Whether you have a brick and mortar store, service a local area, or are looking to capture location based traffic, if you want to show up locally…you need a Local SEO strategy.

Google Places Image

Nobody knows with complete certainty what will rank one site ahead of another in the local search game. However, top SEO’s have spent a great deal of time analyzing the different factors that make up the ranking algorithm and WhiteHat SEO uses these widely accepted industry findings to tailor a plan for your business that will help you outrank your competition.

You strategy will include the following:

  • Properly “claiming” or setting up your places page
  • Obtaining local citations – A “Citation” is where your business name and address are mentioned (or cited) on another website.
  • Taking advantage of user reviews – The volume of reviews is thought to positively influence your position in the local listings. We’ll show you the sites that Google is known to pull from and instruct you on how to properly leverage these.
  • Quality links – Just like in traditional SEO, quality links are going to help you rank higher and we’ll help you acquire them.
  • And More…Contact Us today to get started!

There have been a lot of changes in Local SEO over the past year or so. First, Google Local Business Center became Google Places. Then there was the recent launch of Google Instant. Now the most recent, game changing, development has been the combining of Google Places listings with the organic search results. Not sure what I’m talking about? Take a look at the following…

Here is a screenshot of what a query for “San Francisco Dentist” used to look like:

Google Places have now been integrated into the organic results and the same query will now look like this:

New Dentist Places Listing

Think about it this way…

Potential visitors are going to start at the top and work their way down the list. If your competitors are above you, each visitor will view their website and look at their service offering before ever hearing what you have to offer.

If you want local traffic you need a Local SEO Strategy.