Over 3 billion local searches are done each month – how will your customer find YOU? With the explosion of mobile devices, location based search has become a crucial component to an effective search engine optimization strategy.
One of the great things about the Web, in terms of search marketing, is that it levels the playing field. Small, independently owned, local businesses have an equal opportunity to be found by consumers as do the big national chains. Why?
The key is to make sure your website is optimized for local search, create great content, and to utilize the various websites, platforms and apps that people are using to find the information that they are looking for. In other words, you must be where your customers are:
- December 2010 Google Maps announced that it now has 100+ Million Monthly users.
- Google Maps is among the most used smart phone apps.
- Yelp had an average of approximately 61 million monthly unique visitors in Q3 2011, with 22 million local reviews written
- Foursquare has more than 4 Million check-ins per day
- Mobile Search is the most common way to access the internet
- 70% of all mobile searches are acted on within 1 hour
Luckily, the single greatest trend in search marketing these days is local search and location-based social media. Consumers, whether they are searching for a new Indian restaurant to try for dinner, a nearby florist to send their mother flowers, or an electronics retailer where they can purchase the new HDTV, are increasingly making their searches local.
At Changescape Web, we’ve created a package to help make sure that when people conduct a relevant search, they find your business–whether they are searching on their computer or, increasingly, from a location-based app or social media app on their mobile device.
We start by conducting a local search audit to ensure that your business has the appropriate local search profile to help customers find you. We also help you take full advantage of social media apps including Facebook Places, Twitter, Yelp, and FourSquare.
We then make sure that your company is on all the right sites for local searches with business listing management.
We will also create a QR code for your business to post on your window/door, which will take customers to a special webpage where they can receive more information, or print a coupon.
Local search is a relatively new development in online marketing, but it is definitely here to stay. Contact Changescape to learn more about how a local search marketing strategy could benefit your business.
There are a couple of really important things to consider to optimize your website for local searches.
Learn more about out Business Listing Management service, and our Location-Based Social Media solutions.