Skybox Creative Blog

The iPhone 4S, the most popular iPhone, has a voice recognition app called Siri. Siri lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. Ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back.

Some experts are predicting that Siri will kill local SEO. Why? By using Siri you are no longer searching through search results. Siri is searching through search results and calling companies on the top of the list. Of course, that is just speculation. How Siri processes information is an Apple secret. We can only assume though that Siri is picking the crème of the crop in search engine results. So how can you optimize for Siri? Being on local directories will improve your standing on the internet and for Siri. It’s no longer enough to simply set up profiles on Facebook and Twitter and be done with it. Instead, establish a profile on the following directories, review sites and encourage customers to rate your business there for maximum exposure.

• Google Places
• Yahoo Local
• Bing Local
• Yelp
• Grubhub
• Open Table
• Urbanspoon
• Foursquare
• Savings.com
• Retailmenot
• Judy’s Book
• Citysearch
• Superpages
• Yellow Pages

To determine which of these options are the best fit for your business, do a quick search to see which business sites in your geographic area and industry are ranking well in Google and create profiles on whichever of the following sites they’re using.

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Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Brand Consultancy with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

Should we thank the Android? Is it mobile device users searching for local restaurants and repair shops who are making the web so, well, local? Perform a Google search today and the first results will be marked on a Google map. These are local businesses and Google finds them using their Google Place pages. For example, even a search for Skybox Creative, returns a Google map of San Diego and our address. When did the web get so local?

Google search is getting more and more localized. And what does this mean for Search Engine Optimization? Aside from the general SEO rules about having updated, fresh and relevant content and using carefully selected keywords and terms, what else can you do to boost your company’s ranking in local search?

Local Directories

Local directories can be a great asset in your SEO strategy. Bing Local, Yahoo Local, and Yelp are great places to start listing your business to get it recognized in the local market – and boost your page ranking in Google. There are a lot of specialized local directories, as well, that often rank high for the kind of keywords you’d like to be found for. These are often organized around industries – legal, web design, dentistry — and you can search by region, for example, web design in San Diego, and find listings.

The best way to determine how you can boost your ranking in search results is to search keywords you think customers would use to find you and see what directories appear on the first page of Google results. Then make sure you’re listed in those directories. Many listings are free, but you might want to think about paying to be listed in the top-ranked – and most relevant – local directories.

Skybox Creative's Google Place Marker

Google Places

Google Place pages are another essential for SEO. Basically, you create your little marker on the Google map. This is the page that pops up most frequently on mobile devices.

Some of these pages are automatically created by local directories, so search your business to see if you’re already listed. If you are not the creator of the marker, you can contact Google to get a PIN number so that you can maximize the reach of Google Places. You’ll want to link the address to your primary website, instead of a directory listing and fill out your place page with your logo, keyword-rich copy, and even photos and video. You can also select relevant categories for your company, to make sure you’re included in a broad category of searches.

On the ever-changing landscape of SEO, it’s important to remember where you come from. After all, with the trend for searching local, that’s where your customers will find you!

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Brand Consultancy with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO . Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

Skybox Creative – providing Web Design + Branding in San Diego since 2006 is now on Yelp!

As an SEO effort, we encourage our clients to get in as many online directory listings as possible. There are many highly trafficked directories that offer free listings. This can help your business in two ways, firstly it increases the likelihood of people finding you on the web, secondly it  improvs your page rank by increasing back-links to your site. For those of you who are unfamiliar with page rank, Google provides a page rank based on a scale of 1-10 that helps determine the relevancy of the information on your web site.

Here are a few online directories for San Diego businesses:

www.kudzu.com

www.bizsandiego.com

www.yelp.com

www.dmoz.com

Click here to add a comment/star rating to our business listing on YELP!

For more industry specific online directories, type your primary target keywords in any major search engine and several directories should pop up for each keyword or keyword combination. For a longer list of general business directories, contact us and we will happliy provide you with more.