
In the old days, before Google, Bing and Yahoo you had to be in the yellow pages. In order to stand out, you needed larger print and more space. Today the printed Yellow Pages books are getting thinner each year. Now Yellow offers package deals, with the printed ad comes a website and video. Sounds great but you just won't get the results you hope for. What yellow book directory is best? Until recently it seemed like a new book came out each year.
When most people search for a local business they just use Google, Yahoo or Bing. Starting a search with a .Com Yellow will yield a list. Most consumers want more information than an address, phone number, and map. When you advertise with a Yellow you may be lucky to rotate up to the top of the directory list but chances are you're among the long list of competitors. All together Now!
When preforming a search for a client by company name, with Google, the Yellow Paid Listing came up on the middle of the 2nd page. The Yellow sales person will tell you how you will have over a hundred links to your website. When you pay for links it hurts your rank with Google. When doing a local search most people will skip over the Ads anyway. The plumber in St. Louis is not coming to New York to replace your water heater. Google prefers real content that will be of interest to readers. Relevance and popularity are two of the key components factored into the equation when search results are returned. That is why people skip the Ads and skip over Yellow. Searchers want useful information!
Search Engine Optimization is a process that involves several techniques to improve a websites position and rank over time. The search engines Google, Bing, Yahoo and the others collect, store, and index billions of documents, pages and images from around the world each day. Complex equations that take into account hundred of factors and place different levels of importance or value giving users instant results. The search engines job is to provide it's users with real information that has value and relevance.

A search engine sends out spiders to collect information across the web. These web crawlers follow links. A website needs to have clean code. A broken link stops the spider and it dies. Death of a spider works against your rank. Folders and files need names that convey the content within. A spider is blind, When it comes to a flash file or image it has no meaning. A description is needed so a blind person using screen reader could follow along. Additional information about the page contents, in the code, but not visible on display is Meta Data. This includes such things as the title, page description, keywords, and more. Most of this process can be tested using SEO optimization software. The site would need to be online.
After the code has been cleaned up, it is time to request verification and submit your site to the search engines. The search engines will provide a special file or code that will need to be placed in the code or file directory. After the site is verified and indexed, web development resources and special reports will become available such as Google's Web Master Tools. After your site has been verified, a special XML site map can be sent to the search engines. Site Maps are created by SEO service companies and should be submitted at least monthly. Some modification to the site should also be done at least once a month. Making frequent changes to a website helps build rank. A site that doesn't change loses rank.
One of the most effective ways to gain visibility and rank, is to have well written original content that uses will find useful. If it's real good people will link to it. With a little research, you can see what your competition has, then make your site better. It's all about having more. Adding good information and links to your website help build page rank. The use of competitive keywords used in searches and placed into website content will attract the right potential customers.
Google, Yahoo and Bing offer a free business listing. You can describe your products and service, hours of operation, add pictures, video, methods of payment, service area, and link to your website. It really good idea to give search engines your information so they can direct customers your way.