If you’re a local business in Seattle, or anywhere else in the world, local online marketing can mean big profits for your business. Since most consumers visit the internet to not only look for products and services, but to also check out those products or services before making a purchase, you stand to benefit with local online marketing, even if you’re a business that depends on local traffic instead of global traffic.

This post provides ten local online marketing tips for local businesses that can help you dominate the search engine results for local searches in your area. Many of these tips work for local online marketing even if you don’t have a website.

1. The first place to start is with keyword research. Think as if you were a customer. What would you type into Google if you were searching for a business like yours? ‘Seattle hairdresser’? ‘Tree service in Everett’? Use your keywords in your website’s content and in the content for your other online business listings.

2. If you do have a website, include your phone number. You’d be surprised at how many local businesses don’t include their phone number — and you’d be surprised at how many customers they lose simply because they don’t list a phone number on their website.

3. In addition to including your phone number if you have a website, make sure you list your physical address on your website and include a link where potential customers can click over to a prefilled Google Maps page for directions so they can find their way to your business.

4. Head over to Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local to add a profile for your local business.

5. Increase your chances of ranking high for searches in your area by uploading a nice, clear photograph of your business that includes your logo, phone number, and address at the bottom. Use your keyword as the title of your photograph. For example, instead of making the title of your photo your business name, use ‘Everett day care’ if that’s your main keyword.

6. Ask your satisfied customers to go online to post a review on your business on Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local. Nothing can get a person to at least give your business a try than positive reviews from happy customers.

7. Encourage all of your customers to post online reviews. Keep in mind that even bad reviews are good for your business because it makes your business look popular. Hundreds of glowing five star reviews can sometimes even do harm for your business because potential customers might look at them as a bit suspicious since no business is 100% perfect.

8. List your business on local business directories and to local information services like infoUSA and Localeze.

9. If you own a business with more than one location, you need multiple landing pages for the best local online marketing results. For example, if you’re a local dance studio with two locations — one in Seattle and one in Everett — you need two different landing pages and online business listings for your two different locations.

10. Consider signing up with a deal of the day website like Groupon. Local consumers flock to these websites daily to look for the best deals in their area.

These local online marketing tips are just a few of the ways you can increase your local foot traffic. For information on more ways to boost your local business, contact Seattle SEO Consultant for a free 15 minute consultation today!