If you’re a small business owner who’s looking for a better way to get more new customers, leads, & prospects, then one of the best ways is to setup a “local listings” account on Google, Yahoo, & Bing.

The local listings directories have been around for only the last couple of years, and can provide you with quick, easy, and free direct response advertising for your business.

Best of all, after you setup your accounts, you’ll be able to include a direct link to your website or landing page, your direct email address, your physical address, your phone & fax numbers, and much, much more.

One thing you will want to do is gather up some basic data pertaining to your business in an easily accessible location. After you gather the most essential elements, namely, business name, address, and phone number, you want to compile a little more detailed information.

The first thing to consider is your website URL. I always recommend to not send your customers directly to your public website. You’ll want to make a landing page. Essentially, it is a stripped down version of your website that has very minimal distractions along with minimal information. It might have a video; it might have a special offer and might have a call to action; a coupon or something that you want the person to do.

Often times, as you send people to your general website, they get lost and they might not be able find exactly what they are looking for, or may have trouble finding information as easily as they would like. You always want to send customers to a site where there is no other choice but to call, email, or contact you or come into your office.

Make sure your landing page contains: Your website URL, your email address, your fax number, and your hours of operation. It’s very important to have that.

Another vital piece of information you need to have accessible is a description of your business. Make sure you keep a list of top rated keywords to include for people searching for our product or service. The Google Keyword Tool is a free service that will allow you to see the specific keywords people search for globally in any type of market. If you compile a list of top rated words to use on your listing, you will help boost your rating.

Other great things to have handy are any awards or professional organizations that you’re involved with. Also have your contact person name, phone, and email.

You also have the ability to put testimonials out on your listing. The customer can give you those or there are ways to actually get those online yourself. If a customer is giving you a happy customer testimonial, you’ll definitely want to put all of that information together so you can include that in your listings. It will give you a lot of bang for your buck and help you get ranked more highly.

Finally, you’ll want to put together a special coupon graphic and offer. This can simply be a PowerPoint slide; you can download free templates all over the internet that will have a coupon layout. Create an offer, it can be a free month or a bonus when they buy something else, or a limited time offer. Make that the call to action for all people you get from these local listing leads. You certainly don’t want to waste these people coming to your site-so give them an offer they cannot refuse.

You want to find exactly what they are looking for as quickly as possible and get them to contact you. If you keep all of this basic information together as your customers initially find your site, they will be willing to explore your business site in depth after they have found what they are looking for. Encourage them to come to your site by catering to their needs for quick and easy contact information.

Author Bio: If you’re a small business owner who needs more new customers, leads, & prospects, check out the Local Biz Bully local web marketing home study course at http://www.LocalBizBully.com

Category: Business
Keywords: google places, local search engine optimization, online marketing course, online lead generation, se