In this article we will go over 4 ways to get local business listings and backlinks to increase your exposure online and drive more visitors to your small business website.

1. Google Local also known as Google Maps. Google is the largest search engine in the world and to be found locally you want to show up at the in their results on Local.Google.com.

This is not hard to do yet it is amazing how many small businesses do not take the time to do it. It’s important to be specific when placing your listing so they include keywords that you would like to be ranked for.

Google Local brings up targeted results by region and this is your chance to show up on Google Maps at the top of a targeted search phrase. Right now the service is free so it’s worth getting a listing with them.

2. Online Yellow Pages. YellowBook, Dex, and others are a good way to get listed on the internet in yellow pages. Yellow pages are not used much anymore, but an online listing can get you some high quality backlinks.

3. Social Networks. Yelp is a good place to start on social networking for local businesses. Wikipedia says “Yelp, Inc. is a Web 2.0 company that operates a social networking, user review, and local search web site of the same name. Over 25 million people access Yelp’s website each month, putting it in the top 150 of U.S. Internet web sites.

4. Backlinks from high traffic websites. You can purchase a high quality link from services such as TextBrokers which will increase the worth of your own site in the eyes of Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines.

You can also create a resource directory and do link exchanges with other relevant local businesses owners. You can also work at getting backlinks via blogging, social media such as video marketing, posting in discussion forums, article marketing, and so forth.

Your goal very simple with local business listings is just like any type of advertising that you do. You are trying to place your website in places where people can find it. It only stands to reason that the more listings you have the more potential traffic your website will get.

This is why working on backlinks is another important strategy. Search engine such as Google rank sites higher based on the number backlinks they have pointing back to them.

In summary this is 4 ways to get local business to business listings and backlinks. This should be part of an ongoing Internet marketing strategy you have for your local small business.

If you enjoyed this article by Jeff Schuman on local business listings and backlinks please visit our local business blog today. We help small business owners use the power of the local business marketing to grow their business. http://www.LocalBusinessGroup.com

Here are a few examples of internet mistakes commonly made by businesses, beginning with the website:

-Putting up a website and then not managing it. Websites are often treated like they’re internet brochures by many businesses. The effect of this is that website visitors look at the site as more of a newspaper or phone book ad than they do an interactive website.

The true effectiveness of a website is in its ability to be used for two-way communication. By getting viewers to interact- leave a comment, exchange information, ask questions, etc.- a website can be the first step towards a potential customer’s involvement with the business.

Using a blog in exchange for a website. Business owners who are serious about their business don’t use a blog site to act as their website. The blog should only act as an instrument for a business to share thoughts and ideas with customers. But you should not allow it to replace the website as the principal site to promote your business.

-Not tracking traffic to the site. Not collecting information about who is visiting your site could be the difference between experiencing huge growth and failing. This is an example of gaining a potential customer’s involvement.

By finding out who specifically is coming to your site, and getting some personal information, you can now begin to communicate with them via email.

-Not taking advantage of search engine optimization. Successful online businesses understand this, but many traditional brick and mortar business are losing customers left and right because they don’t. When you understand what key words and phrases people are using to locate a local business website like yours, you can use that information to help direct traffic to your site.

Using a personal email instead of a professional one as your domain. Once you’ve registered your URL, you need to begin using the email address for that domain for all business purposes. If you don’t- and continue to use a personal email address- it doesn’t give the appearance of a professional business.

-Focusing too much on the website’s design and not enough on the content. The more relevant pages of content you have the better the site will perform despite its design.

Don’t misunderstand me, it’s important to have a website with a professional appearance, but it’s more important to spend your time and money on the site’s content. That is what will drive traffic to your site. And without traffic it doesn’t matter how beautiful your website is.

Summary: You must take advantage of today’s technology in order for your business to not only compete, but to also survive. Focus on your local business website and how you can utilize it to grow your business.

If you enjoyed this article about the effectiveness of a local business website please visit our business website today. Read our free review on hands off local business marketing using easy local seo to rank highly on search engines and get more traffic to your small business website.