Have you noticed the change in Google, the way they expanded the maps section? Maybe you don't know what that is or how to get your business listed there.

This section is called Google Places. If you are considered a local business, you need to pay very close attention to this. If you want to have the strongest presence you can on Google, you must claim your Google Places listing. There is still time to get ahead of your competition.

You may know what Google Maps is/was. It is exactly what it says it is, a map. Google would display what was known as the map section just below the paid ads at the top of the page. Underneath the map sections were all of the other results.

 Do you know what keywords are and why they are important? Keywords are the words and phrases people use to find what they are looking for online.

If your website isn't coming up for the keywords you want to be found for, you are going to have to put in some real effort to change that. However, you may be able to get your website ranked for keyword phrases that have less competition and still get some business.

Businesses have been spying on one another ever since business industry has existed.  Everyone wants to know what the competition is doing, especially if they seem to be doing it better. Now it’s just not enough for Joe’s Pizza Parlor to know what newspapers Fred’s Pizza Shop is using to attract customers or where Fred gets his ingredients.  Joe must also know where on the virtually endless World Wide Web any mention of Fred’s Pizza Shop exists. This is where new age competitive analysis comes in while doing local search marketing.

Competitive analysis simply means finding out exactly what a competitor is doing and how that competitor goes in doing it.  Once you are armed with this knowledge, you can then compare their practices with yours to decide who is doing the best.  If the competition has an edge, this knowledge will help you to catch up.  If your strategy is better, then it will help you stay ahead.

We have in-house software that will do competitive analysis, and we use it to benefit our local SEO clients.  However, there is some less sophisticated but still workable software available for purchase.  Competitive analysis software snoops around the net by backtracking from the Local search listing.  It can uncover vague mentions of a business on blogs, online newspaper ads, and in some cases even tweets.  There are several versions of such programs, some of which are available as freeware.  If you are a small business owner who prefers to take matters into your own hands, such software can help you maximize your local search optimization and help your business stay ahead in the competitive world of internet advertising.

Google’s search algorithm places a strong importance on the number of incoming links to your site. These third party websites are called “citations” which come from other sites that list your business information and provide a direct link to your pages. For local search engine optimization based off Google Maps listings, the number of pages that simply mention your business’s name, address and phone number is also an important factor. If you want your listing to appear in Google’s coveted “7 box,” then you need your business to be listed by as many sources as possible.

The more reputable that Google believes the referring site to be, the greater weight it will carry in the page rankings. For instance, the Better Business Bureau and the Yellow Pages are considered more reliable and authoritative than a small, free local directory listing. That’s not to say that getting listed on such sites is unimportant; every citation counts.

There are a few ways to go about building the number of citations your business has. The cheapest way is to do it yourself. Once you have ensured you are cited in the big shots such as Yellow Pages, Yahoo Directory, the BBB, etc., you now need to search out the less obvious sources. One way to so this is to analyze the listings of your direct competition and related local businesses. Often they will provide you with potential citation sources that you haven’t considered. Once you know their sources, try to get you business mentioned also.

If you are willing to spend a little money, you can submit your business information to a business listing service. These services ensure you are listed in all the major directories, many of which you would likely have not considered. These services usually charge somewhere around $50 to list in all the major directories.

The most expensive and most thorough option is to hire the services of an SEO company to formulate an in-depth online marketing strategy. These services will ensure that your business has as many citations as possible and will also optimize your web pages to make sure they will get noticed by Google. For businesses in competitive markets, this is often the best option.

Link and citation building is a continuous process. You must consistently seek new sources of citations and stay ahead of the competition. Try to ensure that your citations remain as consistent as possible when it comes to your business name, address and phone number. In Google terms, consistency is trust.

If you need help with your google map listing, contact the Utah SEO Specialist.