Free Report How To Find Local Customers In Your Area Using Search Engines

Find Your Local Customers

Over 70% of Internet searches are for local business services and products, and 59% of consumers use Google every month to locate a local business.” While stats may vary on this topic (depending on the source), it’s clear that consumers have migrated away from phone books – and now turn to the Internet when looking for local businesses. Having a great website is step one, but that’s just the beginning. There are additional key steps you can take today to increase the chances of your website showing up during a local search, as well as rank higher than your competition. Get a free report and website review see what areas you should tackle first.

Example of an Online Presence Report:

The report outlines four things you need to do to get found locally:

1. Get listed on local search engines

The first step in getting your business found online is claiming your listing on Google. Yahoo and Bing are important as well, but Google Places is the most important since Google accounts for 83% of the search engine traffic.

2. Get listed in local directories

Next, list your business in local directories. People no longer look to the phone book to find a local business. Now, they search in popular online directories. Local directories such as Yelp and Yellow Pages receive a lot of search traffic and are typically served up on the first page of search results.Directory listings also provide links back to your website, which gives your site more search authority and credibility and helps you rank better in search results.

3. Optimize your local directory listings to stay ahead of the competition

You’re not quite done. Once you get your business listed, you need to ensure you’re the first place customers turn to when looking for your services. One way to get people to click your listing before the competitors is to optimize your information. An important step when optimizing is to carefully select your primary keyword (or category) used in Google Places or a word that best describes the product or service you offer. Continue to add information to your listing that your potential customers are most likely using in their search. It goes back to answering their key questions. Videos and photos are also great ways to share content and get more clicks to your website. In fact:

  • Listings with videos get 282% more clicks
  • Listings with photos get 248% more clicks

4. Monitor Your Online Reputation

Don’t be shy about asking your best customers for a review, especially since today’s ‘review’ is the new word-of-mouth. A good review can influence someone to pick-up the phone and call you, rather than continue to search for a competitor. Knowing about a bad review gives you the opportunity to address it directly and turn a possibly damaging situation around. It’s best to respond quickly and professionally.These four tips are things you can do yourself for FREE to improve your local online visibility. One small business owner I recently spoke with told me that after adding Google Maps to her husbands website, she received a call that day from someone looking for a professional carpenter in the local area. See how your business is showing up when someone searches online by taking our free online assessment. Included with this report is a free website consultation with one of our My Master Of The Web experts. They’ll review the report with you and explain how to increase your chances of getting found when people search for local businesses like yours. Get your FREE Website Review To See What Areas To Improve Your Website Presence .