Why Is Local Internet Marketing So Critical?

While the internet has recently revolutionized the way we search for information, Google has recently revolutionized the way we search for products and services in our local market.

You may have noticed when you perform a search on Google, your search results include a local area map that highlights several local business listings. These listings are easily identified because they contain prominent map markers next to each one. These listings are also easily noticed because Google places them at the very top of the search results. The local search results come from the Google Maps database.

So just why does Google return search results that has local listings?

There are two reasons. One, the Google user uses a location modifier: instead of a search for “lawyer”, the search contains a geographic location: “Las Vegas lawyer” or “lawyer in San Diego.” And two, Google tracks the location of the users computer IP address and matches search results based on their estimate of the IP location.

Beating Your Competition With Local Internet Marketing

As a business who markets to people in a specific geographic are, there is an opportunity to dominate your local competition by claiming a free, prominent search listing Google’s local business search engine called “Google Places”. Google has spent a lot of money on becoming the most relevant search engine to its users and Google understands that if you live in Las Vegas and you do a search for DUI attorney, they know you want a DUI attorney in Las Vegas — not in Detroit. Understanding which keywords and location modifiers to use in your Places listing is at the heart of local internet marketing.

Google Places Local Business Search Results

As you can see on the screenshot above, I did a search for a “place” that included a “business category” recognized by Google. Google has returned relevant local businesses listings relating to my search. More importantly, these results are at the very top of the search results! By applying local internet marketing to your Places listing categories and your website, you’ll be more likely to get a top search result.

Studies have shown over and over again that being at the top of Google correlates with more traffic, more exposure, more authority and more business. If you own a local business, local internet marketing is where you want to focus first. In the days when the yellow pages were the dominating “go to” source for finding local businesses, this top Google maps listing is the equivalent to a full color, full page listing.

To learn more about how to ditch your expensive yellow page ads and join the local internet marketing revolution, contact Halo Effects, LLC.