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Many of the small business owners I speak with don’t see a need to market their business online. They figure that most of their customers are local so most of their advertising should be local as well…and the internet is anything but local.

You’re not one of these owners or you wouldn’t be reading this article right now. You must think it’s possible to get local customers from online marketing or you wouldn’t waste your time.

Like a growing number of people, you and I often turn to the internet first when we search for services and products. Recent studies have found that 87% or more of shoppers do the same thing! And some of these same studies have found that even though they’re searching online for information, over 50% of them will wind up buying in their local market.

Being Found in Google Places is Critical

So how do you get found by these shoppers without spending huge amounts of time or money on search engine marketing, pay per click advertising, or other online marketing?

The best and fastest way is to make sure you’re listed in Google Places (used to be called Google Local Business Center), Yahoo! Local, and Bing Local. Claiming your listing in each of these local search engines is quick and easy and there are many articles and videos to show you how to do it.

Since Google Places is the top search engine, though, I want to focus on the 5 easy steps you can take to get your business listed and work your way to the top of the search results.

Localize Your Site and Content

Think of your entire site as if it tells a story about your business. Just by looking at your home page and your other pages, it should be easy for a person and a search spider to figure out you focus on a specific geographic area. For example, do you have a contact page with a local address and phone number listed? Do you talk about local events, local happenings, and other local businesses and people? If not, you should.

Localize Your Keywords

All search engine marketing begins with your keywords. Make sure you choose keywords that reflect the areas you’re trying to market to. For example, rather than optimizing for ‘lawn care services,’ you should use ‘Wichita lawn care services’ or ‘lawn mowing in derby.’

Maximize Local Portal and Directory Sites

Most cities and towns have websites sponsored by the chamber of commerce, the library, the Rotary club, and/or other organizations. Many times, these sites will list locally owned businesses for little or no cost. If your city is too small for this, see if there are sites for your region or your state or province. In addition, your city or region probably has paid business directories/portals as well that you might want to participate in.

Get Listed in National City Guides

Most of these require payment, but many are very reasonable. If your company is listed in a city guide, it obviously associates you with that specific area, but you can also boost your rankings bay making sure you use your local keywords in your listing as well.

Get Listed in Industry Specific Sites

You should search out well-respected directory sites in your industry as well to help give Google Places a good idea of the services you provide and the other businesses you associate with.

Note: Do not stuff keywords into your listings or articles. Always write for you customers while being mindful of the keywords you want to focus on. Keyword stuffing can get you banned or penalized by Google. It usually doesn’t read well either…which means your potential customers won’t stick around to read what you’ve written.

Your material must always be focused on helping your customers solve their problems and not just be veiled advertisements. Your customers are too smart and have too many other choices available to them to put up with garbage.