While the internet can connect everyone everywhere there are strong statistics indicating that many people still want to deal with a local business even in cases where dealing with business farther away is a reasonable option. Local marketing campaigns both small and large are also feeding into the trend of supporting local businesses and your business can benefit by directing your search engine optimization efforts towards local markets.

Consider the local efforts at search engine optimization you can make by looking at tools used for local searches in your area.

Remember that if you focus on local tools in order to directly make yourself known to a local market your business information will still likely appear on Google in its Google maps area for instance which lists businesses that Google obtains information on from a variety of sources.

When you are choosing keywords and you’re trying to appeal to local customers include geographical data in your keywords such as your business location state or city.

When you are creating your website remember to use sufficient text in headings and descriptions even if you’ve got a great collection of photographs or artwork of your local business because search engines use text more easily than images in determining various aspects of your business that will impact SEO.

Consider using social media formats in addition to your other SEO efforts. Sites such as Google Places help people find local businesses in the category they’re searching for. Getting listed on the site is free. Yelp is also a site devoted to local users and reviewers.

Consider listing your business on local online directories that specifically address customers in a specific category or business such as restaurants or plumber listings in your area. Larger directories frequently permit sorting businesses by zip code or city name location so doesn’t count them out as options even if they are not region specific.

Coupons can help improve SEO in indirect ways depending on how and where your coupon is listed. You can drive traffic to your website for a coupon and achieve increased traffic that way or you can indirectly post coupons on sites such as Google Places. Google includes the coupon traffic as part of the way it determines your SEO ranking.

Anytime you make an offer or have a coupon on an interactive site make sure you honor it. If you forgot to put a limitation on it or an expiration date honor the coupon and learn from your mistakes.

Never post a sign in your window that you’re no longer accepting a specific type of coupon that is available for the public but instead remove the coupon offer from the media in which it appears. When you don’t honor your offers on social media you’re opening yourself up for lots of legitimate criticisms and in a local market that can impact your future traffic and customer numbers.

Your SEO efforts should capitalize on trends to support local businesses. Use the tips above to establish and maintain good rankings on search engines and increase your exposure to local customers.