Nine Tips: Local Wellness Businesses & The Web

READING TIME: ABOUT 4 MINUTES

As the Internet replaces the Yellow Pages, you need to tune your marketing to attract local business via the web.

Most clients come to us with websites that get very little traffic.  So we'll focus mainly on ways to increase those initial visits to your site. 

1) Add your local business to Google Local and Yahoo Local. 

These listings include maps, business information, photos and more.  Premium listings are often available that boost your business's visibility.

First, search for your business to see if it's already listed.  If not, here's how to get started:

Google Local

You'll need a Google account to add your business to Google Local.

http://www.google.com/local/add/lookup?hl=en-US&gl=US

 

Yahoo Local

https://local.adcentral.yahoo.com/locallistings/us/i2

2) Tailor your website content to your local audience.

Over 18,000 municipalities exist within the US. Many share the same name (for example, Oxford, OH and Oxford MS).  Visitors should know instantly that your business can serve them.  Make it immediately obvious on your home page that you operate within a local area. Include references to your local and surrounding communities in your web content.  In addition to community names, include your county and state in your web content.  This tactic may help boost your ranking in search engines.  It certainlys increase the likelihood that customers you want will actually find you.

3) List your business on other local websites.

Make a list of every local organization you belong to or actively support through contributions of time or money - civic groups, the Chamber of Commerce, networking organizations, and others.  Virtually all have websites with a directory listing of their members.  Make sure that your business is listed, including a link to your website.  The number of sites with links to yours may boost your ranking in search engines.

4) Make it easy for site visitors to choose your business.

Listing your hours and offering clear directions when your competitor doesn't can be all that's needed to win the customer's business.  Overlooking basic -- yet critical -- information is a frequent mistake when designing your website. 

Provide key details on every page of your website: your street address, zip, phone, a short and specific business description (nothing fluffy!), and up to 10 nearby communities that your business serves.  Include this info in your keywords, meta tags, and title tags.

Include your business hours plus clear maps and directions that are formatted for printing. 

5) Swap links with related local businesses.

Swapping links serves two purposes.  First,  it increases the likelihood that you'll get referrals.  Second, the number of sites with links to yours may boost your ranking in search engines.  For example, a local fitness center can swap links with a fitness equipment retailer, a chiropractic group, a natural foods store, a day spa, and a nutritionist's practice.

6) Submit your site to other highly visible web-based directories.

Examples include Citysearch, Angie's List (your clients will have to submit your business), and directories specific to your wellness specialty.  For example, most professional associations for physical therapists, chiropractors, dietitians and others include directory listings.  The Yoga Alliance is a great choice for yoga studios.  You may also want to consider the Open Directory Project, About.com, Business.com, and the Yahoo directory.

7) Consider pay-per-click or pay-per call advertising.

Google and Yahoo both offer pay-per-click advertising, where you establish a budgeted amount that you're willing to pay each time a web surfer clicks on your ad.  Pay-per-call is similar, except that an ad for your business containing a unique telephone number appears in response to a search.  You pay only when someone actually calls your business using that number.  Companies like Ingenio, Citysearch and Verizon offer pay-per-call services.

8) Remember the basics of organic search and search engine optimization.

If your business is an active contributor of content on the web, you'll naturally tend to rank higher in search engines.  Everything from press releases to listings on industry association sites to a blog can help boost your position in search results. 

Increase the likelihood that your site will show up at the top of search results by including keywords, meta tags, and title tags that incorporate your city, county, state and zip as well as appropriate terms to describe your business.

9) And of course...plaster your website address everywhere.

Company vehicles, business cards, display windows, invoices, all sales and marketing materials, cash register receipts....the list is virtually endless.