Business owners all over the world are competing to get their websites listed among the top results in search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. But what do people see when your result comes up? By now, you’ve probably heard of the SEO techniques that companies use – links, keywords, title tags, etc. But one seemingly untapped optimization technique is using location-based social media and favorable media coverage to control your results page. Minneapolis currently ranks in the top 10 for location-based service usage, yet many companies have yet to take advantage of this.
What do people see when they “Google” you? Does your location show up on Google Maps? Many companies are taking advantage of new services such as Foursquare, Yelp and other location-based social networks to help their rankings in search engines. If you haven’t heard of these companies yet, you should get familiar soon, because they are growing quickly and many more have yet to come into this market.
To get you started, we’ve put together our top 5 ways to use location-based social networks to leverage search engine traffic.
1. Use Foursquare to your advantage by offering something to the “Mayor” of your company. This is the person who has checked in the most at your location. Every check in adds to your “venue page” on Foursquare which shows all of the members who have checked in, the favorable things they say about you, and sends information to Google Maps. The more check-ins, the more likely that page will start coming to the top of the search engines.
2. Add a Yelp icon to your website so users can add reviews about your company. Companies that have gained customer reviews are seeing an increased presence in the search engines. Google places the “star rating” in its results so potential customers can easily see them.
3. Use Groupon to display a great offer to hundreds of new potential customers. Groupon is a location-based incentive community that allows companies to offer a discounted product or service, but requires a specific number of people to buy the offer before it becomes valid.
4. Use Eventbrite to plan and manage your upcoming events. Members can purchase tickets, and invite their friends using this service as well. You can also track attendees with its analytics program.
5. Bring it all together by placing your well-deserved publicity on those pages too. By completing the tasks above and using your existing content, you can start controlling your company’s search results.
The best way to start is to get familiar with these services. You can find more about each of them by doing a Google search, or checking out their websites. Also, don’t hesitate to call us at Kocina, we would love to sit down with you and discuss a strategy to get your online presence to the next level!
