The Internet is becoming more and more local every day.  One reason is that consumers are using their mobile devices to perform searches for local businesses more frequently.  According to a recent report, there are nearly 3 billion search queries containing local terms each month.  For companies that have a local presence, visibility on local search is proving to be essential for them.

The most important piece to local search optimization is the presence of accurate NAP data: name, address and phone number.  Search engines aggregate data from multiple sources and ultimately they should all lead back accurately to your business.  If the information is not consistent, your websites listing will be seen as less accurate and will likely be lowered in the search results, causing you to potentially miss out on the opportunity for citations(links) that come with local listings.

To optimize local business listings, first focus on developing a quality title, then add an accurate, up-to-date physical address.  Next, choose the business categories strategically.  Make sure to have a local phone number and finally undertake a campaign to acquire reviews from your customers.  The more reviews you can get, the sooner you will be on the fast track to generating traffic from local mobile traffic and regular search traffic.

One of the most important parts of building a positive local presence is the existence of directory citations.  YellowPages.com, Yelp, CitySearch and InsiderPages.com are just a few.  But citations (links) should not stop at directories.  You should also acquire them from other websites.  Finding those on a city level is not an easy task, but it is possible.  Take your time to complete profiles on the following websites or hire someone to do this for you.  It can help your local presence.