If you’re not yet on the Local Search Map, waste no time in staking your claim because local search is where it’s all at right now. More than 20 percent of searches include location and even more bear local intent. Numerically, this means about three billion search queries containing local terms each month. This is why companies are investing in local search marketing and why you should scramble to catch up.

Through local search marketing, businesses are able to establish a strong and sustainable edge over their competitors. You’ll notice it when you do your searches. Local search results dominate the page, pushing organic website listings lower down the page. That in itself explains how powerful the results of local search engine optimization can be.

The thing about local search is that even if it’s very much cost effective, it can be rather complex. It calls for cautious implementation and ongoing management. You need to be visible in the different search engine maps (Google, Yahoo, and Bing), review sites (Yelp, Zagat, Urban Spoon), as well as yellow page directories, local directories, business directories, and niche or industry-specific directories.

The first step to take in aid of local search marketing is submitting your listings to the aforementioned online sites. What comes next for your business in Northern Arizona? SEO in the local arena requires you to claim or verify your listings and ensure that they are accurate before you get to work optimizing them.

The majority of Internet users are interested in local products and services. With the ever- increasing number of mobile users, local search marketing is becoming more important every day. If you own a retail store, a restaurant, a hotel, a plumbing company, a real estate agency, a dental office, etc., you have to do local search marketing to remain competitive. Does this mean that large B2Bs shouldn’t bother with local SEO?

Even if your business is not locally focused, it would still serve you well to do local search marketing since you still have a physical office in your town or city. Customers, vendors, job applicants, and business partners will appreciate the easy access to your local information through the search engines.

What’s typically involved in local search marketing? When it comes to your listings, it entails submitting, claiming, verifying, managing, optimizing, and promoting. At times, it also includes eliminating duplicate listings. Besides these, it also works to increase and manage your reviews as well as set up analytics tracking.

The importance of local search marketing cannot be stressed enough, so make sure that you’re investing in it accordingly.