Google_Local_Maps_OptimizationLocal Search Optimization

Local Online Search Marketing is rapidly replacing print advertising as the primary way consumers find your products and services in local areas. And with the explosive growth of smart phones, local search has become more critical than ever in successfully marketing your business.

Google states that over 20% of all searches are related to a location based service.  And since comScore reports that over 14 billion searches are conducted through Google each month, this means nearly 3 billion Google search queries contained local terms.

While these statistics are impressive, below are a few more that only confirm the importance of online advertising for local business.

  • 97% of Internet users in the U.S. gather shopping information online, and of those consumers
  • 51% explicitly characterize their behavior as “Shop Online, Purchase Offline”
  • 73% of activity online is in one way or another “related to local content”
  • 43% of search engine users are seeking a local merchant to buy something offline
  • 84% of search users have substituted Internet/search for the phone book

What is Local Search Optimization?

Because the Google Map is visual and covers about 30% of the first page of search engine results, it draws potential clients and makes it easy for them to connect with local businesses.

When buyers look for services on Google, the 3 to 7 most relevant local businesses are displayed on a map with the company and phone number. Artificial Marketing can get you into these displayed spots with our Local Search Optimization and Local Online Advertising campaigns.

  • Our team will look at search data and current trends related to your services and optimize the content of your listing to maximize its relevancy to local and mobile searchers.
  • Each month, we will build citations to your contact information on other sites and directories. Citations help build your businesses credibility with search engines, boosting you into the top listings, and attracting customers.

Local map listings ooze practicality. If a user is searching for a carpet cleaner, plumber, or even a plastic surgeon, they may prefer local results to paid and organic listings. Google has trained us to use local search keywords by giving us better results when we are searching for a local company when we add city state combinations.  For those who want immediate local contact options, map listings offer them in a uniform fashion unlike any other portion of the page by listing the phone numbers in clean rows along the side of the geographic breakdown of each business. In addition, customer reviews are immediately obtainable with one click – so you can research and contact a company all in one easy step with map listings.

Don’t under estimate the importance of Local Place Pages or the effort involved in being ranked at the top.  Contact Us Today for a free consultation!