i will be glad

[greenoak]

i will be glad when the big pool of web advisors out there start considering us local users a little more..... i m enjoying mashable right now...lotsof good ideas, but as usual mostly aimed at national www users...im regional and local ...im hearing that we are the new area to be interested in...that would be good...
us local users are different.... meaning if you you want to be on the first page in your field nationally you have a different google goal than if you are local and your goal is to reach folks within your range, say 300 miles......
i cant imagine getting on the first page if you are in any kind of internet marketing or web services.... that sounds really hard....its such a huge field...... where for my business im there, in the 7 pack, already....and just want to make it better and better....
so im hoping the big pool of web experts out there try and think about and write about us who are working in smaller local areas.... im hearing about it but havent seen much yet.... ...i have picked up a lot of the basic stuff, from here and elsewhere, ...but would like to learn more from folks really involved in local......
any good local hints out there?

[Patrysha]

There are tons, but you've likely already picked up most of the information that you can get for free if you have scoured the local market. You aren't going to be likely to find anything beyond basics through free resources. Try sites like SmallBizSurvival.com and RetailMinded.com and RetailProphet.com.

[vangogh]

I will be glad when local businesses learn that what you need to do to be visible locally in search engines is still very much the same you need to do to be visible nationally or internationally. Some of the details certainly change, but the basics are the same. The building blocks you need to do to rank well within a miles of your store are still the same things you would to to rank well thousands of miles from your store.

SEO comes down to a few things:

1. Keyword research
2. Developing a search friendly site
3. Creating content
4. Building links
5. Analytics

If your focus is local then you do all the above with local in mind. Add more location based keywords, create content more specifically targeted to your local audience. Seek links from local sites. There's not a lot you would do differently when developing the site to be search friendly at the moment, though before too long there might be some things you can do.

However focusing on local doesn't mean ignoring national. Links from sites that help you rank nationally are also going to help you rank locally. Creating content that appeals to people outside your local area still appeals to those inside your local area.

You haven't specifically said this, but I've known plenty of people who reject ideas that will help them rank locally, because those things will also help them rank nationally. There's no off switch though for ranking nationally. Assuming the advice you read at Mashable is good seo advice in general it's likely going to be good advice for you locally too.

I would add that Mashable is not really a go to source for seo wisdom so if the advice they gave is bad it might be that it's bad advice and not specifically bad local seo advice.

[Harold Mansfield]

I agree with VG. "Local" is not new. It's the oldest marketing in the book. Worldwide or National for the average business is new. Everything has always been local.
Just to reiterate, what works for one, works for the other.
The SEO is not different. It's just targeted a little more. Narrowed in.

If you want to reach folks within a 300 mile area, then target keywords that make up that geographical area. Put your business on SE maps. Try and get links from other websites and businesses that service the same area. Get in local directories and web listings. Search for yourself using tools that others may use to look for you..geolocators, On Star, Around Me, Four Square, and so on.
Local is actually easier because there is far less competition.

[greenoak]

local sure isnt a new concern to me.... in general i dont hear it mentioned much tho....yet......i think we are a big group of users....
thanks vg..ive heard that before on here and try to use it....and i know to stay away from link farms... ...
altho a huge percernt of the computer advice ive read has been on here,... i do like mashable a lot....it seems to be interested in facebook and a lot of things i deal with....and offers lots of interesting links..plus it is there on my facebook everyday...along with grandma mary.....
i sure agree eborg, that ranking hi locally is easier...we rank first page statewide too ....
and thanks for those names , i never heard of them...im putting them on my to do list....
. i think we are up there pretty good even without formal seo help....but im all for improvement....
... since ive been on facebook i hear waaaay more about our web presence.... our facebook page and our site...im thinking google places is working too...

[Harold Mansfield]

To get on geolocators, you just have to make sure that you have a complete profile on what ever search platform and mapping that they are using.
Some use Bing, some use Google.

For instance, "Around Me" is an iPhone app that uses Google maps, and tells you what businesses (category based) are in your area and how far they are from you. It's just an example, but things like that are the benefit of building a complete business profile on things like Google maps. There are take out joints right around the corner from me that aren't listed on the app because they either don't know, or don't care about getting their business listed.

This particular app may not be of help to you because it's mainly things like gas stations, restaurants, movie theaters, etc...but just about everyone has some kind of local search on their person these days. Whether it be in car navigation or their hand held device. And people do use them. Just make sure that you are on what ever they are using for search or location.

[greenoak]

so you are saying i should be sure and have a big full profile on google and as many other places as i can manage.......where exactly on google ? . as in google places? or is it under a different part....i know we list our blogs on google...
im going to have my web person look at this thread and check up on these new ideas....
we just got signed up on yellowbook too....whats your opinion on that?
thanks
ann
..

[Duston McGroarty]

Google Places is the best one to start with... and like eborg9 said, complete your profile as much as possible.

The more you can put in there the more you're going to be found. Try to add as many of your targeted keyword
phrases into these profiles as possible. For example, if you owned an auto repair shop in Dallas, TX, you would
want to be sure and list Oil Change - Dallas, TX in your services offered.

And there are about twenty other FREE sites where you can do the same thing: yelp.com, localeze.com, whitepages.com
Bing Local, Yahoo Local and the list goes on...