Free Yahoo local listing
Your free local listing is called Yahoo Local Basic and consists of a profile listing of the following information:
- Address, phone number and FAX number
- Website and email addresses
- Business category
- Business hours of operation
- Accepted payment methods
- Products and services offered
Yahoo provides sponsored search and local listings as local advertising options.
- Sponsored search: These pay-per-click ads on Yahoo can be geo-targeted by user location or user interest (keyword). Geo-targeted sponsored search ads can also be inserted into the Yahoo Local results.
- Local listings: These listings appear on Yahoo Local and have two flat-rate fee levels: Local enhanced listings give you a company logo and tagline, up to 10 photos of your business, a detailed business description, inclusion in five business categories and two customizable links to coupons or special offers for a flat rate of $9.95 per month; local featured listings give you all the features of local enhanced plus guaranteed prominent placement in Yahoo Local, customizable listing and business details page and a free five-page basic website for a monthly flat rate starting at $25 per month.
Optimization tips for local listings
To rank well in local search, it goes without saying that your site should be optimized for organic listings. Optimize all on-page and off-page factors, and get your site listed in important directories for your niche.
We mentioned the desirability of adding a footer listing your street address and phone number on all your pages. If you limit your contact information to the Contact Us page, this won't help your site get into the right geographical category, and it won't help your other pages rank organically for locally oriented searches. When the information about your business is presented on each page, it's easy for search spiders to extract local information when indexing.
To achieve good local rankings, concentrate on all your local resources. A link from the local Chamber of Commerce can be valuable. Involvement with the local community can lead to more links. You might sponsor local events, join local business organizations, or sponsor a local sports team, etc. It's important to be a visible member of the community to gain the trust and authority necessary to attract links.
Provide specific information when entering your business profile directly into all local search sites. Not all search engines display the same information, but they all require details about your business, products and services.