Local Search Optimization (LSO)
A good location and a sign above the door was once all it took for people to find your business. Well, now there's another way. It's actually a better way and it's making location less important than it used to be. It's called local search optimization and it can bring in more new customers than any other form of marketing you've ever tried.
A local search occurs whenever someone goes to Google, or Yelp or Citysearch and types in something they want from a local business. The search could be for a attorney in Akron or it could be embroidery in Edmonton. The person wants something only a local business can supply.
Local search is quickly becoming the first place people look when they want something. Today over 80% of consumers search for local businesses online. Businesses use local searches too. If you do not optimize your physical business location for a local search, you are going to miss out on a lot of new customers.
If you spend any money advertising to reach new customers in your local market you need to understand how advertising differs from search. When you advertise you are trying to get the attention of people who may need your product or service at some time in the future. You're hoping that they will remember you when the need arises.
Search occurs at the time the need arises. Generally the searcher does not remember a particular ad. Instead the person goes online to find a solution to their problem. Even if they happen to remember your ad they don't remember your phone number, address or hours of operation. When they go online to find you, your business needs to be easy to find.
Google, and most other search engines, present results for local searches differently than results for website searches. In a local search Google will provide seven businesses that it thinks best suit the search phrase. The seven results are know in geek-speak as the "7-pack".
Typically the 7-pack is found at or near the top of the page. Most people searching for a local business will be satisfied with the search results found in the 7-pack. Generally they will not click on the link that says "More results near..." That's because 99% of all searchers will choose a business from the seven provided in the 7-pack. And of the seven businesses presented, most people choose from one of the top three businesses on the list. Therefore it is incredibly important for your business to be included in the 7-pack.
The 7-pack is a list of search results which are considered to be organic. In other words they are a list of businesses that Google believes will best satisfy the searcher. Google provides two types of search results; organic and sponsored. Sponsored results are a type of paid advertisement and Google collects a fee from the sponsor (business owner) every time someone clicks on the ad. Theses results appear at the top and right hand side of the page and are often shaded to stand out from organic results.
Since organic search results are typically more appropriate to the search phrase and therefore more likely to be what the searchers is looking for, most people bypass the sponsored results and click on the organic results. Organic results are provided free of any cost to the business owner.
To see where your business ranks on all of the major search engines you can use the free tool at http://www.mycoremarketing.com
Gary Bodley is an author, lecturer and franchisor of two successful concepts. He is also the founder and CEO of Core Marketing, Inc. Core Marketing is a nationwide network of local marketing experts who help small business owners develop modern marketing programs designed to increase gross sales and net profits. We show small business owners how to compete against the big chains by leveraging the good will of their current Core Customers to attract new customers away from the corporate Goliath's. To learn more about local business marketing, which is now revolutionizing the way small business owners advertise, visit http://www.mycoremarketing.com
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