Get Visible – Enhance Your Listings
As a local business owner you NEED to manage your online presence and visibility. At one time, the World Wide Web was only used for a worldwide audience but in today’s business environment, local businesses can truly benefit from it. As a matter of fact, some local businesses are seeing a large portion of their new customers arriving as a result of an Internet search. That is why it is vitally important for you to improve your online visibility and to make sure that people who are looking for you on their computers, tablets and smartphones find you instead of your competition.
The lion’s share of online searches done for local businesses takes place on Google. That is why it is imperative for you to improve your Google places business listing and Google+ visibility. The more you have your Google properties claimed and optimized, the more likely it is going to be that you land at or near the top of search results for local businesses in your area.
Another important factor that should not be overlooked is directory listings for improving your online exposure. In some cases, you will be able to get business directly from these local directory listings but in other cases, they will work to improve your Google listing. These are known as citations and at one time, they were referred to as backlinks. In today’s Internet environment, however, it is not always necessary to have them link to your website. Just the mention of your business on another directory or website may help to improve your local rankings and increase your business substantially.