2012 has witnessed an unparalleled growth of internet access through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. In addition, changes in major search engine algorithms now place a lot of importance on citations than merely on links, which was the norm a few years ago.
Your local SEO techniques need to adapt to these recent changes even as you comprehend the rise of young teens that have taken over the internet by storm. These young kids have mastered the art of seeking out information quickly on the World Wide Web and could form a huge bulk of your customer base in the near future.
Many webmasters believe that citations is the new link building. In simple terms, this means that you need the maximum amount of citations possible to reach out to your target market. With countless youngsters accessing local addresses through the internet on the go, local SEO citations can not only boost web traffic to your site, but can also usher in actual foot traffic through your physical store.
It is quite easy to add citations for your website so that your business is noticed by major search engines and your target audience alike. For businesses in the USA, a visit to getlisted.org should be enough. You can just visit this website, type in your business name and zip code, and view all your listings on the internet. Red crosses will indicate the absence of your listings on important websites and you will only need to ensure that your business is listed on those sites as soon as possible.
Users outside of the USA can just check their listings manually. This can be done through search queries and users can then proceed to enlist their business name, address, telephone numbers, store timings, and other related data on websites such as their Yellow Pages, etc. This move will enable them to get higher respect from search engines such as Google and Bing.
You should also check your NAP data in your own Google+ account to make sure that you have citations in local neighborhoods. In addition, you must ensure that your website features on most social networking sites including professional ones such as Linkedln. Your NAP data should be present on major websites that command good authority in the eyes of most search engines.
You can also engage in other citation-building exercises such as writing on blogs, press releases, marketing of articles, ppc ads, banner ads, sponsoring local communities, rss feeds, and forum signatures, among others. This tactic will require effort and time, but will reap rich dividends. You can anyway reduce your involvement by outsourcing this work to SEO specialists.
With droves of young teens now accessing the internet through tablets and smartphones, your presence on these as well as other upcoming devices and platforms is paramount to your online success. Local SEO citations can boost your reputation in the eyes of search engines and your target audience, and will certainly bring in a lot of virtual and actual traffic to your business.