• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Pre-header Widgets

(757) 271-4602 valerie@cdgwebdesign.com
Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on Yelp

CDG Marketing & Web Design

  • Home
  • About
    • Location
  • Services
    • Website Design
      • Domain Names
      • Web Hosting
      • Professionally-Written Web Content
    • Printing
      • Business Cards
      • Postcards
      • Brochures and Flyers
    • Graphic Design Services
      • Logo Design
    • Video
  • Portfolio
  • Testimonials
    • Leave a Review
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Advertising / 30 minutes to a better web presence for local businesses

30 minutes to a better web presence for local businesses

June 26, 2011 by Valerie Cudnik

If you’re one of the small local businesses trying to move your marketing online, this article is for you. Perhaps you already have a website, a blog, and even a page on Facebook. If you do, great! You’re making progress. Depending on whether you are doing the work yourself or hiring it out, you may have missed the opportunity for some of the best free advertising you can get — listings in some of the larger online directories… the ones that count. (Being in a bazillion small meaningless link-farm directories doesn’t help and you want to stay away from those!)

The biggies:

  • Google My Business, (aka, Google Places, Google Local… google keeps changing the name!)
  • Bing Local
  • Yelp
  • Foursquare

If you’re a restaurant you should also be in:

  • Zomato (formerly Urban Spoon)

Start with your Google listing, then do Bing. Make sure you enter the exact same data for each of them! Entering the data into these sites will be a bit repetitive, but that’s okay. Different search engines serve up results from many different sources and you want to make sure you’re included in the ones that matter. This is a really basic list, there are lots of other good, solid directories, but folks just starting out should worry about these first.

Most of these sites also offer upgraded ‘paid’ listings or other features. For now, just stick with the basic free listing, you can always upgrade later. Ideally these listings will include a link back to a website, but if you don’t have a site, put up a page on Facebook and link to that.

When provided with the opportunity to enter a description about your company, it needs to be well-written sales copy that tells the potential customer what benefits you offer them. Why should they come to YOUR business and not the guy down the street?

Filed Under: Advertising, Featured, Marketing Information, Search Engine Optimization Tagged With: Google

About Valerie Cudnik

I've been a graphic designer for over 30 years and have focused on digital media since 2007, with emphasis on web design and internet marketing.

Products I love.

This is an affiliate link; I will get a small commission if you buy this software.

Primary Sidebar

Here’s what some of our happy customers have to say about us:


Footer

  • Website Portfolio
  • Location / Map
  • About CDG
  • Services
  • Blog
Best Web designers in Chesapeake

Some of our web design work…

Cav Park Bay Colony
CDG Marketing & Web Design
1508 Percheron Ct.
Chesapeake, VA 23322
(757) 271-4602
This is a home-based business.
We are available by appointment only.

Get Directions

© Copyright 2007-2019. All rights reserved.
Small Business Website Design by CDG Marketing & Web Design · Log in

Cleantalk Pixel