Some smaller businesses avoid the Internet under the assumption that since their customers are local, there’s no point in marketing online. This would be incorrect. Online shoppers are NOT looking for car dealerships in Zimbabwe, they are savvy enough to distinguish the local search results from everything else. If you don’t come up in a search—you have just lost a customer.
- Joan Norton, TXParent
Local search engines allow the selection of 2 to 5 categories to help searchers find your website. With the increased usage of smartphones, it’s not unusual for someone to be in your neighborhood while searching for a particular service or product you offer. With properly identified categories, it makes it easy for customers to find you.
Offline, a citation is what you eventually get when you insist on not providing enough money for metered parking. A citation in web searching terms however, is providing accurate information on your business such as the name, address, and phone number for starters. Making sure that everything is identical, where it counts, means more phone calls or scheduled appointments for your business!
Referencing websites that point to your site, or to your business listing citations, contribute to how your business is ranked on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines. If this information is incomplete, inaccurate or outdated you may be missing out on potential customers or simply lost on the 2nd, 3rd, 10th page of search results.
Reviews and ratings that previous customers post online are very persuasive to potential customers. If someone took their valuable time to write a raving review, it says a lot and people take notice. By the same token, however, the same could be said for a bad review (or rant). Staying alert and in front of your reviews is key in successfully monitoring and managing your local listing citations. Regardless if you are a doctors office or even a local audio visual company, our local search optimization services including getting more reviews to increase your rating and search positioning.
