The Best Way to Promote Your Offline Business to Online Prospects
Use Free Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Directories to Bring Your Business Front and Center on Local Web Searches
(Guest post by WordPress fanatic and small business web consultant Don Campbell)
If your business is an “offline” business with a physical storefront, the most effective way to improve your search rankings in Google is to list your business in the free local business directories from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.
Once you are listed in these directories, you have a chance to get listed in the “Google 10-Pack” – which is an invaluable way to get the word out about your business when people type in search terms in your local area.
In fact, if you don’t claim your Google Local Business Center profile, in some cases it can be scooped up by others who want to capitalize on the listings!
Claiming your profile is a free process that only takes a few minutes, so it is definitely worth the time and effort. Before filling out your profiles, you’ll want to have a nice description of your business handy, and ideally a few photos. 
How To Claim Your Google Local Profile
Here are links to the top three local business profiles:
List your business in each of these directories, and provide a link to your website when you fill out the profiles. Here are a few more tips for filling out your profile:
- Make sure your business title is the same across all three profiles
- Add photos and videos to your profile
- Categorize your listing properly (you get 5 categories – use them all!)
- Get some reviews – send links to your profile to some of your best clients and ask them to do a review for you
- See this link for more information on the factors that affect your local search rankings.
While you should claim these three profiles personally, there is another tool you might want to look at that will help you list your business in many other legitimate business profiles. This tool is called UniversalBusinessListing.org and it allows you to enter and maintain your business information in one place. It handles distributing your info to Google, Yahoo, Bing and about 7 other directory locations, including the online Yellow Pages. If you’ve manually claimed any of the profiles already, it won’t overwrite what you’ve done there. Google and Yahoo look at these other directories as evidence that your listing belongs to a real business, and this can help your search rankings in the 10-Pack.
Finally, make sure that when searchers do get to your website, that you provide a clear call to action – make it easy to see your phone number and address so they can contact you.
Don Campbell is President of Expand2Web where he helps small business owners build WordPress websites that rank highly in local search results. You can find him on Twitter at: @doncampbell
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Comments [4]
Google Local is an excellent tool to help get found online of course, but another excellent well SEOed site to get listed on is http://www.brownbook.net which is 100% free to claim your listing and enhance it with rich media and widgets. New company-to-company endorsement feature also just introduced – compulsive!
This is another excellent post. Many of my students have off-line store fronts and are always looking for ways to improve their rankings. I am going to link this to my blog. Thank you very much.
Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach
Very important point. We tend to look national, global but do not pay much attention to local market. Good reminder.
Thanks for the guide. It works in Malaysia too.