THIS IS STEP BY STEP SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
PAGE 32 TO 34 CHAPTER 5
Chapter 5
Localize It: Location,
Location, Location
Do you have a website or business that’s focused on working with people in your neighborhood? Maybe you’re a local dentist, handyman, or landscaper or you run a local restaurant or auto repair shop. You get the idea. Google has a completely different search result for these types of location-specific searches.
Try a Google search for the “best restaurants in Seattle” and you’re likely to get results that look different than standard searches. They will typically have a Zagat score, Google Reviews and will include an address and phone number as well as incorporating a Google map listing.
If you’re a local business or website, getting found on the local search engine rankings, which often include Google Maps pinpointing your location, will be critical in attracting customers in and around your community.
Map citations on the Internet assist search engines by helping them know more about your business or entity, such as your location, services, and hours of operation. These map citations can even include images.
So what is a citation exactly? A citation is where your business name and address are mentioned, or cited, on another website. Google crawls content across the web and anywhere they find a citation of your business, they give you credit toward their search engine rankings.
And how do you show up on these map searches? It all starts with creating a strong local profile. If you register your business on all of these sites, you will be well ahead of the game—and the competition.
On a side note, Google gives websites a PageRank between one and ten. The higher the PageRank, the more credibility a site will have when factored into Google’s rankings. You can use this information when determining what sites you want to work with to obtain links to your site.
When filling out these profiles, you’ll be asked to provide:
• Contact person
• Address
• E-mail
• Phone number
• Services
• Category of business
• Pictures of business
• Description of business
You can also include any other important details about your business. Some of these sites will offer a free or paid option of inclusion. You’ll be fine if you only choose the free option as you build out these profiles.
Think you’ll go crazy submitting your site to local directories over and over again? To avoid writer’s cramp, there are companies out there that can help, such as https://www.ubl.org. Provide your information and, for a nominal fee, they’ll post your site across dozens of local directories on your behalf.
I recommend checking on the directories to which they submit in order to ensure that all of the sites listed above are included. For the sites that are missing, you’ll want to submit those manually if you choose to use UBL.
Also, be aware that most of these local directories have some type of verification process, such as calling your phone or sending you a postcard with a PIN code enclosed. The reason these sites implement a verification process is to prove that you actually exist at the location you have specified so that this information is as accurate as possible. Make sure you are receiving these verifications and responding to them so you can be assured that you are getting placement on these sites.
Now that you have your local profiles set up, what other factors will help your status as a local superstar?
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