Local Search

If your business focuses on a specific geographic area, Local Search needs to be added to your list of stratgies for your website. In today's update what I want to focus on is two tools that you should be using immediately, if you are not already.

GetListed.org

GetListed.org (www.getlisted.org) is a new web service that was launched at the beginning of 2009 for the purpose of help business owners track their listing on local search engines. This is very easy to use.

  1. Go to the website www.getlisted.org. Type in your business name and zip code.
  2. Click through the tabs at the top of the screen to review all the reports.

The best screen is called "To Do". This will give you a list of search engine and directory submission that have not been done for your website. They also provide links to the sites to complete the lists that are missing.

GetListed.org is free, for now. I have seen this happen before, you get a great tool to help with search and they figure out they can make money off it and now you have to pay by the month. So don't file this away, take a few minutes and check out your listings. (And remember Cybervise is here to help if needed.)

Google Maps - Claim your business

Hopefully you are familiar with Google Maps. If you have ever done a search with Google and noticed at the top of the page a map that looks like it has pins in it, you know about Google Maps.

Just this week I heard a very disturbing story from a fellow web developer. He advised a client to go to Google and claim his business on Google Maps, only to find that one of his competitors had already claimed his location, but used their own phone number. There is no way to know how many customers were stolen by doing this. What bothers me most is the possibility that some website/search professional here in Cincinnati advised their client to do this.

The lesson here is if you have not taken the time to claim your business on Google Maps, do it today. Again, its FREE, so there is no reason not to do it. If you have multiple geographic locations, I would claim every one. Here is how you do it:

  1. If you use getlisted.org, the first item on your to-do list will be Google Maps. Use the link they provide to find the tool.
  2. Or go to google.com local center.
  3. Use the same login that you have for Google Analytics or Google Adwords or Gmail to keep everything linked and consistent.
  4. Do this when you have a couple of minutes, because Google will call you as soon as you submit to verify you have given the correct phone number.

If you do go to your listing and find something erroneous, Google is very good about correcting information if they are notified. Call us and we can help you work through it.