Tagging is a popular form of identifying various online materials by attaching words, or metadata, to categorize and describe them. This is beneficial because it helps index items according to common traits and it makes them much easier to find by people who are looking for specific things. Tagging can be applied to just about anything:  photos, videos, music, RSS feeds, even webpages.

So, here’s an example of tagging. Let’s say that I have a picture of a lemon (apologies for using a pathetically simple example) and I’ve decided to upload to Flickr and share with the world. I add several tags to the image to make it easier to find, like lemon, citrus, fruit.

Now with ‘geo-tagging’ things get kicked up a notch. Geo-tagging uses latitude and longitude coordinates to determine location-specific details in relation to specific items. Using the lemon example, geo-tagging would involve sharing the place where the photo was taken, like Florence, Italy. The great thing about geo-tagging is that it can actually be used as a marketing tool to increase business.

Geo-based social media sites are sprouting up all over the internet. Knowing what sites are available and how to use them can be an entertaining way to boost repeat business traffic and get your customers to start buzzing about who you are, what you’re up to and, most importantly, where you’re at.

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Foursquare

Foursquare is one of the big dogs on the geo-based social media scene. Their user base is growing rapidly and it’s a perfect time to jump in and start using their services with a creative twist of your own. Check out How to Market Your Business With Foursquare for some great tips and a thorough explanation on how the social platform actually works.

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Gowalla

Next up is Gowalla. It’s very similar to Foursquare in terms of premise and interface, however there are some differences that help set it apart. Gowalla users have to physically be at the location when they’re checking-in. GPS verification and geocaching work together to verify that users aren’t randomly claiming to be somewhere when they aren’t. This is a plus for businesses because customers have to be in your establishment in order to claim a true check-in.

So how can you use Gowalla for marketing? Pretty easily.

• Visit your Gowalla business listing and see who’s checking-in and visiting your place. Because visitors can choose how they’d like to be contacted, like text, call or email, you have a direct connection to them. Reach out and let them know about your special events and unique offers available exclusively to Gowalla users.
• Take a look at businesses nearby. Connect with some of their visitors and let them know that you’ve noticed they’ve been in the neighborhood. Incentivize them by offering 10% off a service or giving away a free product.
• More interaction means more buzz. The purpose of sites like Gowalla is to share information with others. Make your place of business a great experience for Gowalla users and they’ll spread the word quickly about you.
• Request a customized icon, or your business logo, for your listing instead of using the generic category images that are provided. It will help distinguish your business.

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Brightkite

The publicity machine may be churning out a ton of spin for Foursquare and Gowalla, but Brightkite has the largest user base among the three applications. Recently, it launched a new group texting tool that lets users communicate with a text message to groups as large as 100 people. It’s like being able to hit the ‘reply all’ button in an email. Instead of having to conduct individual conversations, Brightkite users can rally the troops to meet at a local park for a BBQ or head downtown for some cocktails during happy hour. A super bonus – the service is completely free! No more costly text message fees from your wireless service providers.

• Brightkite is very keen on helping local businesses market themselves. They make it simple to sign-up with a page on their site. Once you’ve created your listing you’ll want to start promoting.
• Print up some window decals and signage to let Brightkite fans know that you recognize them and offer special incentives. Post them conspicuously. Include the a Brightkite badge on your website’s homepage. With a little HTML and Brightkite icon, you can post a welcome mat to notify online traffic too.
• Oscar Mayer uses Brightkite to track their Wienermobiles across the country on their hotdoggerblog. A super clever way of showcasing where their business will be so that fans can easily find them. Try implementing a local version for yourself. Let fans know what tradeshow or festival you’ll be at, as well as your booth number.
• Advertise with a call-to-action. Special savings are good, but they’re even better when you position them with a sense of urgency. Offer 25% off, but only during the hours of 3pm – 5pm on Thursday.

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Loopt

This application is a stand-out because of its compatibility with more than 100 handheld devices. Additionally, Loopt connects with all major US wireless phone networks, like Sprint Nextel, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and others. Might not sound like much, but the more gadget friendly an application is, the broader its audience base will be. Loopt is more than 3 million users strong and counting, which is interesting because this application doesn’t include an entertainment component like Gowalla or Foursquare. It’s totally game free.

Loopt works based off what your friends are doing nearby and telling you what’s going on around your current location. It even makes recommendations by looking at events and places that may be of interest and that are in proximity to where you are and what you’re doing. A partnership with Zagat and Citysearch include reviews to make more informed choices.

• Your business can use Loopt to target someone who lives or works nearby and create promotions that can be redeemed by phone or optionally via e-mail or text message. This makes it much more convenient for people on the go.
• Set-up a digital raffle where the first 10 Loopt users who visit your location or write a super star review have a chance to win an free Visa gift card or iPod.
• I’ve said it a thousand times – social media is social. That means engaging with your audience. Posting and offering without interaction doesn’t cut it. You have to reach out and talk to people. Tell them about your discounts, invite them to stop by and let them know that you value their patronage and support. A little sugar goes a long way.

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Dreamwalk

The easiest way to share what Dreamwalk is and how it works is to show you. Check out the video below for a quick overview.

One of the best things about Dreamwalk is that its founders developed it for the purposes of digital advertising. From the moment it became a concept, the interest of the business owner was first and foremost. This theme is clearly reflected throughout their website which contains an abundance of information. Everything from 10 simple steps to get started to a comprehensive FAQ section.

Dreamwalk has made marketing your business an effortless process. They’ll help you craft a campaign for your business or you can visit their idea center to get some inspiration and head out on your own. Either way, Dreamwalk is a great place to start testing your geo-based marketing initiatives. Use it as a starting point to launch your promotions or add it to your existing mix of geo-based applications. This is truly a great application.

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MyTown

This application is one of the most popular among users, partly due to the catchy game that it features. MyTown uses GPS-enabled Monopoly with real physical locations that lets users buy places and collect rent from others who check-in to those venues. Seriously – who doesn’t love Monopoly? Unfortunately, compared to the other geo-based applications mentioned, MyTown offers that least amount of information and assistance to business owners. That’s a major downfall since business is the driving force behind the application.

Currently, business owners can see who’s checked-in to their location and obtain their names. The downside here is that the names are pseudonyms or ‘game names’ so having this data isn’t as helpful. Businesses can get involved in promoting their locations by contacting MyTown at:  merchants@booyah.com. For what it’s worth, mention that you’d like to see business opportunities expanded and enhanced. Squeaky wheel gets the grease!

So why is MyTown being featured if it doesn’t seem to be business owner friendly? Well, it’s friendly enough, just not bear-hugging-loveable like some of the other applications. As a business owner, getting in on the ground floor with MyTown could be a smart marketing move since it’s not saturated with companies who are fighting for the same social space. Contact MyTown for details on how to integrate your business into their application.

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We’d love to know how you’re using these services. Please comment and share feedback with us.

Over the past few years local search has been dominating the search engines. Google, Yahoo and Bing are seeing droves of people turning toward the internet to conduct searches for brands, products and services within their local areas. Just to give you an idea, published numbers indicate that more than 10 billion local searches are conducted each month. Clearly, local search marketing has enormous potential to attract a large share of customers to your website and business.

Flipping through the Yellow Pages is a thing of the past. Web users are becoming more sophisticated with local search criteria. By including identifiers to make searches more focused to a particular location, the search engines are able to retrieve local information. As a business, if you’re not using local search, you’re losing out.

Use these local search marketing suggestions to promote your business and capture your fair share of customers.

1. List Your Business

If you want to be found you need to go where people can find you. That means including your business listing in the local directories with Google, Yahoo and Bing. In addition to the listing with the big dogs, you’ll need to expand your local listing circle and include your business with other sites too. This increases your online presence by making you more visible. Here’s a list to get things started:  Citysearch.com, Superpages.com, Insiderpages.com, Yellowpages.com, iBegin.com and Brownbook.com.

2. Stake Your Claim

After you’ve published your listing you’ll need to return to each site and claim your listing. This proves that you’re the site owner and helps reduce spam activity and fraudulent posting. It often requires nothing more than a simple email verification or PIN activation via automated phone call. Make sure that you claim each listing so that you can make edits and changes to your listings in the future.

3. Keep It Consistent

Every local listing should feature the exact same business name. For instance, if you own a coffee shop, let’s call it Beverly’s Coffee House, then that’s what each and every listing should reflect in the title. Don’t abbreviate and call it Bev’s Coffee on some and not on others. This is one instance where being exactly the same is a good thing.

4. Optimize-A-Go-Go

The SEO acronym has been tossed around more than a football during Superbowl. SEO stands for search engine optimization and it’s a component of internet marketing that utilizes several techniques and strategies to build awareness of a website and elevate its ranking with the search engine. When it comes to your local listings, including keyword optimizing the areas that you can (company description, bio, etc.) can make a difference in the local search results that are returned.

5. Build Links & Include Citations

Links are pretty much just that – links to your website that are featured or placed with other sites. Citations are nothing more than mentions of your business or site. Through the search engine’s eyes, links and citations are extremely valuable and heavily determine your ranking.

Two sites that every business should take advantage of are Yelp and Merchant Circle. These user review websites are highly in the top 100 ranked websites (not bad considering there are more than 233 million active websites and counting) and that means that the search engines have determined them to be credible. You can use these sites to fill-up your citation satchel and having yourself listed with them helps with linking.

6. Request Reviews & Get Rated

As often as you can, as your customers to leave reviews and share feedback regarding their experiences. Of course we’d all love glowing, five-star reviews, but that’s not always the case. There will be times when a disgruntled person will pop-up and express themselves. This is absolutely not a bad thing. Remember that while you can’t control what someone thinks or has to say about your business, product or service, you can engage in a conversation and ask them how you can make things better. This goes along way in showing other potential clients how you respond and remedy situations.

7. Picture Perfect

You don’t have to turn you local listing into a gallery at the Louvre, but including a few images and videos will spruce up your listings appearance. Although photos aren’t necessarily what drives search engine ranking, people tend to click on local listings with imagery much more often than those without. Share your logo, a snapshot of your storefront or any thing else that might help you stand out.

8. Categorically Speaking

Most local listing sites allow you to describe what you do be choosing two to five categories. Some sites have extensive category lists that feature every occupation and industry under the sun, and others have only a handful. Limitations can make it difficult to choose what category you should be in. If this happens, try not to drill down to a sub-category and stick with the primary. For example, if you’re a boutique shoe store, but you can’t find shoe category, post yourself under retail.

9. Local PPC

Good ol’ online advertising can supplement your local listing by featuring geo-targeted keywords. Pay per click (PPC) has incredible tracking and measurability that makes it easy to see what’s working and what’s not. The concept of PPC appears to be simple and straightforward, but it can be tricky to execute a good campaign. Do a bit of homework or consider seeking out the services of a professional to ensure that you’re maximizing your dollars and ad listing locations.

10. Stay Positive

Local search marketing is the place to be for any business. Unlike SEO which can take a considerable amount of time to generate high-ranking results, local search does it differently. There’s not nearly as much competition and result are based on your map location. Not impressed? Well, this might change your mind. Local map results are always at the top of the search result pages and that gives you the opportunity to be at the top of the pack and the page.

Do you have other helpful local search marketing techniques that you’re trying? Share with us. We want to hear from you.