**by David Mihm**
From marketers to Wall Street analysts to the Department of Justice,
everyone (even the general public) recognizes that Google is the
800-pound gorilla in the world of search. And particularly with the
introduction of the generic 10-pack to Universal results
<http://searchengineland.com/google-showing-local-results-on-non-local-queries-17176>
, this fact largely holds true in Local Search as well. Google Maps
has pulled even with Mapquest
<http://searchengineland.com/hitwise-google-maps-has-more-traffic-mapquest-more-engagement-17522>
thanks largely to this decision by the higher-ups in Mountain View.
There's tremendous value for small businesses in optimizing for
Google's Universal results, as Hanan Lifshitz pointed out last week
<http://searchengineland.com/its-all-about-local-organic-domination-21825>
. It's hard not to imagine that small business owner grabbing the
lion's share of chiropractic searchers in his region, thanks to the
efforts of Will Scott's Search Influence
<http://www.searchinfluence.com/>
firm.
But no matter your industry, when it comes to Local, it's absolutely
critical to think beyond Google, even if all you're trying to do is
optimize for the 10-pack.
The importance of citations for Google Maps
One of the pathways to Local Organic Domination, as Hanan termed
it, is through the acquisition of citations
<http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/general-marketing/local-seo-citation-is-new-link/>
. Citations are just mentions of your business name in close
proximity to your address or phone number, with or without a link to
your website. Think of them like votes of confidence for a particular
business'slocation&the more confidence Google has in your listing, the
higher they're likely to display it in search results. So it's
important to list yourself fully and accurately in as many places
across the web as possible, including blogs about your city or
industry.
Bottom line, it's hard to rank in Google Maps (and consequently
Universal Search) without paying significant attention to how your
business is listed across the web, not just on Google.
Other local search
One of Gib Olander's <http://www.twitter.com/golander59>
favorite lines is: other' is the third-largest local search
engine. What he means is that local search is far more fragmented
than traditional organic search. Unlike traditional search, if you're
only paying attention to getting your business on Google and Yahoo,
you're missing out on a huge chunk of local market share.
While the demise of the Print Yellow Pages seems imminent
<http://www.solaswebdesign.net/wordpress/?p=484>
, Internet Yellow Pages sites are far healthier, and some are even
thriving. YellowPages.com's ad partnership with Bing
<http://searchengineland.com/next-great-thing-bing-draws-on-iyp-connection-21172>
is just one example&at least if Bing can continue to capitalize on
its current hype. Superpages.com has long been a trusted source of
data with its own steady traffic stream, and more recent entrants like
InsiderPages and Yellowbot are starting to develop passionate user
bases.
Then there's the online classified market. Craigslist is the default
place to look for local 'stuff here on the West Coast, not to mention
other major players like Oodle and Kijiji.
Vertical local search
Success in local also means promoting your presence on sites with
strong market shares of their own in particular industries. This
doesn't mean only ranking well, but paying attention to what people
are saying about you, responding to their feedback, and improving
their perceptions.
For example, sites like TripAdvisor <http://www.tripadvisor.com/>
and Kayak <http://www.kayak.com/>
are huge in the travel industry. Restauranteurs might even think
about places like Yelp <http://www.yelp.com/>
, BooRah <http://www.boorah.com/>
, or Urban Spoon <http://www.urbanspoon.com/>
before thinking about Google. For chiropractors like Will's client,
these might include Planet Chiropractic <http://www.planetc1.com/>
and No More Clipboard <http://www.nomoreclipboard.com/>
. For searches near and dear to my heart, - it's
portals like Golf Digest <http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/places>
and GolfNow <http://www.golfnow.com/>
.
(Incidentally, almost all of these sites make excellent citations for
your Google Maps listing&)
Social local search
Many of the sites mentioned above, and even Google and Yahoo,
straddle the line between social media and search due to the
prominence of reviews in their users' experience. But local
searchers are often turning to purely social sites like Twitter,
Praized <http://www.praized.com/>
, and RetailMeNot <http://www.retailmenot.com/>
as well for recommendations and sale information about Local
businesses. And as we all learned from Dave Carroll's brilliant
lampoon of United Airlines last week
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo>
, word-of-mouth can sometimes be more powerful than any search
marketing campaign could be.
Conclusion
Local search traffic is only going to grow in importance
<http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/local-search-queries-rising/1392/>
. So don't put your blinkers on as Nick Faldo loves to say (indulge
me&this is Open Championship week <http://www.opengolf.com/>
, after all) and focus all of your energies on Google. Your long-term
chances for a successful online presence will suffer if you do.
Opinions expressed in the article are those of the author, and not
necessarily Search Engine Land.
David Mihm <http://searchengineland.com/author/david-mihm/>
is a Portland, OR Web Designer <http://www.davidmihm.com/>
and a noted authority on Local SEO. He writes frequently about Local
SEO topics <http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/category/local-seo/>
at his blog, Mihmorandum. The Small Is Beautiful
<http://searchengineland.com/lands/small-is-beautiful.php>
column appears on Thursdays at Search Engine Land
<http://searchengineland.com>
.
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