Google adds local tab : law firm blogs & Web sites need to act

Not to be outdone by MSN’s new search engine, Google has changed their homepage by adding the “Local” tab to the search interface. You’ll probably see some press on this shortly.

Per Greg Sterling at Local Media Blog “No longer will users need to go to the somewhat buried Local.Google.com, nor will local results come up irregularly and, from a user point of view, serendipitously when geographic modifiers are input as part of a search on Google.com. This should result in an immediate traffic spike to Google Local.”

Do a search for a Bozeman Bankruptcy Lawyer & click the Google tab for local. You will receive the Google local page which displays a separated search for the type of lawyer and locale. Click again and you will receive a map with letters displayed. Click a letter and you will get info on lawyers and links to their blogs or Web sites. Powerful, powerful stuff.

To make sure you are included I recommend a one line address including keyword or key phrase (can change per pages) at the bottom of each and every page of your site or blog, for example:

Bankruptcy Lawyer, 123 Smith Lane, Bozeman, MT, 59718.

Do not assume that Google and the other search engines can read your typical contact info in a stacked column as is often seen on ‘contact us’ pages.

Source: MarketingShift