As local search grows, consumers' zeal for accurate, complete local business listing information grows in stride. There are 3 primary factors when it comes to local search consumers:  Shoppers want convenience. Local search shoppers are ready to buy now. Local shoppers want the right information, the first time.

Search. Find. Buy. The mantra of the search marketing industry rings truer than ever today as more and more consumers are searching for local businesses online. So let's explore how they can Search and find you every time.

So how does manually claiming a listing work? The process involves creating an account with each of the search engines in which listings will be claimed. This account is dedicated to you and used only for your company's listings. You retain ownership of this account, and management of the account can be fully transferred to you at the end of the contract.

For each search engine on which a listing is to be claimed, Where 2 Get It will find the listing, click on the "claim listing" button, and work with the store manager to verify the claim. Verification involves an automated phone call (to the current listed store number) generated by the search engine. The call provides the store manager with a PIN number. The store manager gives the PIN number to Where 2 Get It, and the PIN is used by Where 2 Get It to complete validation of the listing claim. There is also a postcard verification method, but this method can take much longer.

In the process we take the time to accurately fill-in all the information such as: Store location, driving directions, products or product categories, phone number, hours of operation, email, website or local landing page, menus, coupons, photos, videos and other custom fields.

Maximize Your Local Claimed Listings

1.       It's quality not quantity that counts. The rankings for local searches are based on the amount of perceived quality information, pictures, reviews, brands, etc. that you provide in your detailed listing description.

2.       Do not use keywords in the name of your business, just in the description. This ads validity to your listing and will rank higher.

3.       Choose the most appropriate, specific categories for your business.

4.       Complete your business description thoroughly and utilize the keywords you want your business to be associated with.

5.       Pay attention to any online mention of your business name, coupled with your local address- this information is usually pulled into your business listing profile information on Google Maps and is a factor in determining the relevancy of your listing.

6.       If your listing has been falsely claimed or corrupted- report it to the search engine immediately. Google takes the validity of their listings very seriously and will correct any errors.

7.       Flag bad reviews attached to your listings and submit a report. If the review is in violation of Google Maps policies they will help you to remove it.

Another important aspect of local listings is optimizing your content to work with your claimed listings. This includes: optimizing every local page, using a mapping service for all locations like Google Maps, Bing Maps, etc., writing driving directions for each location, using local area codes on phone numbers for each location and adding a full address for each location. To further maximize these results, each location should submit their information to local directories and yellow pages like yp.com, superpages.com or citysearch.com.