Do you manage a business that serves people where they work or live, rather than in a brick and mortar storefront? If so, this article will be of interest when considering investing your time and money in listings on local search pages provided by services like Google, Bing, and Yelp.
There is no doubt these types of pages are a huge trend that will impact your bottom line. This article: How Can Local Search Better Serve Service Oriented Businesses? by Damian Rolson provides a good overview of the challenges businesses like yours face in the universe of online local searches. In my opinion, the article’s title is very generous. From personal experience, the local search services for service oriented businesses are pretty dismal.
This is an important topic for small business owners to spend some time researching. Local search is a hot trend that is changing the way search results come up on the big three: Google, Yelp, and Bing. Chances are, your business is already represented on these sites with a bare bones page — even without you knowing it — and people may already be making comments about your business, both good and bad. You will want to go in and take control of your pages on these various sites and this is a complicated process for those of you who operate a service out of your home. Please read the linked article to understand why.
The local search trend is also going to affect investments you made in your website and SEO. If you have a diligent webmaster, (s)he probably explained to you the importance of organic Search Engine Optimization. A savvy SEO program is an indispensable tool for getting your business to come up on page one of major search engines. Well, guess what? Those top placements will now be pushed down the list by things like the Google+ Local, (the one with the map and markers), which appears first, right after a few paid listings on the top of the page.
People who provide services out of their homes, to a geographic area, will have to stay on top of this trend.
Visit the Links page to connect with some other very helpful articles by Damian Rolson.
helpwithpromo 