3 Places You Need a Presence for Local SEO

Google Places: If you haven’t already “claimed” your business as yours with a Google Places page, do so now. Google Places, now tied to the Google+ social network, allows you to add your address, phone number, hours of operations, photos and any other information you want. This page – your Google Places page – is the page that you will rank for in Google Local searches and on Google Maps searches from smartphones.

Bing: No, Bing isn’t Google, but it is the next best thing and it doesn’t appear to be going away. Plus, since merging with Yahoo, Bing now has nearly 30% of the search market share. Of course, Google has the other 70%, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect Bing. Also, Facebook’s mapping system uses Bing’s maps. With that in mind, you should keep your information current on Bing and do what you can to get ranked there.

Yelp: If your business has an offline component – meaning, you have a physical location in the form of a storefront or office – then you need to have a Yelp page. Furthermore, you need to actively monitor your Yelp page and try to improve your rankings on Yelp (not to mention your reviews). There are ways to make sure the most positive Yelp reviews appear first, but the most effective way to manage Yelp is to deliver excellent products and outstanding service so that customers write positive reviews naturally.

Place your online marketing efforts on local SEO, and watch your business begin to thrive when your efforts take effect. When you pair local SEO with social media marketing and mobile optimized websites and applications (the discipline known as ‘SoLoMo‘), the benefits of local SEO become expontentially greater. To learn more about ranking on the above sites, contact Crest Media to inquire about local SEO campaigns. We will be glad to discuss local SEO campaigns that fit your scope and budget.