Small businesses are undercapitalizing upon the power of the search engines, yet SEO for your local business is far less competitive than you may believe. In an era where "shop local" is becoming a powerful mantra, more and more customers are searching specifically for local goods and services. However, can they find your business?

Be sure you employ these five easy SEO steps to ensure that your local customers find you.

1. Brainstorm Local Keywords :- The first step to take for your local SEO strategy is to brainstorm and discover keywords that pertain to your local business. Be specific. If you operate a Mexican restaurant, don't use the general word "restaurant" on your keyword list. Rather, use more local keywords specific to your region, city, or neighborhood. If your restaurant is in Denver, you might try "Aurora Mexican Restaurant," or "Cherry Hill Mexican Food," or even "Best Mexican Food in Denver." Be as specific as you can with your local keyword list.
2. Research Your Keyword List :- With your longer keyword list in hand, look up every keyword and phrase using search engine keyword tools like Google Adwords. With this type of tool, you have access to helpful data that will aid in narrowing your keyword list based upon search frequency. You can also get better ideas for keywords. In the example above, you might find that "Cherry Hill dining" is a more used keyword to add to your list.
3. Distribute Keywords throughout Your Website :- To improve your search engine rankings, infuse your top keywords throughout your website. Make use of meta tags, which are simple HTML coding unseen by the user, and strategically include your city and business type. Using specific local keywords in meta tags can help a search engine find, categorize and rate your website. Also, be sure to update your site regularly and include local keywords in the copy of every web page.
4. Increase Incoming Links :- Are you a member of your local chamber of commerce? How about other local business organizations and associations? Be sure that you have them include a link to your website on their own website. This will help build your backlinks, which translates into a higher page rank.
   As well as business associations, look for other local directories that will include your link. You may have to pay a fee on directories like CitySearch.com, but the small fees may be worth the extra attention you get from search engines.
   Incoming links are an important SEO tool. The more incoming links you have, the better chance your business will appear under a local search query.
5. Verify Your Business Information :- Your business contact information may already be indexed in the search engines, thanks to city guides, review websites, and online yellow pages. Make sure the information is correct and that a link is included back to your main website.

Keep in mind that most of this business information comes from aggregators, including infoUSA, Acxiom, and Amacai. You can begin with these three aggregators, as well as the major online yellow pages, such as SuperPages, YellowPages, and YellowBook, to make sure the information is accurate.

You have the power to rank the highest among your local competition on search engines. Employ these five steps to connect with local customers looking for your type of business.

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