Are you a local business? If so, you need to maximize your exposure in local directories and online map sites including Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, Yelp and more. Many of these sites are also emerging as the primary source of local business information on mobile devices. In fact, iPhone and Android app phones are pre-loaded with Google Maps which pulls local business information from Google Places.
IMC knows how to secure your position in these directories. Many of the tactics are similar to those used in SEO services but there are some distinct differences.
The age of Smart phones is now officially upon us. Google Maps marketing has become critical to local businesses advertising strategy. Not only does Google’s free 411 service (800-GOOG-411) list its map listings in the exact order it displays in its online map section, it displays them in most prominent search positions in PDA’s, Smart phones and IPhones Google recently changed the local search world again with the release of the Google Local Ads paid map search platform. We monitor every change in Google map marketing for local search advertising to provide our clients the best advantage in the local map optimization arena.
Here is how map optimization works:
- First, we create a complete and compelling profile on the local directory site. Your profile will include your important keywords to maximize your rankings on those keyword. We’ll take care of writing the content and working with the business owner or reseller to verify the listing.
- Second, customer reviews are an important factor in presence of your business. We’ll setup our My Customer Review feature to proactively request reviews of your business. We can request reviews daily, weekly or monthly.
- Finally, we will work to build citations or online references to your business on other directory sites. Citations are similar to links except that they often are built by mention of phone number, business name and address.
- When a customer clicks on your ad, we take them to the page on your site that has the information that best matches their search.
IMC tracks the placement of your local profile in the search results and continues to make adjustments, build citations and request reviews.