With so many people going after the same keywords online, especially in the highly competitive industry of home businesses (like this one), you can easily forget the simple things that some Internet marketers are taking all the way to the bank.

What am I talking about? Local Search baby! Todays marketing tip Monday is going to be a short one, but one you should take very seriously.

If you are caught up focusing on the highly competitive keywords for your site, and are not taking time to attract the local searchers, you are missing out on a huge business opportunity. The nice thing about local search directories is getting listed with the ones on the major search engines are free. Have you ever done a search on Google and got a list of results with a map next to it? If you have, and know what I am talking about, this is local search results. These kind of directories are different from traditional Internet directories that can also be a great source of traffic when you get a listing (but do cost).

Getting your site registered with Google Local, and all of the other local directories is easy and free. Here are the ones I recommend:

Google Local
Yahoo Local
Ask Local
US City

These are some of the most amazing sources of local (geo targeted) traffic on the net, and they can help you find local people interested in the things you are selling online. All you have to do to join them is find where it asks you to add your internet business. Once you have given them all the information they need, your website will be added into the directory during their next update. it really is that simple, and is a huge source of traffic - and is FREE!