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If your customers and prospects are locally or regionally based, then the importance of concentrating on local optimization of your web site and local directory listings is significant.

Google quietly upped the local search game by inserting the Google Maps local 10 (listing of 10 local businesses) into search results for local products and services regardless of whether the searcher used a geographic term in the search. It used to be that if you wanted to get local results for a dentist in Wenatchee, WA you typed in "Wenatchee dentists." Now, by detecting the location of your IP address Google will add the local result to the search results for the much more generic phrase "dentist."

I feel that this makes it more important than ever that your local business is showing up in those Google Maps results. (For now the search terms returning these kinds of results are primarily limited to B2C plays like plumber, restaurants, or hotels )

So, now get to work on getting listed and getting in the Top 10 on Google Maps.

1. Make sure you've claimed your listing at Google Local Business Center
2. Update your information and enhance your Google profile by adding lots of descriptions, images and videos
3. Optimize your web site for local search with local terms, links, mentions, suburb names and your business address and phone on every page
4. Get links back to your site with local phrases in the anchor text (ie:"Wenatchee Dentists").
5. Get reviews on your Google Maps profile — anyone can add a review directly into your profile and Google appears to give profiles with reviews higher weight. Be proactive on this one.

If you need assistance with getting your business listed and linked in Google Maps, contact us today!

Google still has it ... and a large part of it. Even with a $80 million Microsoft marketing campaign of Bing when it launched just a couple months ago, Google gained market share.

• Bing dropped to processing 8.96% of all U.S. searches in September from 9.48% in August.
• Yahoo (YHOO) slumped too, sinking to 16.38% from 16.96%.
• Google (GOOG) advanced to 71.08%.

Standard disclaimer: This is one set of data from one source

Link Transit was recently awarded first place for website design at the 2008 AdWheel Awards during the 2008 American Public Transportation Association's Annual Convention.

After several years with the "We are in progress of major overhaul of our website" statement on our website homepage ... the time has finally come.