Advice about SEO services

[nichols]

I have been in business for a number of years, and I have finally realized that I need to have an online presence. I have found that there is a variety of pros, and there are a number of cons, as well. A positive aspect of an online presence is that the cost for generating leads and sales is significantly less. The negative side, at least for me, is the fact that it takes a significant learning curve in order to gain an understanding of what I am doing and need to do.

I started a few months ago and had gained a ton of information and knowledge in that time. I have come to realize that there are two types of search that I need to be focused on. I have a product based business selling religious items so I have the ability to ship almost anywhere someone could order from, but I also want to grow my business locally so more people can find and visit my shop.

So I found myself on Wikipedia at some point. I found this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_search_(Internet) about the whole idea of what local search results are. It wasn't exactly the most useful page for helping me to understand exactly how to rank in the search engines, however, whether it is for local results or particular keywords in the regular search engines.

I ultimately started looking for people and companies that could help me improve my rankings in the search engines, especially on a local scale. I came across a number of different types of services and programs that claim to be able to accomplish exactly this. I am a little hesitant about spending money on a program before I know it will generate positive results without causing problems for me in Google.


What other services have you used and what results have you seen with those services? I am much more focused on ranking on a local level right now. In time, I will grow my website and business to rank higher for particular terms on the regular search engines, but I want to drive more traffic to my store right now. What tips and advice do all of you have for helping me to accomplish this goal more quickly and easily? I am looking for some useful and practical advice to accomplish the goal of driving more local searches to my business and website.