Tag Archives: local splash

One million users isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion users.

Social network, Facebook, just exceeded 1 billion users. The announcement came today from Facebook Co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

“Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life,” said Zuckerberg of reaching the milestone.

According to CNN, it took Facebook six years to get 500 million users. Less than two years later, the company has hit the 1 billion mark; not too bad for a company that got its start in a college dorm room.

What does Facebook have in store for the future? According to Zuckerberg, the company is focusing on improving the mobile experience of its users. Half of Facebook’s users access the site at least once a month from their mobile device and over 100 million users only log into Facebook from their mobile device. Zuckerberg says that mobile “is the future,” which is why they are focusing on perfecting the mobile Facebook application.

Are you one of Facebook’s billion users?

Local SEO is very beneficial to small businesses, however many have yet to claim and verify their Google+ Local, Yahoo Local and Bing Local company pages. If you are a local business that has not dipped a toe in the local search pool, here are 5 good reasons why you should.

1. You get more control over your listings.Local businesses that claim and verify their local businesses pages have more control over their information. Business owners can edit the information to ensure that it is correct, search engine optimized and appealing to potential customers. Since these pages must be verified, they are more trusted by both search engines and consumers.

2. Local businesses have an increased presence in the SERPs. The local search results are more prominent in the SERPs than ever and eyetrack studies show that people look at the local results and Map before the organic results. Local SEO can help you get more eyes on your businesses.

3. Conversion rates are higher. Conversion rates for potential customers searching for local keywords are higher than those searching for general or national keywords. When the potential customer is near the location of the business this increases the chance that they will click on and visit the business.

4. Local SEO is easy. For small businesses that don’t have a huge marketing budget, local SEO is a breath of fresh air. It’s easy to claim and verify your listings on local directories and many are completely free. The only drawback is, local SEO can be time consuming.

5. Mobile searches for businesses are often local. Instead of scouring the Yellow Pages for a local pizza place, consumers are turning to their smartphones. Local map listings are perfect for companies that want to be found by consumers on-the-go. These consumers often have a higher purchase intent and are more likely to turn into loyal customers.

Local SEO is valuable to small businesses. It can help increase their presence, gain control over their online information and attract more customers. Ready to get started with you local SEO campaign today? Call Local Splash.

According to CNet.com, Google recently introduced a new feature that allows users to see inside businesses before visiting them. Panoramic photos shared by businesses on their Google+ Local page allow users to take a virtual trip inside the location so they know what to expect when they visit it.

To see the panoramic photos, you must zoom in toward street level on Map. Then click, drag and drop the orange figure (known as Pegman) on the portion of the Map you want to see. Once your Pegman has been dropped, you will see orange dots indicating businesses that have submitted panoramas to Google. According to the article, thousands of local businesses have done this already. If you drop the Pegman on top of one of the dots, the panorama will open and you can click and drag to explore inside the location.

If you are a local business owner who is thinking of submitting panoramic photos of your business, to services like Panaramio remember to optimize them with geo-targeted keywords for Google first to help with your local SEO efforts. Photo optimization is a perfect fit to highlight business listings on Google Maps and Google Plus.

Fun Fact: In addition to being able to see inside business locations, Google Streetview includes the inside of the White House and many museums!

Tag Archives: local splash

Top 5 Ways Local SEO Helps Small Businesses

Explore Inside Businesses with New Feature in Google Streetview