Local Directory Submissions are Key to Page 1 Rankings

Are your site and Google Places account languishing at the bottom of the search results, buried under a sea of low quality competition? You're not alone. Having a high quality site or business doesn't guarantee a page 1 ranking. For those who don't know how to move forward, it's a good idea to get a hold of some local SEO services and get your business the recognition it deserves. That said, it's important to understand some of the basics of local search before making any sudden moves.

Why Directory Submissions Matter

Google wants to know that a site is legitimate, and it needs evidence to back up that claim before they'll give it the recognition it deserves. One of the best places to make that happen is through a local site submission company. Legitimate directories collect information about businesses, and they serve as an important source of information for the search engines. Search engine optimization is all about letting Google, and their competitors, know that your business is important.

Local site submissions make it possible to spread awareness about a site and send links back to the homepage or some of the individual pages on the site. These links let Google know you aren't just another site on the web. Choosing an SEO firm with a local site submit option is important for this reason.

Google Places Optimization

There are some similarities and differences between improving the ranking of a site and improving the visibility of a Google Places page. In the case of a website, links are the strongest indicator of its authority. In the case of a Places page, you need citations.

A citation is an online mention of a business. The best citations include your business's name, address, and phone number. The more places this information is listed on the web, the better. A business with more citations can end up getting listed as the first business in the search results, even if other related businesses are closer to the user's location. This is not unlike getting a listing at the beginning of phone book, except that a gimmicky looking "AAA" at the beginning of the brand name is unnecessary.

Thankfully, the process of citation building is beneficial in more ways than just improving search engine visibility. By its very nature, the process requires you to spread the word about your business, which has its own inherent benefits.

Contact a local site submission company at 214-310-1356 to learn more.