Are Reviews Of Importance For A Local Business?

Have you noticed how many online retailers, e-commerce sites, and even service oriented business are highlighting online reviews, even for their local businesses? You have probably been asked to provide a review in a follow-up email or even at the time of your online purchase.

If this seems to be more common now than a few years ago you are right, but it may not be for the reasons you think. If your company isn’t using online reviews from customers and clients, you will find you are missing out on a literal goldmine of possibilities to boost your website on search engine rankings and increase your visibility.

Keywords and SEO

You have probably heard about SEO or search engine optimization, and how it uses a complex algorithm that includes keywords. Keywords, which can also be phrases, have to be carefully selected to match what the people looking for your website will use to search.

By using these keywords in headers, descriptions, and occasionally in content, the search engine crawlers will index your site for those keywords. However, using them too often, or “keyword stuffing” can actually hurt your rankings.

When you have customer’s leaving reviews, they will use search terms, including your keywords. These, since they are in reviews and not generated content by your company, will not hurt your search engine rankings and will only add to the effectiveness.

The Added Benefit of LSI

Another very important element of customer reviews is the use of what is known as LSI. LSI stands for Latent Semantic Index, which can be thought of as informal secondary keywords.

reviews For example, if you are selling bird feeders your keyword would be bird feeders. Secondary or LSI keywords could include bluebird feeders, hummingbird feeders, hanging birdfeeders, decorative bird feeders and so on.

When your customers write a review, it is highly likely they will use the LSI or keyword/secondary keyword they used in the search engine in the title of the review or in the text. Unique LSI words, local phrases, and other local terms will be indexed as well, further boosting your rankings.

Local reviews also attract local customers as reliable, trustworthy sources of accurate information about your products, services, and business. When customers realize that the reviewer is someone in their area, it automatically becomes a higher ranked source of information. It is a good idea to have the reviewer indicate their location as part of the information collected and displayed with the review.

Ranking systems using checks, stars, or number scales are also a quick source for potential online customers on how a business is doing business. Even if there is a problem if that is resolved quickly and effectively a customer is likely to provide a high rating and a positive comment, further reinforcing the credibility of your business.

As a top marketing company in New York City, we can help you to develop feedback rating systems that will boost your online visibility for your local market and beyond. Give us a call today at 212-686-0806 and we can get started.

Appearing On Online Maps Is A Boost For Your Business

Completing any online search for a local business, or for a product or service, will automatically provide you with information about companies close to your location offering what you want to buy.

As a business or company, allowing customers to find your business on a map as part of the search engine results is a big plus. It isn’t difficult to understand why from a customer’s point of view, but there are other advantages to any business as well.

The Customer Perspective

Maps The reason that customers like seeing the business location on a map is simply convenience. This is particularly important when people are searching from mobile devices and don’t want to have to take the time to copy and paste a business address into a mapping app and find out where you are.

For those customers with GPS-enabled devices, which is most people using smartphones and tablets, this also provides a quick reminder that if they want the product today it is available close to where they are. For many consumers, this prompts them to go to your location and make a purchase instead of ordering online and waiting days for delivery.

Just to put it perspective, here is some interesting data from Google about the benefits of having your business appear on their online maps:

97% of all searches for local businesses are now done online
Searches from a tablet will result in about 34% of those individuals making a purchase for the searched item on that same day
With smartphones, an online search results in a same day purchase for approximately 50% of users
Customers report seeing a business located on a map increases trust and confidence in the business

Get Located

While the major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo are always important to consider, there are other online apps and maps sites that are also designed to get local businesses noticed. Don’t forget also to ensure your business is listed for the iOS users including Apple Maps Connect to get complete coverage for all mobile and desktop users.

maps For businesses of all types, including professional services and retailers, Yelp is an important consideration. More and more people are turning to this search and app to find specific local businesses without having to refine their search terms or weed through companies not located in their general area.

For city-wide information in a wide range of categories, including entertainment, shopping, and food, Foursquare is becoming an increasingly popular option for online searchers from mobile devices. As this allows a city-wide search, it is a perfect option to attract new customers and expand a growing client base.

Besides getting located and having your business immediately visible with regards to the maps system used, there is also the added benefit of the call button for the Google searches. With just a quick touch of the screen customers can call the business and find out information, verify inventory or just check to make sure you are open.

At a top NYC marketing firm, we can help you to start or update your listings to maximize business exposure on search engine mapping results. We can also discuss your overall online marketing program, just contact us to get started.

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

The Internet has provided the most effective way to advertise products and services. Through SEO practices, businesses are able to gain a much wider client base than was ever possible before. Local search engine optimization takes this marketing potential even further. With local SEO, search engine users are provided with more relevant results and your marketing potential is augmented tremendously.

While we provide all types of SEO, local SEO is our specialty at Best Marketing NYC, Inc. We define local by businesses that have clients actually come into their location.

Get My Business to the Top of Google with Local Search Engine Optimization!

Local SEO involves the techniques used in traditional SEO practices while implementing new advantages that will increase your company’s ranking in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. For instance, local SEO involves business citations that will include your company name, phone number, and address that search engines will distinguish from non-local online businesses. Whenever someone searches for a business in a location using a city, town, zip code , etc. search engines will provide local results first.

You can see in the pictures below the difference in search engine results for a search for “back surgery” vs. “back surgery los angeles”. In the first example, the local results are not displayed. In the second example the local results show up first before the other organic results. (click pictures to enlarge)

It is important that your keywords are targeted to those looking for your services or products. Search engines main purpose is to strive to provide their customers with the most desired results possible. Internet search engines are designed to increase search engine ranking when the results provide the most relevant information. The more relevant information in the form of keywords, phrases, photos, business location pictures, and videos you input, the higher your search engine ranking will become. This is true for all searches including local searches.

We work with our clients to provide the best use of keywords and key phrases as well as making your business stand out in local searches.

There are a number of other factors that will boost your company’s online visibility through local search engine optimization. To save time and to get the most effective marketing results, many business owners opt to hire professional SEO specialists. We are experts in this field and guarantee you a top spot in search engine results or you don’t pay!

There is Less Competition with Local Search Engine Optimization

With local SEO marketing, you will have less online competitors. People in your region will find your companies first before having to sift through a variety of similar businesses. You can further decrease your competition by making sure that your SEO practices are more streamlined and consistent than those of your competitors. We assure you that we will achieve this.

We will maximize your visibility on the Internet by closely tracking real-time search results (analytics). We will then know the most effective ways to adjust keywords and phrases in order to increase your online presence. Over time, your local SEO marketing will become more effective as we track what is producing results and what isn’t, and then adjust accordingly. Eventually, you will be able to increase to the top ranks in major search engines, usually pretty quickly. As a result, your profit potential will increase dramatically.

With hyper-targeted Internet traffic, your company will be in line with the most advanced marketing practices. Localization has become a primary marketing component used in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. Local SEO will significantly affect search results. For instance, if a person is in Manhattan searching for an Italian restaurant, their results will lead them to local Manhattan-based Italian restaurants. To create such targeted searches, it is imperative to create appropriate content and link connectivity. This is our expertise.

Local SEO is effective marketing for any business that clients come to their location. You will effectively beat out your competition by being at the top of the local search results, attracting clients to your location based on regions people search. Localization content strategy will help you to highlight your business on a micro level, city level or state level. As a result, your website will gain exposure among clients who are specifically seeking the services or products you offer.

Please email or call us at 212-686-0806 today to arrange for a free live remote demonstration of how our local search engine optimization works amazingly well for our many existing clients.

Category Archives: Local Business SEO