Local Search Can Deliver Big, If Done Right

So many businesses need business from their local or regional area that Local Search Optimization has become one of our most called for projects. It is almost always a part of any web marketing strategy. Very recent changes have upset many businesses applecarts, plunging them into the Google abyss. Fortunately, that usually can be remedied. Today it takes a great deal of effort to rank locally (with a teardrop or map reference). This is still tied to what is called Google Places but displays in the Google Plus format now.

That means you need to be a part of Google+ and if you want your little snippet photo to show up with your listing (a huge advantage) you need to make sure your “authorship” snippets are done correctly. Add to that the list of 20 or More Citation Sites that your NAP (Name, Address & Phone) needs to be added to with descriptions, photos and URL and the fact that your core website needs to be good and you may begin to see that this Local Search Ranking is not exactly a piece of cake. We do serve that cake at Brandtastic and know the exact steps to take to get your business ranking better.

Outdated Information Below – Google My Business is the New Platform.

Still just as problematic, but we know how to cut through and get results.

This is the Google Places interface where you enter your Local Information.
Since Google has moved Local Search to Google+, this interface may soon change too.

Will you be at the top of Local Results? Well, we will try our best and have had great examples of success doing just that – but no results can ever be guaranteed with Google. Any marketing company that says they can guarantee that should be avoided. Of course if you want to use Pay-Per-Click, you may be able to gain the top spot but it will not be all it’s cracked up to be with an Ad. We believe that the top Organic Result or Local Search Result will deliver much better results than any PPC Ads. If you have everything lined up and planned well your business could end up with what is called a “blended” result, which is a combination of Local & Organic – this is the top price in search results.

Every business should be taking advantage of the FREE tools that Google offers to get more out of their Web Presence and be able to track their Website Performance. Google Places and Google Analytics are two great advantages over your competition.

Google Analytics – You NEED It Installed!
Here you see the old Google Analytics interface where our clients can learn many things about their website performance.

Prior to making improvements with any client we always install analytics on their website to provide a benchmark measurement of where they started. Most are amazed at how few visits they are getting and how poor the quality of the visit is. When we are finished building the new site or optimizing things, they are even more amazed at the huge jump in quality visits that are more likely to turn into new customers.