Localize Your Site - Local Marketing Tip Week 3

Is your product or service sold locally? If it is, than your website needs to be found on the SERPS for a local search when it comes to what you do. Localizing your website isn’t all that tough if you have the right strategy at hand. Here are the top 5 ways to localize your website:

1. Address - Make sure your business address is on every page of your website. This helps the search engines pin point what region you are in and store that in the index.
2. Page Titles & Meta Description - Your page titles and meta description should have your city or local content in them. For example, if I was a roofing contractor in Dallas, Tx, my homepage title might look something like this: Dallas Roofing Company | ABC Roofing Contractors
3. Keyword Phrases - You need to know what keyword phrases people are searching for to find your local competitors. After you research and find the key phrases, use them creatively in your content. Remember to always write content for people, not search engines.
4. H1 Tags - This is one that is forgotten all the time. An H1 tags holds great power in a web page. It says. “this is the main and most important topic of this page.” Use local keywords in the H1 tags on your site.
5. Linking - Links that are pointed to your site from another site should have localized keyword phrases as the anchor text. Like the above example I would use Dallas Roofing Company as the anchor text to link to my site from others.

These are just a few ways to localize your website. If you would like more information on local seo please contact us for a site analysis.

Google and Yahoo Local - Local Marketing Tip Week 2

Both Google and Yahoo have free local listing tools for their search engines. Getting a local listing in these major search engines can be very beneficial for your business.

Here are the links to sign up for each:

How to sign up for Google Local?

1) If you have a Google account you can login, go to my account and click on the link that says “Local Business Center.” This will take you to the business information form for you to fill out and submit. If you do not have a Google account you will have to sign up for one. You can still click on the link above, but after you submit the business information it will ask you to sign up for an account. Google accounts are free and I recommend you signing up for one since there are many other free features that come with it.

Google Local Business Center Step 1

2) The next page will ask you about your business details.

• Categories that best fit your business
• Hours of Operation
• Payment methods you accept
• Add photos (Logo, storefront, etc.)
• Videos (If you have a video or commercial I strongly recommend uploading it here)
• Additional Information

3) Now it is time for Google to validate your listing. You can choose to validate by phone or postal mail. I recommend by phone because it will take less time to get listed in the Google Local area. (note: If you have a PBX system you might want to consider validating by mail. The Google call will not work since the phone picks up through the PBX.) Either way you will receive a pin number. If you chose to validate by phone, once the Google calls you enter in the pin. If you chose to validate by mail, once the postcard comes call the number provided and enter the pin

How simple was that? Now your business will be included in Google local and Google one box search results.  Listing can take up to 4 weeks.

How to sign up for Yahoo Local?

1) You will also need a Yahoo account to take advantage of the local listings.

2) The sign up process is basically the same except you do not have to verify the listing.

These two tips will help your business be seen when users do a local search for your products and services on Google and Yahoo.

Get A Website - Local Marketing Tip Week 1

This is really a no brainer, but there are still many businesses out there who still do not believe in the potential of the internet or are just too confused about how to go about getting a website. If your business doesn’t have a website you are missing out on customer sales and leads!

Here are a few of the reasons you should have one:

1) Expectations - Customers expect to find your business on the internet. This day is unlike any other we have seen with the internet. We are in a recession. Which means money is time and time is money. If I need to find a a local plumber, because my tub just crashed through the 2nd floor to the 1st, I’m going to the internet. I don’t have time to look for that business card you left on my door a few months ago. I’m gonna hop on the computer, do a Google search and BAM! In less then 2 seconds I have a whole page of plumbers wanting my business.

2) Competition - Your competitors do have websites. Simply put, if you do not have a website your competitors are taking business away from you. Users are searching for your businesses’ products and services and they are calling your competitors.

3) Availability - Your business is probably not open 24 / 7 /365, but with a website it is. Customers like to look for what you have to offer when they want to. Not just between 9 and 5. Depending on your business you could get product orders and customer leads while you sleep.

4) Information - You can fit a lot more information about your company’s products and services in a website than you can a printed brochure. The internet has brought the ability to research purchases before we buy into every household in the world. The old days of driving around till you find what you need and hoping its the best price are over.

5) Professionalism - When you have a website customers trust you more. It shows that you have taken the time to create something for their benefit because you want their business. You care about them finding you when they need you.

6) Statistics - There are more people online than ever before. 1,572,549,488 internet users in the world as of Jan. 6, 2009. To be even more specific, 220,141,969 of them are from the United States.

70% of households use the internet to search local products and services.

If you still don’t think you need a website for your business, then I have one question to ask you:

“How much would it cost you to hire a professional sales person who knows your products and services as well as you do and works 24/ 7 /365?”

52 Local Marketing Tips for 2009

We have decided to bring one local marketing tip to our readers every week in 2009. There are many marketing tips on the web, but we thought it would be nice to have them complied into one blog and focus on marketing local. Our local marketing tips will cover traditional, online, seo and crazy “guerilla” marketing tactics. You will read about strategies that we employ successfully with many of our clients. We will try and post this every Monday, but please forgive us if we are a day late…remember that we do have clients to attend to.

Feel free to send in any questions, suggestions or pats on the back!

Our New Blog

Bare with us while we create some useful and educational information on how to improve your company’s web presence.