Kansas City SEO

Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable has written a good article today noting the release of new Google Places functionality for the iPhone.  Google has released the update today.  Essentially the new functionality pulls Google’s Place information to the mobile device.  It also provides recommendations it believes may be of interest to the user.  Take a look at the new app below.

Yes, we’ve all been hearing for several years now that “this is the year of mobile search”.  And while mobile searches have been growing, they hardly have accounted for much of the search pie share.  However, with the explosion of mobile devices and the battle to be the biggest and baddest (or rather smallest and fastest) 3G and 4G phone everywhere we look, it is more likely than ever that your potential consumers are searching for your business while just a couple of miles from your door. Spring boarding the local search to an all new level of importance.

How does the average local business capture this rapidly growing search market?  Here’s a few local search marketing tactics and sites that you should look into first.

Local Listing Management

To ensure your local business is visible on Google, your fastest and cheapest (it’s free) option is Google Places.  It only takes a few minutes to claim your business on Google which allows you to manage your listing information, add content, photos and coupons and open up access to a live dashboard that allows you to track your progress.

Local SEO

The importance of sharing location information on your website through the use of localized pages still is a foreign concept to some businesses, but should be high on every business owners to-do list.  Again, it’s free and it allows the searchers to find your pages when they are drilling down deeper into their search results.  A search with local information is further along in the sales funnel, so these searches should be regarded as more valuable then general search.

Local Social Marketing

By the time I hit publish on this post, the local social market will have changed again.  Right now some big name players are Yelp, Citysearch and the quickly growing foursquare.  These Local Social Directories primarily rely on user reviews and comments to generate content deemed useful by the masses.  By participating in these online conversations about your business you can generate consumer loyalty and home grown PR.

As you can see, local search is diverse and the mobile device, with all its apps, is paving the way to make this information accessible at searchers fingertips.  There is a low price point for entry into these markets, but developing a plan with defined goals is how a business will truly harness mobile search traffic at the local level.