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Local_Search_Optimization_Think_Globally_Act_Locally
| Local Search Optimization: Think Globally, Act Locally
Many small businesses need to have an online presence and sell
their products or services locally. For instance, doctors,
dentists, real estate agents and restaurants can all benefit
from online marketing but only on a local scale, not globally.
In order to tap into the local market, however, it may be
necessary to make some global changes to your website.
In order to target a website to a local market, it is important
that 3 key areas be addressed:
1. Global website text changes targeting local keywords 2.
Geographical meta tag implementation 3. Getting indexed by
Yahoo! Local
In regards to global website text changes, let’s take, for
example the case of the Romeo Cuccina restaurant in Nowhere,
Ohio. This family-owned Italian restaurant wants to be found by
people in and around Nowhere, Ohio and by people traveling to
this location. The body text of the Romeo Cuccina restaurant
needs to contain the name Nowhere, Ohio, plus references to the
surrounding towns and attractions along with its Italian
restaurant keywords, which will also be scattered throughout the
text. The title text and the H1 tag should also contain the
words ‘Nowhere, Ohio’ as well. Making sure that these
geographical keywords are in the text, names of the graphics and
links will help this website do well in the search engines for
local searches.
In regards to geographical meta tag implementation, this is
simply a tag with the company name and address that will help
establish a website locally. This tag can be used on the
homepage, About Us page and / or Contact Us page as well. In our
Italian restaurant example, the tag will look like this:
Now in regards to getting indexed by Yahoo! Local, it is
important to know two things upfront. First, your business may
already be indexed by Yahoo! Local so it is best to do a search
first. Second, Yahoo! Local is now offering a free 5-page
website to small business owners who want to establish a web
presence. This promotion is to encourage business owners to get
listed locally so that Yahoo! can continue to expand its map of
businesses per region. If you find your business is already
listed in Yahoo! Local, then check the information for accuracy
since sometimes there are errors. These errors are easily
corrected by going through the sign up process. For more
information see http://local.yahoo.com/
By using the 3 key methods listed above, your website will get a
jumpstart in the local search arena. Also, don’t forget a
link-building campaign as well since you’ll need a few relevant
links pointing back to your website. So, what are you waiting
for? Get started now!
About the author:
Copyright © 2005 SEO Services
SEO
Services is a search engine optimization company
specializing in both on-page and off-page optimization in order
to achieve high rankings.
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