Local Search Engine Optimization is not too difficult if you know what you’re doing.

Let’s face it. Competition for your keywords is tough. You are up against some big players from all around the world. But you do most your business locally. What do you do?

The name of the game is to get traffic to your website. The best way to do that without spending a lot of money is through local search engine optimization. If you serve a large geographic area you can optimize your website for that area by mentioning specific neighborhoods or regions within the area that you serve. For instance, in a large metropolitan area like Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, you might mention such cities as Bedford, Allen, Mesquite, Garland, Arlington, and other surrounding cities so that you can optimize your web pages for those localized areas.

You can build a separate web page for each area that focuses on the specific keyword you want to rank for or you can list the cities you serve on each page of your website. At the very least, you should list them all on one page of your website. By doing this one thing, you can increase your chances of ranking well for your keywords and for your local area tremendously. That’s when you’ve done local search engine optimization at its best.

Are you a local business that relies on pay-per-click advertising to drive traffic to your website? If so, there is one thing that can significantly improve the results that you get from your local pay-per-click efforts.

Are you read? Drumroll ….

Your ZIP code.

No joke. Try this: Couple your keyword with your ZIP code in your ad. But if you do this then you need to make sure that your ZIP code appears on your landing page. By using your ZIP code in your pay-per-click ad, you ensure that your ad is optimized for any search that is made through the search engine’s local search. For instance, if someone is looking for a seafood restaurant in your area and they type in “restaurant” + your ZIP code then your ad should appear on the search results page. A compelling headline in your local pay-per-click ad will get the click … and you’ll get the money.

Is your business listed on Yahoo! Local? If not, you should consider listing it there. One of the great features of Yahoo! Local is that your customers can go online and write a review of your local business. The more reviews you have then the more positive your online reputation will be. Get all of your customers to go up and write a review. They don’t need a website to write a review. Here’s how to make your reputation shine at Yahoo! Local:

• Write a free business listing
• Let your customers know you are listed at Yahoo! Local
• Ask them to write a review for you
• Print out a small flyer that instructs your customers, step by step, on how to write their review (not everyone spends much time online)
• Put a link from your website or blog to your local business listing on Yahoo! Local and ask your website visitors to review your business

When marketing your business online, don’t leave out Yahoo! Local.

Are you familiar with CitySearch? You need to be.

CitySearch is an online guide to major cities in the U.S. and certain international cities. Some of the major U.S. cities represented include:

• Atlanta
• Dallas
• Denver
• Nashville
• New York
• Seattle
• San Francisco
• Orange County
• Baltimore

And plenty more. That’s just the short list.

International cities included in CitySearch are:

• Melbourne
• Tasmania
• Perth
• Toronto
• Copenhagen

You can also list your business by category. Some of the popular categories at CitySearch include:

• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Spas
• Weddings
• Shopping
• Bars and Nightlife

As you can see, CitySearch has a lot to offer. Now do you know about it?

Are you looking to myx it up? Local mobile marketing is getting better. Here’s why:

(Source) With the Myxer widget, site visitors can send content to their mobile phones with drag’n’drop ease and almost instant results.

If you own a local retail site then this widget could save your bottom line. More and more, consumers are using their mobile phones to search and find local retail stores to shop at. They’ll research a product online and drive to a local merchant to purchase it. Local mobile marketing makes that easier.

Myxer lets you put a button on your website that allows mobile phone shoppers to drag and drop images and videos to their mobile phones for easier shopping. This is one coo widget. And if you are a Twitter user, well, you can download the Myxer ringtone onto your mobile phone and make life even better. The only question now is, why haven’t you added the Myxer widget to your local retail website?

All the search engines now have a local directory - even Google. This is perhaps the most important local small business resource for businesses who do business locally. Why is it so important?

Google Local is important because Google is still the most widely used search engine online. They have more than 50% of the market. And since the majority of searchers look for information on products and services (to the tune of over 90%) before driving to purchase the items locally, that means Google Local is the best lead generation tool you can hope for.

One of the best features of Google Local is its map feature. Whenever prospective customers search for a business of your type using the proper keywords and your zip code, a map will pop up showing them the businesses in their area that meet their search criteria. You want your business to be one of those. If you have a website then searchers can click over to your website from there. If you don’t, all they have is your address and phone number. Which do you think is more effective?

Have you tried Superpages? This is one of the best local advertising sources on the Internet. The sample ad above shows you how the ads on Superpages.com look - clean and crisp.

One of the things I like about Superpages is the ability to write an ad for mobile phone users. You can actually write your ad and include an add-on that is a pay-per-call feature, allowing mobile users to call you directly from the Internet. This is a dynamic feature for local small businesses. You only pay for each call and the bidding works just like it does for pay-per-click ads.

Other cool Superpages features include a Send feature, allowing users to send a particular ad to their friends, either to their e-mail or to their cell phone. Again, that’s a super powerful feature.

Superpages also includes maps and the ability of users to rate a business. This can be a very useful feature because your customers can go online and tell everyone what a wonderful service you provide. You can even target your Superpages ads for local or national business.

When considering where to advertise your local business, consider Superpages. It’s better than Yellow.

Citysearch is one of the most useful websites online for local businesses. With a PageRank of 5, it has a significant reputation for leveraging your local small business and getting some recognition for your skills. And I like the way it is set up.

When you first visit Citysearch, you land on the national search page. This allows you to search for hotels, restaurants, or other businesses with a national reputation. But you can also hone in on individual cities. Large cities and smaller cities like Harrisburg, Pa., for example.

When you land on the page for your local city you’ll see several boxes - I like Citysearch’s page design. You’ll see a list of popular places in Harrisburg (or where ever you live), a glimpse into the nightlife, local personals ads, a menu bar on the left featuring significant amenities that you can browse (you know, restaurants, bars, various services). But the most significant feature of Citysearch for businesses is the online Yellow Pages feature, a place where you can list your business to gain that extra edge.

So … first, choose your city. At the very top of your screen (in the banner), you’ll see the name of the city whose page you are on (or just “National Search”) and under that you’ll see a link to “other cities.” Click the link.

Now scroll all the way do to the bottom of the page to where you see “(the name of your city) Yellow Pages.” Click “List Your Business.” You’ll get a pop up window where you can sign up for the Citysearch Yellow Pages plan that you want. And that’s all there is to it. Easy as pie.

If you haven’t heard yet, people are abandoning the traditional print Yellow Pages in droves. Every day, more and more people go online to shop for products and services. While they may not make their purchases online, they are nevertheless shopping online. Here’s the way it the shopping cycle is beginning to work with over 90% of consumers:

• Consumer goes online to shop for what they need (let’s use a digital camera, for example)
• Consumer Google’s “digital camera”
• After clicking on three or four top links on the Google SERP, the consumer finds a comparison table for the most popular brands of digital camera
• She spends a couple of hours comparing features and finally decides on the camera she would like to buy
• She writes down the model and maker of the digital camera she wants to buy
• The consumer then drives to the nearest retail outlet to purchase that camera (after looking up the address on Google Local

It’s absolutely true. More and more consumers are shopping online then driving to make their purchases. They use their Yellow Pages for stepping stools.