Getting customer feet to walk into their door is always a challenge for local businesses. Many promotional activities have been tried, with varying success. Some local merchants have turned to online advertising to build the in-store traffic.

But this is a new experience for most. How to be effective in their online promotion is still something they are experimenting with. One thing being tried is SEO (Search Engine Optimization), the art of structuring a site so that search engines find it, get a clear picture of what it is about, and ultimately, show it to searchers.

The art of SEO requires proceeding carefully. “Over the top” action can do more harm than good. In the local context, you don’t need to over-optimize; there are fewer competitors, so getting onto the first page isn’t as hard. A slow, gradual improvement of the site, watching the effect each change has on search engine placement

There was a recent article on the subject of SEO for local sites on Marketing Exchange that gives helpful insights into how SEO can be applied in a neighborhood or city setting so that the merchant sees positive results.

The article The Small Business Guide to Local SEO discusses important topics like:
• Choosing Your Keywords
• Optimizing a Website for Local search engine views
• Using video to increase search engine impact
• Getting Registered On Local Directories
• and several more.

You can read the original article here: The Small Business Guide to Local SEO.

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