When most people search, they enter a keyword or phrase into their favorite search engine and then roll the dice for the results. Depending on what the goal for the search is, they may find what they’re looking for within the first three pages of organic search results, but will they look that far?
What if they are searching for the exact service that you provide yet your business it lost back on page five? Even worse is if they are looking within your coverage area but your site is not being found because you are competing with thousands of sites that have been identified as the best match for the search query.
Take, for example, a search on a basic keyword such as “lawyer.” When entered into one of the top three search engine sites, it will return thousands of irrelevant results. If you include a geographic location with the search, like Detroit, the results are still those that a mathematical algorithm deems to be the best match. Your potential customer is still not any closer to finding you.
When optimizing your site with loose or general key terms, it gets lost in the ocean of similarly identified sites. In order to compete in local search results you need to target the exact key terms that prospects are searching under.
One solution is to be listed with an authoritative directory.
A quality, authoritative directory is usually human edited and organizes the web the way people search. Additionally search engines value these directories because they only accept sites with original content, no spam. Being listed in one of the directory’s target specific categories localizes your products and helps search engines better understand the topic of your site. Customers will stop searching and finally find you.
There are often fees involved with being listed in quality authoritative directories, but the return on investment, in terms of web traffic, is worth it.
Image Source: MorgueFile
What if they are searching for the exact service that you provide yet your business it lost back on page five? Even worse is if they are looking within your coverage area but your site is not being found because you are competing with thousands of sites that have been identified as the best match for the search query.
Take, for example, a search on a basic keyword such as “lawyer.” When entered into one of the top three search engine sites, it will return thousands of irrelevant results. If you include a geographic location with the search, like Detroit, the results are still those that a mathematical algorithm deems to be the best match. Your potential customer is still not any closer to finding you.
When optimizing your site with loose or general key terms, it gets lost in the ocean of similarly identified sites. In order to compete in local search results you need to target the exact key terms that prospects are searching under.
One solution is to be listed with an authoritative directory.
A quality, authoritative directory is usually human edited and organizes the web the way people search. Additionally search engines value these directories because they only accept sites with original content, no spam. Being listed in one of the directory’s target specific categories localizes your products and helps search engines better understand the topic of your site. Customers will stop searching and finally find you.
There are often fees involved with being listed in quality authoritative directories, but the return on investment, in terms of web traffic, is worth it.
Image Source: MorgueFile
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