APR. 17, ISSUE #1227 | Article Categories | • Advertising • Blogs & Podcasts • Business • Ecommerce • Google • Linking Strategies • Marketing • RSS • SE Optimization • SE Positioning • SE Submission • SE Tactics • Security • Technology • Video Marketing • Web 2.0 • Web Design • Webmasters • Website Promotion • Website Traffic • Writing | Web Search | • Add a Site • Rapid Paid Inclusion • Low Cost Search Engine Ads • Search 85,000 News Sources | Blog Search | • Add a Blog • Search 30,000+ Blogs • Grab a Blog RSS Feed • Grab a Blog Content Feed | Tools & Services | | Webmaster Tools | • Web Page Analyzer • Meta Tag Generator • Keyword Popularity Tool • Link Popularity Checker • Search Engine Submitter • Internet Tools Directory • Site Resource Directory | Traffic Exchanges | Get Free Visitors to Your Site with these Outstanding Services: TrafficZap TrafficSwarm | Site of the Day | CastTV.com is a popular video search engine with the ambitious goal of indexing every video on the Web. The site aggregates TV shows, live events, viral videos, etc. Does your web site qualify as a SPN Site of the Day? Webmaster resource sites can apply via email: sotd@sitepronews.com | App of the Day | RealWorld Paint.COM v2009.1 (6.4 MB) is an image viewer and that can display images using any zoom factor. Tooltips are displayed throughout the user interface to explain meaning of controls. Allows you to edit pictures with layers and assign effects to every layer. Uses native plug-ins as well as plug-ins compatible with Adobe Photoshop. Freeware for Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista/ 7. If you have a Webmaster App that you would like listed on the SPN site, send us an email with details to: wapps@sitepronews.com | SPN Partners | Hostway - Trust your Web site to the global leader! More than 2 million customers already enjoy our innovative Web hosting and ecommerce solutions. SubmitPlus - Post your site to 110 search engines... Gratis. Template Monster - The Web's number one website templates are available for immediate download. Online Site Builder - Providing high end web design, site management & digital media tools Web-Source - Your Guide to Professional Web Site Design & Development. TechNewsletters.com - A directory of IT newsletters with ratings & descriptions. NewWebDirectory - A new internet web directory of professionally reviewed web sites providing both freebie and paid site submission. FreeWebMonitoring - Monitor your web site's availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with email alerts and weekly web site statistics. DropJack.com - A new social content website similar to Digg. Submit original content or articles and news items that you believe are newsworthy. SmartWebGadgets.com - Useful gadgets and widgets for your blog or website. Enhance any web page with just 2 lines of code. Top 10 Exposure - Forget PPC. Get Google-Type ads for $3 - $4 per month and top 10 exposure across 100's of search engines & web directories. Rapid Paid Inclusion - Add Your URL to 40+ Search Engines. Fast Inclusion, Recrawls and Backlinks. Get a Featured Article Position on GoArticles - Put your article at the top of any GoArticles.com category or sub-category for greater exposure and better rankings. | | | As the population with internet access explodes, and more and more people are using search engines to find what they need, the usage of local search also continues to rise. For any sites servicing a local or specific geographic audience, submission to local search based engines is becoming more and more important.
What is it? In a nutshell local search involves the use of specialized search engines specifically created to focus on a selected geographic region to find local businesses and websites focused on your area.
Local search is commonly utilized as a directory, where users select their location, and narrow their search by categories till they find the listíng they want. In many cases local search engines also guess at the users' location by using their IP, so when you visit the site and search, for example, "Chinese restaurants" you automatically see results specific to your location. |
Google has been doing this for a while to one degree or another. When you perform a search in Google using a geographic modifier the map comes up with results specific to that location. You can also take it one step further and search Google Local specifically.
But Google isn't the only engine out there focused on local search. There are several of these directories ranging from the better known Best of the Web, right down to small town specific websites offering local search options. You even may find a web directory or guide specifically created for your city, and chances are, it will be a great place for you to submit your site.
Many local directories are free for basic listings along with paid advanced listing options.
Who needs it? Local search is ideal for anyone serving a specific region, especially those with brick and mortar stores. While you do not necessarily need a physical location, some local search directories, including Google Local, require that you do.
Only recently have small local businesses realized the need to be found in the major search engines. I know that if I am personally looking for a bike tune-up, the first place I turn to is online, to find the various bike shops in my area, if at very least, I search online to find their contact info. I can't remember the last time I picked up a phone book. As the internet grows in popularity, there are more and more people like me who use it exclusively to find what they want, local or otherwise. For businesses not found within the various local search sites, they are missing out on a growing piece of their market.
Considering the limited expense in getting lísted in local search directories, traditional brick and mortar business can't afford to not be listed, it's quickly becoming a necessity.
Why bother? With more people using these directories, and the incredibly low cost of "free" involved in being listed in many of them, it only makes sense to get listed. These directories, even the lower traffic ones, are a great free source of relevant traffic and the few minutes required to submit to them (usually around 10 minutes or so) only needs to result in a very small handful of site visitors to make it worthwhile. |
Where to get listed? When it comes to local search there are a few places you don't want to miss such as Google Local. Many local search directories are country specific, so try your searching by using your country name; such as, "Canadian business directory".
Try to focus your efforts on finding local directories that not only focus on your geographic region, but also offer you something in return.
How to decide if a directory is worthwhile There are 5 main factors you need to consider when choosing to submít to a local search directory. 1. Location What geographic regions does the directory serve? Do they serve your location?
2. Relevance Does a relevant category exist? When you navigate to your appropriate category, are the other business listings relevant to your business? Some local directories may focus only on one industry, such as hotels. If the theme of the directory will not cater to your industry, you certainly don't need to be listed there.
3. Price How much does the directory charge? If it is free, it's most likely worthwhile. If there is a cost associated with the listing, you need to know more to find out if it's money well spent (which is where the next two points come in). | 4. Traffic Does this directory have much traffic? The quickest way to get a rough idea on this is to check their Alexa rating. Alexa is a rough indicator of how busy a site is, the busier the site, the closer their ranking will be to 1. If the site looks like it has very limited traffic, then you need to find out if the listing will have any SEO benefits if you are to spend any money here. (A low traffic free directory is likely still worthwhile however.)
5. SEO Will your listing help you with your organic rankings? This is relatively simple to find out. You want to first check the Google Page Rank for their home page. If it is low (less than 5) then this is not one of the major directories. If it is between 5 and 10, then they likely have some authority. Next check the page your listing will actually reside on. Is this page indexed by Google, and does it have any Page Rank? If so, is the link back to your site search engine friendly? Many local search directories may link to your site using the rel=nofollow tag, or by redirecting through a variety of tracking methods, which can cause your link to have no value in terms of SEO. However, some of them will give you a straight link fully readable by Google, so you will also get the added benefit of increased link density from many of these links. Some directories will also create a brand new page just for you. In that case, your page will not be indexed by Google and will have no Page Rank, but in time, it will. If this is the case, check a few of the listings to see if their pages are indexed.
If Google can not see this link, it has no SEO value. If the directory has no SEO value, and no traffic, it is not worthwhile to pay for this submission. (That said, if it's a free listing, you may as well list your site there.)
How can I get listed? Unlike organic SEO, getting lísted in a local directory is often as simple as finding the local directories that are relevant and submitting your site. Once you have decided that a directory is worthwhile, filling in a few online forms and submitting payment where applicable is all it takes. Most paid local directories will have your listing posted within a few days, if not immediately. Free directories can take anywhere form a couple of days to several weeks, depending on their policies, etc.
StepForth will soon be offering a Local Search service, so stay tuned to see what we can do for you. About The Author Scott Van Achte is the Senior SEO at StepForth Web Marketing Inc.; based in Victoria, BC, Canada and founded in 1997. You can read more of Scott's articles and those of the veteran StepForth team at http://news.stepforth.com or contact us at www.stepforth.com, Tel - 250-385-1190, TollFree - 877-385-5526, Fax - 250-385-1198 Printer Friendly Version of this Article
| |
No response to “The Ins and Outs of Local Search”
Leave a Reply