Local search…Are you listed? Are you missing out? Get Local!

If more than 85% of web users use search engines to find products or services their looking for, how many of them are using “local search terms” to find your business? You’d be surprised by the numbers.

According to TMP Directional Marketing Local Search Usage Study November, 2008 - 31% of consumers are now using Search Engines as their primary resource for local business information. Combined with IYPs (Internet Yellow Pages) and Local Search Sites (such as Google Maps or Yahoo Local), online now accounts for 61% of all primary sources of local business information.

Local search is not an entirely brand new technology; however more users are starting to embrace it, and searching with local terms in their keyword search, both on their desktops and their mobile devices. Take a look at your web stats and I bet you’ll see that some of your referred visitors are from local search. If not, well…it’s time to get going in local search. Why not, it’s (mostly)FREE after all. Within minutes you can sign up, add your business listing and be on your way to getting listed. Approval process for the major search engines like Google and Yahoo! Search vary, but it’s worth the wait.

Older websites with some web history may have already been indexed by the local search engines. But don’t trust the search engines to get your listing correct. You can “claim” your business listing and add additional information about your products, services, hours, reviews and even photos. It’s like getting a FREE Yellow Pages ad.

Mary Bowling of the ClickZ network published a GREAT article informing small business about some great (mostly FREE) tools for checking your listings. One website she mentioned was “GetListed.org”. This is a must see website that will check all the major local search directories for your listing and your status per site. And it’s FREE with no sign up. What a concept.

Local search is growing rapidly and is here to stay. This is definitely a trend that can significantly help the growth of your local business. It can provide you with opportunities to every customer located within the zip code areas you service at little or no cost. So what are you waiting for? Get local today.

Would you like to learn more about how to get your business listed in local search engines like Google and Yahoo!? Give us a call today and we’ll walk you through it. 330-620-6572