Tip #1: You Don't Need a Website To Rank High In Local Search

A popular misconception about local search engine marketing is that you need a business website get a decent ranking. I've even heard one person (who shall remain nameless) say that you can't get listed by Google and Yahoo if you don't have a website.

Nothing could be further from the truth - here's some screenshots to quash this line of thinking:

Both screenshots show the local search results for the phrase "builders maidstone", the first being from Yahoo! and the second from Google. The number one business in both cases does not have a website, yet they sit atop the rest, many of which do have websites.

Although a business website can be very useful (and maybe essential, depending on your line of work) to your overall marketing strategy, it is not essential to be listed in the major local search engines.

Yahoo! UK Local Business Listing HowTo

Getting listed in Yahoo's Local Business Directory is a 2-step process:

1. Submit your details
2. Confirm your listing

Then it's around a 5 week wait (although this can vary) before you start to appear in local searches.

Submit Your Details
Yahoo! have outsourced the management of their UK Local Business Listings to a company called Infoserve. These are the guys you need to submit your details to. Click here for the submission form, fill it in and wait for a phone call.

Confirm Your Listing
A day or two after submitting your business details, Infoserve will give you a call to "confirm your listing". They'll go through your details with you to make sure everything is correct.

Actually, what they're really doing is trying to sell you sponsored advertising space on the Yahoo website. Be courteous, listen what they have to say then firmly tell them that all you want is the free listing. It's important to hear them out because they are the people that will ultimately get you listed. Some of their operators can be a bit pushy but most will be quite reasonable. For some industries the paid lisings can be a great marketing method but for most the free listing will suffice.

Wait
Now all you have to do is wait a variable amount of time before you appear in the lisings (it all depends on when they are next updated). From my experience, this can be between 2 to 6 weeks.