SEO Reach Gets a Close Up
If I told you that there was a company that essentially owns a monopoly on local searches and local-based marketing, would that get your attention?
It is no surprise then that Local.com has been garnering attention not only from the press, but also a large chunk of American web surfers.
In 2009 Local.com was ranked in the top 10 most-visited search engines—and their aggressive expansion initiatives have raised its public profile even higher over the last 2 years.
Leading the current trend in hyper-local on line marketing, Local.com is a force to be reckoned with. Small- to medium-sized businesses are cashing in on hyper-local marketing—and so should you. If you aren't convinced yet, know that American consumers spend 80% of their income within 20 miles of the home.
So, your impending foray into the realm of hyper-local should include a multi-pronged effort that leverages Local.com, Facebook Places, Google Places, Groupon and the like.
How Does Local.com Work?
Local.com uses an algorithm similar to Google's, although theirs is called Keyword DNA. Their site indexes 16 million businesses and lists them by location based on keywords entered by its surfers. Users searching Local.com enter a keyword into their 'WHAT' box and their location into their 'WHERE' box. These location/keyword based searches then bring up related businesses in their area and enable them to find addresses, websites, phone numbers, store hours, services, menus, catalog, reviews, coupons and more. Local.com is adding elements to its services regularly and now offers additional services like directions, service quotes, restaurant reviews, classifieds, jobs, buy/sell, etc.
You may be wondering “whats the point if there are 16 million businesses to compete with?”, good news though—results are sorted via location and relevance, so your business will be listed front and center if you are closest to the consumer and have what they are looking for. This means it is significantly easier to be on the first page of Local.com's search engine results even if you are on Google's 78th results page. For businesses looking for even more exposure on Local.com they offer paid subscriptions for “Sponsored Links” and “Featured Sponsors”.
Want some more good news?
Local.com is mobile-optimized so that users can find your business data on the run via their smart phones. If you have a mobile marketing strategy Local.com will fit in perfectly, if you don't—get a mobile strategy!
Local.com also uses coupon codes, making it a localized version of Groupon.com while providing additional incentives for consumers to make a search then act on it.
Isn’t it time your business get’s its local close up? Getting on Local.com not only gives your web site more Search Engine visibility, thus raising your overall rankings, but it gives you a more localized reach, targeting a more local audience and with the ability to give those potential leads and clients an incentive to visit your site, local.com is a no brainer.
No need to reach far just get out there and get on local.com
