SmallBusinessNewz

Clearly many people overlook the opportunities they have online to promote their businesses on a local level. Sure economic times have produced some trouble waters for local advertising, but that doesn't mean the need is not there. Search guru Danny Sullivan once drove home that need quite well in an article, which I referenced at SmallBusinessNewz.

SEO for Local Search

"Most web professionals are quite familiar with global search. Search marketing for global search can be boiled down to a two part formula: anchor text + authority," says Ryan Caldwell at Search Engine Journal. "Local search is different."

You might recall a recent article I ran referencing Caldwell's ideas on linkbait. It's clear that this guy knows what he's talking about. When it comes to optimizing for local search, he cites the following three things as keys to success:

1. Anchor Text + Authority Matters, But Less
2. Local Groupings
3. Address Citations

Of course Caldwell elaborates on each of these in his article. You can learn some very useful things from it.

Using Google for Local Marketing

You should always keep in mind that there are search engines (including maps) being used besides Google. That doesn't change the fact that Google dominates the search market share by an incredible margin, so if you want the most exposure, it's still going to be the most important one to focus on.

Google has a number of tools available to help you market your business at the local level. You've got the Local Business Center. I recently highlighted 12 steps for using that (via Google itself).

Google recently introduced some improvements to its AdWords local business ads for Google Maps. They also posted guidelines for quality listings, making it easier for businesses to get listed.



On the video level, you can advertise on television through Google TV Ads, an extension of AdWords. You can also geotag YouTube videos and optimize them for location. Let's not overlook the fact that YouTube videos are often included in Google as universal search results either.

It's in the Geography

Allow me to point you to another article on local search marketing, this one coming from Jeremy Rivera at Huomah.com. He's got a lot of useful things to say also, but the most important is probably his stressing of geotargeting.

"The bottom line is, if you are a local business, it doesn't make sense to go after broad keywords," he says. "Geotarget. Do everything you can to get listed in these results."

It is true that the web opens your business up to a global audience in many cases. Local audiences are often the most important though, and for those seeking out customers from their own area, you have to think local in every facet of your search marketing efforts.