As more and more people turn to online search before more traditional forms of finding small local businesses, many business don’t yet even have a web site.  The world is changing right in front of us at such an astounding pace; 85% of people now search online first when looking for local products and services.  And 61% of those people make a purchase or in-store visit within 24 hours.

Being able to be found online will become more and more important for retailers and businesses of all kinds in the coming months an years.  Companies will be expected to be found online and by mobile.  With the proliferation of smartphones, people use their phone to find local businesses and socially interact and always have their phone with them.

So how do you use local search for your business?

The first step is to be sure your business can be found.  Optimized submission to local directories, internet yellow pages, and 100′s of other directories can allow your business to be found more easily in the first page of the search engines.