Local Search Engine Optimization for your company or business might seem like a tough job, but can actually be quite easy when you get a hang of how to do it. Naysayers and lazy entrepreneurs often dismiss such efforts as futile, and very difficult to set up as well. However, it is quite easy to have your business optimized for local search. Here are some ways to begin.

Claim your Google My Business listing

Google My Business data is used when a search is made by customers and a map is shown by Google to display local businesses. Thus, it is wise to create a listing here. There is also the advantage that it is free to create. It could be that there is a listing for your business already but if you have not yet claimed it, it is possibly incomplete and might have false information. When you claim the listing, ensure that all the business details that are of vital importance for clients – business name, hours of operation, phone number, address etc for instance – are up to date.

Include additional information

After you fill in all the important details related to your listing, you can increase the likelihood of making more customers interested about your business by including extra details. These can include your business logo, photos of your business such as number of employees, products / services on offer, the interiors of your business, pictures of your storefront and more. Add details about directions or parking, seasonal info such as promotions, special hours, menu items, current specials etc.

Make listings over other local search directories

Create listings on various other local search directories, such as YP.com, Yahoo, Bing and Yelp with the same information that you have used on Google My Business. It is essential to match your business phone number, address, name and more to the Google My Business information. For instance, if you have a restaurant that is located in Park Street, do not spell it as “St. in one and “Street” in another. In case of differences, Google and other search engines are likely to view the listings to be information for two different businesses. In that case, your search engine standings are likely to get hurt.

Update the listings regularly

It is important that you update each listing regularly on every search engine directory. Every data should be current, whether a change in phone number, a new product or service added, an extension in hours of operation for your business, closing down for maintenance etc. Improper or outdated information is only going to frustrate your customers. Also make it a point to update promotional offers, photos or any other thing that might have changed for your business.

Check from time to time

Try to check whether your listing is okay, and is showing on the search engine results pages when you search for your business name. If it is not, it might be time to update it and add somewhat more relevant details to earn the