Your Local Search listing
An increased number of people now use local search engines to find businesses online.
Indicating that presence in a local search engine would be a positive move to increase your traffic and links to your site. Due to Google’s launch of Universal Search, which integrates vertical search networks into the results, there is an increasing need to build presence in local search.
Google Maps was launched in 2005 as a development off their local search service, which linked in with the Yellow pages listings.
It has recently been enhanced further as they now offer businesses with the opportunity to add more detailed information, such as: extra contact details, logos, images, business descriptions, payment mentions etc. You can also post promotions on the site which users can print out bring along to the shop (if you have one!).
The thought is that as local search marketing and the vertical networks grow in importance, and when mobile search services develop then the need to have placement in local listings will indeed increase.
Is this the end of the Yellow Pages?
Do you search locally? Hotel in Jersey, Flowers, Plants from Jersey, Cheap DVDs Jersey,
e-Marketing Agency Jersey. I am sure you do.
More and more people now turn to the internet to help with their local searches. As well as appearing in local search engines, forums, directories you should work at making your websites location friendly, so that it is responsive to search queries which have a location basis.
You can do this by letting people know where you are based within your content and title. Where possible you should also add your site to local directories, forums where people go to find your products.
Online submissions
The main local search engines with map technologies include:
Google Maps – Can add listings via local business centre
Yahoo Local! – Powered by Info Serve
MSN live search – will be made live with link from ThomsonDirectories / Thompson Local (see below)
You can also submit to:
Yellow Pages - £360 a year.
Info Serve - feeds Yahoo Local and City Visitor plus a range of local search engines
Thomson local - free, Live Search buy the data from Thompson Local and put on their site, there is no obligation on their part to add each and every listing ie: they are allowed to be selective. From submitting to Thompson Directories it takes 4 to 6 weeks for it then to be on Thompson Local, then around 2 months to appear on Live Search (who buy the data).
192 - costs start at £192
Local.co.uk - this also provides free entry onto Classifieds.co.uk - however currently only UK focus (Not the Channel Islands)
UK Top local listings - Local directory - costs min £8.99
The most local one for Jersey I can find is a Directory site with a Jersey section here:
http://www.freeindex.co.uk/Channel_Islands/Jersey/
NB: At this present date Google Maps service currently cover United States, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, the UK, China, and Japan. Jersey is indeed a part of the UK, however not all of our 12 parishes yet are listed, however I have a nudger at Google, and have you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your letters to get Jersey firmly on the map. My quest here continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment