Every business wants to rank well in the search engines. But, if your business services a local market, local search engine optimization is crucial to online growth. Local results have been showing up in Google, Yahoo, and Bing in organic search engine results for well over 2 years.
Many companies such as Google, Yahoo, Yelp, CitySearch, JudysBook, Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Better Business Bureau, Chamber Of Commerce, YellowBook, SuperPages, Dex, and more promise to help local businesses obtain new customers. For the most part, all of the sites listed can help companies achieve that goal. But one question always arises, what websites should I spend time & money promoting my business on now?
The simple answer is to register for free accounts on all of them. Then, the next answer is to focus on getting in Google’s Top 10 Local Pack because this listing will drive the most amount of free organic search engine traffic.
But is register on all local search engine directories, internet yellow pages, and local review sites enough to rank well organically in Google? Do companies need to know anything before they start registering on 30+ sites? And better yet, should multiple accounts contain consistent information?
Gib Olander from Localeze spoke at an event on “Local Search” and informed listeners that he recommends a consistent Company Name, Company Address, and Company Phone Number when creating company profiles online. Considering Localeze is responsible for provider the data that appear on Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, Superpages.com, Yellowpages.com, Best of the Web Local, OpenList, DexKnows, Addresses.com, Citysquares, GenieKnows.com, YellowBot (reference: http://getlisted.org/resources/local-search-data-providers.aspx) it may be wise to take a closer look at why he recommended business owners to do that.
Why a Consistent NAP?
can Google keep track of how many times your company is listed if you are not consistent with your company name? If you are trying to rank well for the keyword “Minneapolis Divorce Lawyer,” but enter “Anderson’s & Sons Minneapolis Divorce Lawyer” into Google’s Company/Organization field, you are telling Google to look for references to “Anderson’s & Sons Minneapolis Divorce Lawyer” online.
Is your company listed everywhere online as “Anderson’s & Sons Minneapolis Divorce Lawyer?” Or is your company name clearly published on your website as “Anderson’s & Sons Law Firm.” When you registered on Yelp, Twitter, CitySearch, Facebook, etc… what company name do you use?
Local search engines look for references & citations of your company when determining your local search engine placements. If your company does not have a consistent NAP, your rankings will be poor.
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