Secret To Small Business Success? Local Search

Just because you have a cool business or offer a unique service, doesn’t necessarily mean that people will find you. Or buy what you sell. Which is often a critical misstep that businesses make. Paying attention to local search and developing a strategy to maximize your exposure in your own community is a critical component to small business marketing – and a big part of success. And, when it comes to overall SEO strategy, the experts (at least the ones that I work with) generally advise that you start in your own market, own that, and then move outward. Or, as my partner in crime, Michelle Lamar, likes to (incessantly) say “Concentrate to Dominate, Baby!”

Local search is growing by 50% every year and, according to the fine people at Orange Soda who created this killer infographic, there are some 1.5 billion local searches per MONTH in 2010. Are you doing all you can to make sure those searchers find your business?

These days, finding a dentist, a tailor, an accountant, or a coffee shop is most often accomplished by the click of a mouse. Consumers search online for just everything they want or need – and that’s typically how they find the businesses they will ultimately patronize. That means a marketing and SEO strategy that maximizes local search is key. Smart businesses are staking their claims on location based sites like Gowalla and Foursquare and maximizing brand awareness inexpensively and easily. Additionally, tools like Google Places, online registries, directories and review sites are great places to make sure your business has a professional presence.

Not yet exploring how local search can help your business? There’s no time like the present.