Local Search: The What and How?

What is Local Search?

If you've used the web at all to find products and services more than likely you've benefited from Local Search and possibly not even known it.  For example if your dealership was located in Atlanta, Georgia off I-75 ...

• If someone went to YellowPages.com and typed in 'RV Dealersihp in Georgia' you'd for sure want your dealership to be returned in the list.  You'd almost expect it.
• If someone went to Google.com and typed in 'RV Dealer in Atlanta' you would want your dealership to display in the special section Google reserves for local searches.
• If someone was driving down I-175 and used their mobile phone or StreetPilot GPS to search for a 'RV Service Center' you'd want your dealership to be found.

The scenarios could go on, but the point is that more and more of your customers and prospects are using Local Search as part of their every day lives.  Making it an important part of your overall Internet marketing strategies.

How do Local Search websites get my dealership information?

A dealership business profile (example)is the foundation of any local search marketing strategy. A profile contains data as dealership name, address, phone number, website, and description. Also included is your business category, a list of manufacturers/brands, services offered, areas served, and other information such as hours of service.

Why is a profile so important? It's the information that appears when you search for a RV dealership on a search engine, a local search or mapping site, a city guide, or an Internet yellow page site.

Your dealership profile should be reviewed and kept updated on sites like infoUSA, Amacai, Acxiom, Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Ask.com, MSN Local, Local.com, Verizon SuperPages, YellowPages.com, CitySearch, Switchboard and others.

Keeping your dealership information updated on all these sites is alot of work!  Luckily, there are services like RV Dealer Profile that help you create one master profile that's optimized and distributed to all these sites on a monthly basis for you.

What does Local Search do for my dealership?

If planned and maintained correctly a Local Search strategy will...

• Consistenly distribute the most recent and correct phone numbers, website, address, hours of operation, etc.. where your customers and prospects are looking.
• Make the phone ring and draw more prospects to your lot.
• Put the information prospects and customers are searching for in front of their eyes.

Whatever you do, get started sooner than later.  If you have someone in-house who has the time, some Internet skills, can write persuasively, and knows a bit about search optimization have them start visiting each of the sites mentioned above and update your profile.

If you don't have that time and talent available then you might consider the RV Dealer Master Internet Profile service from InteractRV.  It costs less than $600 per year and they will write a persuasive profile, optimize it, and update each local search engine once every month.  Keeping you in front of your prospects and customers wherever they try to find you.

Updated 12/6/06 by Kevin Wallenbeck

If you need assistance we can help. Give us a call at 1-800-515-9672.

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