Local searches allow businesses to get their names noticed by customers in their area, but taking advantage of local searches can be difficult for business owners that are unfamiliar with local sites. If a business wants to rank for competitive search terms in their local market, they can normally benefit from backlinks from sites that boost local rankings.
While each area and type of business is different, below are five great sites to boost your local links.
1. Foursquare
Nearly all social media sites are important when it comes to local links, but because Foursquare is so specifically targeted at location, it is definitely a place you want to be.
On Foursquare, not only do you get your business name and contact information on the site, but visitors to your business “check in” to your location and Foursquare posts it on other social media websites that the visitors have connected to their Foursquare account. Each site where your name and address appears is another links that adds to your search engine results.
2. YellowPages.com
This site is the online equivalent of the paper product. It includes a directory of businesses that visitors can then search through. It is an excellent resource for your business in itself, is often referenced in online searches, and provides a source for a local link.
3. Facebook
There’s no denying that Facebook is still the most widely used social media network in the world, but these rules apply to more than just Facebook. Having a page dedicated to your business on Facebook is key for a number of reasons, but the way Facebook works with other sites to share and exchange information makes it a vital tool in your local link boosting.
And, with any social media site that you use, you should keep in mind that your address, your business name, and phone number should all be consistent from one site to another. That is the only way all these local links will be tallied together.
4. Yelp
This widely used review site is a great place for your business to get links, not to mention feedback from your customers. A number of people check Yelp directly for information on a particular business, which provides an added bonus to just having your business name and contact information listed on yet another website.
5. Trip Advisor
For the same reason as Yelp, businesses that a person might encounter while on a vacation should consider placing their business’ information on Trip Advisor. Though it has a slightly more targeted audience, Trip Advisor can cover anything from stores to hotels to restaurants. While you are in a service industry, you might see minimal benefit to the site, but for others, it is a great spot to promote themselves, and to receive an added link.
There is More
Depending on your geographic area and business niche, there are many other powerful local sites. Consult with a local SEO professional to see how they can help you achieve the local search rankings you seek for your business.
Ascent Internet, a local SEO company, contributed this post. You can learn more about their Web marketing and Web design/development services at www.ascentinternet.com.
hi,
thanks for sharing. I am a newbie in seo field and i think that this article will really help me in my work.
each time i used to read smaller articles which also clear
their motive, and that is also happening with this post which I am reading here.
A good start for someone looking to increase their rankings in local search but as you mention there are far more websites to be aware of too. Including industry specific directories.
Accountant Marketer, which directories would you recommend for online marketers?
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@Ursula It is a free theme and I have modified it myself.
Getting citations from sites like YP, Yelp and foursquare is important, and a great place to start. Another really important factor is including your contact information on every page, and having it formatted according to Schema.org. If you are using wordpress, you can install the hCard Widget for WordPress which helps Google and Bing extract and display your contact info in search results – and gives you a local SEO boots. The plugin is constantly being improved, and I’m always looking for feedback.
Thanks
Michael