One third of Americans with mobile phones have noticed ads on their phones in the past few months. That´s about 78 million people, not an insignificant number! This data was reported by mobile entertainment company Limbo, which teamed up with GfK NOP Research, a British marketing research company, to analyze local mobile marketing.

You can read more about the report at MediaPost Publications, but here is an interesting tidbit:

Among other key findings, the report confirmed that SMS text messaging remains the dominant non-voice service used by U.S. mobile subscribers, with 56% tapping away on phones. Mobile gaming and surfing the mobile Web were both about half that percentage, while less than 10% watch mobile TV.

Of the one-third of cell customers who have seen mobile ads, most received them via SMS or MMS text messaging. “A third of mobile phone owners saying they’ve seen advertising on their phones is significant,” said Rob Lawson, CMO at Limbo, which creates games and other mobile content. “It means the first hurdle has been crossed to reaching the mass market.”

For small businesses who are still hesitant about local mobile marketing, the proof is in the pudding. It´s time to jump in now, or you´ll quickly become a straggler as local mobile marketing starts to go through the roof. The simple fact that 78 million people are seeing and paying attention to ads on their phones lets us know that this is a marketing medium that simply won´t be going away.

Yesterday, we looked at some methods of on-page local search engine optimization techniques to help boost your website´s search engine rankings. The ones covered yesterday were pretty basic and something that anyone can do, really. Today, we will take a look at some slightly more advanced local search engine optimization techniques. You´ll need to know a bit more to get these ones done, but you could also hire someone to help you integrate them into your blog.

Meta tags. Including your keywords in the meta tags of your webpage can really help with local search engine optimization.

Keyword tags. Add all your keywords and keyword phrases to the keyword tags. The latest version of WordPress makes this super easy with a separate line below the posting area.

Text links. Using text links that have your keywords as the anchor text can help things as well.

No-follow tags. This can be very useful when linking out to a “bad neighborhood”. Search engines won´t penalize you for linking to sites they don´t approve of if you use a no-follow command.

Sitemap. A sitemap lets search engine bots find each and every page on your website quickly and easily and helps you rank higher for keywords.

Themed keywords. Use your primary keywords, but add other ones in the same topic category. For example if your keyword is “make money online”, you might also use “earn money” and “home business”.

These more advanced local search engine optimization techniques allow you to get higher rankings, thus bringing in more traffic. It´s a good idea to employ as many local search engine optimization methods as possible to boost your chances of making it to that number one spot.

On page local search engine optimization is one of the best ways to catch the attention of search engines like Google. Using your keywords in the text on the page is good, but it´s just part of what you can do to optimize your website. Here are a few other places you should be looking at for local search engine optimization.

Titles
Using your keywords at the beginning of any titles and subtitles helps them stand out to search engines and this is a technique that should definitely be used if you want to get into local search engine optimization.

Headings
Put the keyword in your heading and at the top of your website where it will be scanned first by local search engine robots.

Anchor text
Use your keywords as links between pages and from other websites or blogs. This adds importance in the eyes of the search engines and is an excellent and well-used local search engine optimization technique.

Alt tags
When adding images to your website, be sure to include alt tags that use your keywords. This will help those searching for images to find you and can be a method of reaching internet surfers who wouldn´t normally come across your website.

Local search engine optimization isn´t just about articles that include your keywords. There is much more to it and by using these techniques and more advanced ones, you´ll put yourself ahead of the competition.

For Canadian Yellow Pages advertisers, their recent press release holds some interesting information. Businesses with a listing on the online version of the Canadian Yellow Pages will shortly have the ability to enhance their listing page with video, photos and custom information. It will no longer be limited to a phone number and address.

From the Yellow Pages Group:

“The introduction of the new Profile Plus is yet another clear example of YPG’s commitment to using the latest technologies to bring businesses and consumers together and to making buying and selling easier and more productive for all concerned,” explains Jean-Pascal Lion, Vice President of Marketing, Yellow Pages Group. “Given that more Canadians than ever are viewing online videos, we are convinced that the video service will provide advertisers with a more compelling and value-added vehicle for bringing their business offerings to more customers.”

Once the new Yellow Pages Profile Plus system is up and running, businesses will be able to get a lot more value from their business listings, as well as offering more information to the general public. We´ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Local mobile marketing allows you to reach consumers where they are, literally anywhere. This has great benefits and if you market correctly, you´ll end up with a very successful campaign. However, when operating in a medium that is so intimate, such as local mobile marketing, there is always the risk of problems.

Creating a successful campaign is obviously the goal in local mobile marketing. The problem is when your local mobile marketing interferes with what your potential clients are trying to do. They will get annoyed and fed up and rather than buy your product or invest in your service, they are far more likely to hate you! So, this is a pretty delicate situation.

Ideally, your local mobile marketing ads should be useful and interesting so they don´t irritate mobile users. Also, you want to be careful that you don´t send anything that could be construed as inappropriate. Keep in mind that people are going to be accessing your ads in public places, like the subway or at the office. Avoid using images that could be construed as racy or insulting.

Local mobile marketing should be something that fits seamlessly into mobile browsing and doesn´t interfere with the user´s tasks. Once you manage that, you will be quite successful.

Have you ever considered giving away something free in order to gain customers? What about mixing real world marketing with online? Local online advertising with a twist. That´s exactly what Local SEO Guide Andrew Shotland is suggesting:

I’m a member of the Pleasanton FreeCycle Group, a forum for people who live near me to give away used goods instead of throwing them away. It’s a great service that promotes “green” living. Every day I get an email with a list of items that people want to get rid of. If there’s something on it that interests me I send the posting member an email and then we arrange the exchange. I use it mainly to dispose of stuff that I don’t want to store or throw away. Over the past year I have given away a crib, tons of baby toys and my favorite of all, boxes. The service is simple, fast and extremely satisfying

In his informative post, Shotland offers a step by step approach to using freecycle websites (you could probably use craigslist or another similar site, too) to create a very unique method of local online advertising . . . for free.

Basically, you use your business name as your user name and give away either small items related to your business, or, as Shotland suggests in his post, boxes. People are always looking for boxes and you can grab some free advertising. The idea is a novel one and certainly something to consider if you are looking for an interesting method of local online advertising.

An interesting contest is coming up shortly, held by Google. The Google Online Marketing Challenge is designed to allow students from around the world to learn more about using AdWords for local pay per click.

Basically, university students from all parts of the globe will be divided into teams and each team will receive online vouchers worth $200 to use on Google´s AdWords. The teams then have to work with a small local business (fewer than 100 employees) to create a local pay per click campaign that will run for 3 weeks and cannot exceed the $200. Student teams have to write up two reports, one at the beginning of the three weeks, outlining strategy, etc. and another at the end which will deal with the results achieved.

The prize? A trip to Google headquarters and a meeting with the team that actually came up with one of the most popular local pay per click programs, AdWords. At the end of the campaign, each small business will receive recommendations based on the gathered data to help them proceed successfully. This is a great opportunity for small businesses around the world to learn more about local pay per click, as well as giving marketing students a chance at some great online experience in the world of local pay per click.

Google local maps have rapidly been picking up new followers. For years, MapQuest was the place to go when you wanted to find a location on the map, but now Google is catching up. According to Hitwise, MapQuest has failed to grow and in fact, is slipping in the number of visitors it has attracted in the past 6 months.

Traffic to MapQuest has remained flat year on year and is down 20% in the past 6 months. Google Maps traffic is up 135% year on year and is up 7% in the past 6 months. The growth for Google Maps is from traffic from the Google search engine.

At this rate, Google local maps will quickly overtake MapQuest, but that´s hardly surprising, considering the lengths they have gone to create an omnipotent enterprise. The question is, are you using Google local maps to help grow your business? You want to be on those maps. And, getting first position for local searches on Google will help your business, as a map will appear beside the search results, with your business location on it. Most people prefer to click on a map when they do a Google local search, so it really benefits the number one position!

Get Listed on Google Local Maps

To add your business to Google local maps, you need to first create an account at Google Local Business Center.

Go to Add/Edit and fill in your business information. Choose up to five categories that describe your business and add special features like photos or coupons that can be printed out. And there you have it, your very own local business listing on Google local maps.

Finding the perfect keyword is something that anyone involved in local search engine optimization is striving for. What is the perfect keyword? That depends greatly on what you want to do with your website or blog.

Local Search Engine Optimization Keyword Technique One
The first local search engine optimization method is to simply choose the most searched for keyword and try to optimize for that. This can be extremely difficult, if you have a lot of competition. For example, thousands of internet marketers are attempting to rank for the keyword phrase “make money online” and the huge amount of competition ensures that the majority will never reach the first page of Google.

However, if you can rank for your popular keyword, you´ll be raking in the traffic. Local keywords tend to have a little less competition. “Miami deli” will have far fewer websites focused on that keyword phrase than simply “deli”.

Local Search Engine Optimization Keyword Technique Two
Our second local search engine optimization technique focuses specifically on low competition keywords with a good search base. These are ideal keywords, but hard to find. You will often end up with what are called long-tail keyword phrases, like “Miami kosher deli downtown”. The more words included, the more specific the phrase and the less competition there will be. However, you do need to be aware that little competition may mean only one or two people are searching that phrase per day.

Ideally, you want a keyword that has less than 30,000 competitors and at least 200 searches per day. This is the best way to go with local search engine optimization, because you can almost guarantee that you´ll be on the first page if not number one.

Local search engine optimization isn´t just about finding the right keywords and using them in your web content. In order to rank well in search engines, you also need backlinks, among other things. Here are a few ways to gain not only backlinks, but also to get your content and website out there and more visible.

Submit to article directories. Writing unique articles that relate to your business can be a great way to build visibility and one-way backlinks, which are very valuable in terms of local search engine optimization.

Add your website to the Chamber of Commerce. Most have their own website with listings for local businesses and it can really be worth it to get your URL up there with a short blurb on your local business.

Look for local sites and directories to advertise on. Since they are local, you should be able to buy an ad for relatively cheap and this can also help you with the search engines, though not as much as “natural” backlinks.

The more of these local search engine optimization techniques that you use, the more times your information and URL will be repeated throughout the internet. You´ll get points for the backlinks, but this can also be helpful because some of these sites are already very popular with the search engines. That means your content can show up in the number one place for a search, even if your website is still on page ten! Worth your time, wouldn´t you say?