The popularity of mobile computing gives rise to smartphones and other handheld devices that enable users to stay connected on the internet all the time. The high demand of mobile devices that let users access the internet has also paved way to another internet trend – the checking-in at local areas or any places (i.e. bars, restaurants, hotels, airports, etc…) using location-based social media sites.
Popular example of location-based social media networks are Four Square, Google Places, and Facebook Places. These social networks have millions of active users who use their handheld or mobile devices to check in to wherever place they are, and publishing them publicly to keep their friends and the rest of the world updated of their whereabouts.
This internet trend, in an internet marketer’s point of view, can greatly affect social media marketing as well as Search Engine Optimization (more specifically Local SEO). As most search engines are now using social signals to rank websites, every check-in at your business office or restaurant can affect how search engines will rank your website, or what search engines will return to users once the name of your company is searched online.
How Location-Based Social Media Sites Can Improve Local SEO
If you have a coffee shop business, you should make use of location-based social media sites to help boost your shop’s popularity both online and offline. This can be done by registering your business name and location and let customers “check-in” every time they visit your shop. Most active users of location-based social media sites tend to leave comments or feedbacks as form of assessment on how they enjoy your services or products.
You can make this trend work for your Local Search Engine Optimization campaign by connecting your location-based social media accounts to all your websites and blogs. You can also feature the link of your website on your account page to let your customers know that you have an official page online. Once the search engine bots indexed your location-based social media pages (filled with positive feedbacks and massive check-ins from your returning and new clients), expect an improvement in your online visibility most especially in search engine results pages.
Your location-based social media site pages help in vouching your website’s credibility by showing off to search engines that you are legitimate and your customers are satisfied with your services. So, if an internet user will search for “best coffee shop in Dallas”, which website do you think Google will display on top of the results page? Surely the ones which are popular and got high ratings from satisfied customers.
Do you find this article interesting? Keep visiting our Dallas Internet Marketing Blog for more tips on how to optimize your website and how to get higher rankings in Google Search.
