5 tips for dominating local

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Five basic tips for dominating local. If you’re a local business, local musician, local event planner, local anything, you need to try these methods.

1. Optimize your site or microsite for local. Buy a local domain name, like Boston Martial Arts. When people are searching for generics, they’ll Google for your locality and the generic term – and chances are generic terms are more likely to be available at the local level.

2. Register for local. Set up your Google Local Business Center. Get events into local calendars like Craigslist for your city.

3. Recruit local. Hit up local message boards, follow people locally on Twitter, find discussion groups and email lists that are local and introduce yourself to your community.

4. Be at local events. Attend things like PodCamp Boston (if you’re in Boston, obviously), or create your own PodCamp, BarCamp, TEDx, or other event for your area.

5. Go local offline. Got a business you’re promoting? Look at local delivery systems to enhance your business. One of my friends who is an avid local marketer promotes his business through an online and offline affiliate program, and gives affiliate coupons to other local businesses. His biggest success? A local florist shop includes his coupons in their deliveries. The florist gets affiliate fees if the customer signs up, he gets free marketing, and the customer gets his business if they want what he has to sell – and the sell is slightly easier because the arrival of flowers tend to brighten moods to begin with.

What are your local tips and tricks?

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Comments

31 responses to “5 tips for dominating local”

July 27, 2009

Stuartfoster

Amazed that more companies aren't doing these simple things. If you are a brick and mortar and you are local? You have to be doing these things in order to survive. Otherwise the business will go to the person who comes up first.

Reply
July 27, 2009

robhahn

Good stuff, Chris.

This is one area apparently where real estate is way ahead of the curve compared to everyone else. Not surprising, I suppose, given that real estate is inherently local. Some of the top realtors do precisely this, to great effect. I might take a look at, for example, Teri Lussier's The Brick Ranch (http://www.thebrickranch.com). [No relationship w/ Teri; just a friend in RE.net.]

-rsh

Reply
July 27, 2009

justinparks

This works well in the States or other advanced areas, I'm sure, but its much more difficult in Southern Spain unfortunately, as the local business community are still waiting for their internet connections to be installed most of the time and are about 5 years behind the USA. 😛

Reply
July 27, 2009

John Wood

Adding your business to http://www.brownbook.net for free is also a very good idea – you can add as many local keywords as you like so it really increases your local online visibility. Brownbook is local but also global so it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you can still take advantage of it. It also allows you to personalize your listing with videos, photos, formatting and widgets. I saw a claim in a blog that the Brownbook listing for one business was seen in the first page of Google results only 2 hours after it had been added! http://twitter.com/worldwidepr/status/2630020766

Reply
July 27, 2009

chelpixie

Brownbook is a good suggestion, but even simple yellow pages websites will boost your rank in search engines.

Often times when businesses are first getting started on the web they don't come up anywhere but the yellow pages sites, by listing there until your website SEO outranks is a good way to get and stay visible.

I'd also recommend having customers leave comments and ratings on your Google Local Business search result, offering them a coupon/discount for doing so.

Reply
July 27, 2009

jlbraaten

Great insights, Chris. SEOmoz did a local search guide a few weeks ago, which compliments technically what you have listed here functionally. They talk about how the search engines have pretty basic search algorithms compared to regular search. They estimate the local algos are where the global search algo was in 2003/2004.

That said, it's relatively easy to get your business into the local search results if you follow their basic rules. Submit to local business center. Get as many listings in 3rd party directories (e.g., yellow pages, infousa, etc.) as you can. Put your keywords in your business name. File your business in the appropriate category.

If you're doing this now, kudos for you. If you aren't, prepare for the land rush that's going to happen over the next several years. Very timely, Chris. You're always posting on how your readers can take action now.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Fred H Schlegel

Nice simple easy to follow steps. Huge miss by most local biz folks. I really like that you included musicians/entertainers into the mix. It's easy to forget that the traditional way of building a national following used to be establishing a local, rabid fan base as a launching pad.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Fred H Schlegel

Nice simple easy to follow steps. Huge miss by most local biz folks. I really like that you included musicians/entertainers into the mix. It's easy to forget that the traditional way of building a national following used to be establishing a local, rabid fan base as a launching pad.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Stuart Foster

Amazed that more companies aren't doing these simple things. If you are a brick and mortar and you are local? You have to be doing these things in order to survive. Otherwise the business will go to the person who comes up first.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Chel Wolverton

Brownbook is a good suggestion, but even simple yellow pages websites will boost your rank in search engines.

Often times when businesses are first getting started on the web they don’t come up anywhere but the yellow pages sites, by listing there until your website SEO outranks is a good way to get and stay visible.

I’d also recommend having customers leave comments and ratings on your Google Local Business search result, offering them a coupon/discount for doing so.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Notorious R.O.B.

Good stuff, Chris.

This is one area apparently where real estate is way ahead of the curve compared to everyone else. Not surprising, I suppose, given that real estate is inherently local. Some of the top realtors do precisely this, to great effect. I might take a look at, for example, Teri Lussier's The Brick Ranch (http://www.thebrickranch.com). [No relationship w/ Teri; just a friend in RE.net.]

-rsh

Reply
July 27, 2009

mikekujawski

Great list! I usually recommend starting off by using “Google Insights for Search” to determine the keywords/keyphrases people are already using to find related businesses/products/services in your area. Once you know this, you can optimize your web presence accordingly by producing content which incorporates the same terminology used by your target audience. My favourite tool for local domination is definitely the Twitter database (as I like to call it), when properly filtered. I just finished writing a post on “finding a niche community in 60 seconds” on my blog for those of you interested. Great job Chris, keep the quality content coming!

Reply
July 27, 2009

Ari Herzog

Don't merely do. If you build something, one may not necessarily come. You must participate, you must interact. That's a sure-fire way for people to come. When I launched the online counterparts of my candidacy for Newburyport City Council, I did in places that generally receive high search engine result placement: Facebook, Twitter, a blog. And if you search — http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=newburypor… — for Newburyport city council on Google today, you may see some of my online properties in the first page of results. They may be below the fold today, but in time–and allegedly when Election Day draws closer–they will be higher.

But my search engine placement wouldn't have happened overnight if I wasn't active online and participating in online media, such as commenting on your blog here.

Great tips, Christopher. I especially like the fact you mentioned Craigslist for marketing, a tool few consider for anything but jobs and sex ads.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Justin Parks

This works well in the States or other advanced areas, I'm sure, but its much more difficult in Southern Spain unfortunately, as the local business community are still waiting for their internet connections to be installed most of the time and are about 5 years behind the USA. 😛

Reply
July 27, 2009

John Wood

Adding your business to http://www.brownbook.net for free is also a very good idea – you can add as many local keywords as you like so it really increases your local online visibility. Brownbook is local but also global so it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you can still take advantage of it. It also allows you to personalize your listing with videos, photos, formatting and widgets. I saw a claim in a blog that the Brownbook listing for one business was seen in the first page of Google results only 2 hours after it had been added! http://twitter.com/worldwidepr/status/2630020766

Reply
July 27, 2009

jlbraaten

Great insights, Chris. SEOmoz did a local search guide a few weeks ago, which compliments technically what you have listed here functionally. They talk about how the search engines have pretty basic search algorithms compared to regular search. They estimate the local algos are where the global search algo was in 2003/2004.

That said, it's relatively easy to get your business into the local search results if you follow their basic rules. Submit to local business center. Get as many listings in 3rd party directories (e.g., yellow pages, infousa, etc.) as you can. Put your keywords in your business name. File your business in the appropriate category.

If you're doing this now, kudos for you. If you aren't, prepare for the land rush that's going to happen over the next several years. Very timely, Chris. You're always posting on how your readers can take action now.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Steve Sherlock

Chris, good points. One I would add is to network with other bloggers in the local community. Franklin is smaller than Boston and there are gradually other blogs appearing on the web. I reach out to my counterparts to let them know what I am doing and help them in any way I can.

I have also joined the local Chamber of Commerce to meet the local business owners, participate in ribbon cutting ceremonies, etc. This is all goodness for Franklin Matters, my public service effort to create an informed electorate.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Suzanne Vara

Great reminder for those that have overlooked and/or who are just getting started. Geo targeting is also good for businesses who are just getting started to rank locally and then expand upon that.

Thanks for the insight.

Suzanne Vara/ @Lvadgal

Reply
July 27, 2009

Fred H Schlegel

Nice simple easy to follow steps. Huge miss by most local biz folks. I really like that you included musicians/entertainers into the mix. It's easy to forget that the traditional way of building a national following used to be establishing a local, rabid fan base as a launching pad.

Reply
July 27, 2009

Steve Sherlock

Chris, good points. One I would add is to network with other bloggers in the local community. Franklin is smaller than Boston and there are gradually other blogs appearing on the web. I reach out to my counterparts to let them know what I am doing and help them in any way I can.

I have also joined the local Chamber of Commerce to meet the local business owners, participate in ribbon cutting ceremonies, etc. This is all goodness for Franklin Matters, my public service effort to create an informed electorate.

Reply
July 30, 2009

charlesneville

Something worth considering, especially in economically turbulent times, is buying up expired domains previously owned by competitors that have gone out of business – if you can get there before the link farm people do.

Up to you whether you 301 redirect it to your homepage (maybe worthwhile if there's some Google Juice left in the domain), or just put up a page explaining that XYZ Co has ceased trading but you're happy to fulfil the customer demand, then link through to your own site. Fact is that there will be links out there to that site for years to come – people don't often check their links are still valid – and someone might as well get the clicks.

A domain name that brings you one click a day pays for itself vs PPC traffic pretty quickly. Put analytics on the domain to see where the traffic is coming from and contact the webmasters of the larger contributors to get them to link directly to your own site instead.

Reply
July 30, 2009

charlesneville

Something worth considering, especially in economically turbulent times, is buying up expired domains previously owned by competitors that have gone out of business – if you can get there before the link farm people do.

Up to you whether you 301 redirect it to your homepage (maybe worthwhile if there’s some Google Juice left in the domain), or just put up a page explaining that XYZ Co has ceased trading but you’re happy to fulfil the customer demand, then link through to your own site. Fact is that there will be links out there to that site for years to come – people don’t often check their links are still valid – and someone might as well get the clicks.

A domain name that brings you one click a day pays for itself vs PPC traffic pretty quickly. Put analytics on the domain to see where the traffic is coming from and contact the webmasters of the larger contributors to get them to link directly to your own site instead.

Reply
August 5, 2009

madbaker

Hey Chris — hope this isn't too late for a quick reply. I've got a question about your first point. Are you suggesting changing the company and website name to the local name, or just redirecting to the main site?

ie. My company is called “Wheatstone Bakery” and I'm in, say, Omaha. I already own wheatstonebakery.com Should I buy omahabakery.com and redirect? Or rename my website? Or rename my company and website?

Reply
August 5, 2009

Christopher S. Penn

I would buy Omaha Bakery in this case and make it a microsite, a shortened version of your existing site with a sell and some links to your site.

Reply
August 5, 2009

madbaker

Thanks for the clarification — I appreciate it.

Reply
August 5, 2009

Mark Dyck

Hey Chris — hope this isn’t too late for a quick reply. I’ve got a question about your first point. Are you suggesting changing the company and website name to the local name, or just redirecting to the main site?

ie. My company is called “Wheatstone Bakery” and I’m in, say, Omaha. I already own wheatstonebakery.com Should I buy omahabakery.com and redirect? Or rename my website? Or rename my company and website?

Reply
August 5, 2009

Christopher S. Penn

I would buy Omaha Bakery in this case and make it a microsite, a shortened version of your existing site with a sell and some links to your site.

Reply
August 5, 2009

Mark Dyck

Hey Chris — hope this isn't too late for a quick reply. I've got a question about your first point. Are you suggesting changing the company and website name to the local name, or just redirecting to the main site?

ie. My company is called “Wheatstone Bakery” and I'm in, say, Omaha. I already own wheatstonebakery.com Should I buy omahabakery.com and redirect? Or rename my website? Or rename my company and website?

Reply
August 5, 2009

Christopher S. Penn

I would buy Omaha Bakery in this case and make it a microsite, a shortened version of your existing site with a sell and some links to your site.

Reply
August 5, 2009

Mark Dyck

Thanks for the clarification — I appreciate it.

Reply
August 5, 2009

Mark Dyck

Thanks for the clarification — I appreciate it.

Reply