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What Is Local Search?

[Definition By Wikipedia.com] Local search is the use of specialized Internet search engines that allow users to submit geographically constrained searches against a structured database of local business listings. Typical local search queries include not only information about "what" the site visitor is searching for (such as keywords, a business category, or the name of a consumer product) but also "where" information, such as a street address, city name, postal code, or geographic coordinates like latitude and longitude. Examples of local searches include "San Francisco hotels", "Manhattan restaurants", and "Las Vegas Hertz". Local searches exhibit explicit or implicit local intent. A search that includes a location modifier, such as "Bellevue, WA" or "98006", is an explicit local search. A search that references a product or service that is typically consumed locally, such as "restaurant" or "nail salon", is an implicit local search.

Small business owners and even marketing executives for large enterprises may have a broad understanding of local search, and some are already using Search Engine Optimization or paid search but many have yet to take advantage of their own content being distributed on local search engines. Given that local search is the fastest growing form of online activity, according to comScore, and consumers will soon conduct two billion local searches each month, businesses should take action to manage their online local listings.

How Can Search 4 It Local Help?

To truly enhance a local search campaign there needs to be a few factors in place. Listings within local search engines are verified before they are included in results to ensure that the information, at least from the start, is correct. Some verification is done manually and most verification is done programmatically. In order for your page to be correctly verified it must contain information that can be easily extracted. Address information should be in hcard format, page titles and URLs should contain as much of the local and product or service information as possible, and contact information should match the business submission information. Additionally, it is important to structure the keywords, categories, and description in the most optimal format possible. Your Search 4 It Local enhanced profile will contain all of the important factors needed to maximize verification and inclusion, and since we do 100s of submissions a week, we know how to structure and optimize those submissions so that they have the least chance of being rejected.

How Long Does The Process Take?

In order for us to provide you with a quality local search enhancement campaign, we have to submit all of your information manually. You'll come across a lot of services that try to submit listings with a software driven system. To put it blunt

ly - that just won't work. It will take about 24-48 hours for your listings to be distributed across our network. From there, many of your listings will then go through a verification process. This process can take from 15 - 60 days.