| It is vital for a local business to take basic steps so | | | | & MSN) as a local business. For Google use Maps. |
| that they are visible in the search engines. Acquiring | | | | This link will give you the full scoop on how to do it. |
| search engine visibility is crucial because so many | | | | THESE ARE FREE LISTINGS. |
| people will use the Internet as their first resource to | | | | 4. Register with other search engines that specialize in |
| find a local business. | | | | local listings: AOL City Guide, Yellowpages.com, |
| You need to take actions so that the searcher (your | | | | Superpages.com, Citysearch.com, etc. THESE ARE |
| prospect) finds you. E.g. if the searcher was looking for | | | | FREE LISTINGS |
| a chiropractor they might do a search on the key | | | | 5. Register with specialized online directories. E.g. for a |
| word "chiropractor". Then they realize that is not very | | | | Chiropractor register with Some of these directories |
| useful as they got every chiropractor in the country. | | | | are free and some you pay for. You can start with |
| So next they add geography. e.g. "chiropractor los | | | | the free ones and work up to the paid ones. Your local |
| angeles". They even might search for "Chiropractor | | | | paper might have listings for their online version. Check |
| Valley Village" (a suburb of LA) as people are not likely | | | | out your local Chamber of Commerce. |
| to drive more than 5 miles for a service or product. | | | | 6. Add content in an RSS (really simple syndication) |
| That is local search in a nutshell. | | | | feed. This is a very effective tool for only $89 per |
| In order to achieve optimum search engine visibility, | | | | month. Just add your newsletter or get articles written |
| these are the actions to take: | | | | about what you do including key words. To enroll go to |
| 1. Optimize your site--make it search engine friendly. | | | | |
| You first must get the search engines to find you or | | | | 7. Local Internet advertising is also an option. It is called |
| the people looking will find your competitor. This | | | | Pay-Per-Click - you only pay if your prospect clicks on |
| involves certain programming actions and ensuring that | | | | the link to your website. The best ones are on Google |
| your text has the key words that people are looking | | | | and Yahoo. |
| for. | | | | 8. Watch your web traffic increase and the phone ring |
| 2. Make sure that EVERY PAGE of your website has | | | | off the hook! |
| your business name, address and phone number. If | | | | People doing a local search are quite likely ready to |
| you service more than your local area, you could also | | | | buy. Don't miss out on all this Internet |
| add something like "serving Los Angles, Riverside and | | | | business--optimize for local search and acquire search |
| Orange counties". | | | | engine visibility! |
| 3. Sign up on the top search engines (Google, Yahoo | | | | |