Google’s Local Business Center. The next step is to add your site to Yelp, online Yellow Pages and other local directories for two reasons. First, you will obviously garner visitors through direct traffic from these websites. Second, these sites are considered to be authorities by Google, meaning that placement will actually give your local Google results a bump in rank for the targeted search term (e.g., catering in New Jersey). Note that this placement does not necessarily translate to higher rankings in the standard organic search results, just local. The real benefit comes from Google’s placement of local results above all other results on the page. Keep in mind that some of these directories are free and some are not. You should start with free placements and measure results to determine if it makes sense to list your business on some of the paid directories to further enhance results. You may find that manual submissions take a great deal of your time that can be spent more effectively. If that is the case, then consider ECommerce Partners for periodic syndication to numerous local directories.
- List All Store Locations – Be sure to list all of your storefronts if you have multiple locations. Each physical location is entitled to its own listing, so take advantage.
- Get Great Local User Reviews in these Directories – Reviews of local businesses often come up near their local results in the search engines. The more reviews you have, the more you solidify your high ranking in local results and help ensure your site comes up when a user from that area is searching for your product or service.
- Optimize Your Website For Organic Listings – It stands to reason that having your site appear in the local results as well as the natural listings will yield greater click-thrus and brand recognition. So, use proven SEO techniques in conjunction with the local placement methodology discussed in this article to reach more customers
- Matching Domain Registration – Match your public domain name registration address with the one you’re optimizing for. This is just common sense for a local business.
- Include a VCard – Although it is not required, a vCard helps separate your physical address and contact information from the rest of a web page. The universal tags are a recognized standard that search engines understand. Simply put, this microformat is embedded in a page to allow a search robot to decipher this information quickly and efficiently, rather than guessing which part of the page contains an address. At present, there appears to be minimal benefit to search results, however it may be used more in the future as such webpage organization becomes more widespread.
Several other local and regional directories include Yahoo Local Merchant and Ask Business Search.
