(Note: This podcast was originally published 1n 2006 under another domain name – bastioninternet.com/blog. In 2010, the blog was later migrated to this site. Some links may be outdated or there may be issues with RSS feeds)

Local search tactics offer a huge opportunity whether you are local or not.

Suggested Tags: seo, sem, web design, website design, search engine optimization, internet marketing, web marketing, local search, web promotion

Show summary:

Local search defined.
The numbers are all pointing to more and more local searches being done online by Internet users.

A 10 step plan to get started with driving more traffic to your web site through optimizing for local search.

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Links to resources mentioned in this podcast:

• comScore’s Local Search press release
• Google – add your local listing
• Yahoo – add your local listing
• MSN – add your local listing
• infoUSA – add/verify your information
• Yellowpages.com advertising
• Verizonâ€s Superpages.com advertising
• Local.com – vertical search engine
• TrueLocal.com – vertical search engine

Hi and welcome to Drive It – Convert It!, for October 6th, 2006. This is episode #12: Getting Started with Local Search

They say that all politics is local. Is that the same for search – listen and find out.

Drive It – Convert It! is the podcast where Small and Medium Sized businesses learn the marketing strategies and tactics behind Driving More Traffic to their website and Converting that Traffic into qualified leads and sales.

Drive it, convert it.

Iâ€m John Boulter. Iâ€m the president of Bastion Internet. Podcasts, show notes, and transcripts can be found at BastionInternet.com/podcast. Thatâ€s B A S T I O N internet.com/podcast. Email your comments and questions to [email protected].

Welcome to the first installment of the Getting Started series. The plan for the Getting Started series is to give you a simple five to ten step plan which will get you started in a variety of traffic driving strategies. Weâ€ll focus on the less traveled strategies, those beyond normal SEO and PPC – Pay Per Click. Our first Getting Started installment – Local Search.

Local search – itâ€s very hot news in the search marketing industry right now. Last week in Colorado, Search Engine Strategies had a conference dedicated to only local search. I wasnâ€t able to attend but I did heard is was very well received. comScore, the data gathering folks, just published some stats on local search. There was some very interesting news there which weâ€ll go over. And if youâ€re following the actions of the maajor search engines, you can see theyâ€re ramping up their local search offerings.

But the hottest news came yesterday when I needed a Firewire cable. I quickly found the number to my local Target store. Local search in action, in vivid color.

Itâ€s always a kick to me when my wife is climbing up on a stool to get the yellow pages to contact some local business. As sheâ€s blowing the dust off the phone book my son gives her a printout of whatever information she needed. In the time it had taken her to get that big old book off the shelf in the closet, he had the information in hand.

Now I think sheâ€s just faking him out when she starts heading for the closet to get the book. She just wants him to do the work.

During the next 20 or so minutes, Iâ€m going to be mentioning a lot of links. Donâ€t worry about writing them down. Just visit the show notes – theyâ€ll all be the Bastion Internet website.

Local search – what is it; why is it important; and how do you get started. Iâ€m g...