Optimize You Business for Local Search Step 2: Beef Up Your Listings

To really stand out in the crowd and get the best ranking possible, you must add more than the basic info to your profile. A strong profile should include: (Read the post Optimize Your Business for Local Search for a basic introduction to local search.)

• Basics: company name, phone, address, hours of operation, email, and website
• Keywords: choose specific words that describe your business and services to include in your description and listing categories; they should be the same keywords that you use on your website
• Media: At least add your logo as an image, ideally you’d also add photos of your staff and location, and even better a video (Google places a lot of emphasis on video content)
• Reviews: Yahoo places a lot of weight on reviews and they are a great way to build trust with potential customers; split your efforts and have customers alternate posting reviews on Yahoo and Google
• Coupons: They don’t affect your ranking but are a great way to entice customers

Check back tomorrow for Step 3:Yellow Pages Listings that tells you how, why, and which internet yellow pages to list your business.