Using local search optimization can be a key to most small businesses, still a lot of people never think of it when we first discuss SEO. Using local search makes sure that the people who want to find a company local to them that provide services they need can find your company.

People like not only supporting local business but also like to have contact with businesses and most often do not want to travel far to talk to a business about a service.

Sometimes it can payoff to rank high on a search engine for a local search and not worry about competing for the top place using more generic keywords. The more specific your keyword the higher chance of ranking high for it and the less cost to get a good position. I often have people contact my company who have searched for ‘West Midlands web’ or ‘west midlands web designer’ and this means that if I can rank high for these keywords then I do not have to compete with big companies who are outside of this area, so it becomes easier to rank for this.

Another tactic can be to have a website which offers services in various areas, this means that you can try to rank high for searches in different areas. I am working on a website at the moment that has different physical sites and so want local search terms for each site to take the visitor to the one that they search for.

Other things to do to help your business on the local search is to make sure that you are tagged and have a listing in google maps. Then any local directories that offer a link to your website.