The Local Search Engine Optimization Cheat List

Like James Morris once said, “There is no secret sauce in SEO“. Really, if you can allow the time for some studying, you are most likely to be able to do it yourself.

What you really need is (1) to understand the good old KISS principle (just keep it as simple as possible), (2) take any rumors and myths (even if they come from trustful sources) with a grain of salt and (3) bookmark some easy-to-implement, step-by-step tutorials.

This post is an effort to give you a clearly defined and easy to comprehend guide on the steps to optimize your business for local search: enjoy!

I have taken the following steps to promote my business in local search:

I have displayed my full business contact information clearly on my site. I am taking advantage of these placements to make my contact information stand out and easy to find:

• Title of the page (especially for the contact page);
• Meta description of the contact page and “About us” page (to be displayed in SERPs)
• Bottom of each page throughout the site (bottom of the page is the traditional placement for contact information, so most visitors will first look for it there – I don’t make my visitors search for my contact info; it is right there where they are used to seeing it).

My site Contact and About-us pages contain sufficient information on where my business is located as well as phone numbers including local area (search engines are often believed to associate local area code as the local search rankings factor); thus, I don’t need to add “nofollow” attribute to those pages;

I have made sure my business domain WHOIS information lists my business mail address and contact phone number;

I have the list of my local competitors and have researched their local promotion tactics (I know where their local backlinks come from).

My business is listed in the regional sections of popular directories like BOTW and Business.com.

I claimed my business and edited my listing in local search engines like Yahoo! Local, YellowPages and CitySearch. For international businesses: I have compiled the list of most powerful local search engines and claimed my business listings there. Examples of these include:

• 411 Canada;
• Australia’s local search engine and Australia Business Directory
• UK’s local search engine.

I have created my business profiles at major business social networks and included its address there (examples: CrunchBase for technology companies; Facebook pages, etc)

I have found and built relations with powerful local bloggers and journalists and get featured by them;

I have made my site more accessible for mobile phones. I understand how important it is to optimize my site for mobile searches.

I have read and thought over these awesome guides on local search optimization:

1. Local Search Ranking Factors (2009 edition!)
2. Local search guide;
3. The Guide to International Citations for Local Search;
4. Facebook Pages & Local Search Engine Optimization;
5. Local Search : User Recommendations Make Your Business Money
6. Enhance Your Google Local Listings
7. 3 Keys To Success For Local Search SEO

Did I miss anything? Please add in the comments!