expertSEM

I’m going to replay a scene for you that took place in our office last Friday, and one that I’m fairly positive is similar to what occurs in workplaces across the country at the end of the week: It’s about three p.m. on a sunny, refreshingly cool Friday afternoon. The record heat wave in Denver finally broke and everyone, stifled by the 23-day air conditioning quarantine, is itching to get outside in the fresh summer air. As usual, it has been an extremely busy week, but the chaos is finally waning. Stern, poker faces begin to ease and you can almost see a bounce in everyone’s step as their minds move from projects and deadlines to parties and diversions.

To honor the beautiful day and ring in the much-anticipated weekend, we decided a company happy hour was in order. In LoDo, the area of Downtown Denver where our office is located, one can find a bar on every corner and usually halfway between. Finding a location was not hard, but choosing one that could accommodate a large group of rowdy internet marketers, and do so cheaply, was a challenge.

I’ll give you one guess as to what we did to find this ideal bar—grabbed a traditional phonebook and started leafing, of course! Just kidding, that’s ridiculous. No one uses phonebooks anymore, especially not online geeks like us. No, we did a Google Maps search. Although we know geo-modifying a phrase helps to deliver more relevant results, our zealous desire for refreshing beverages got the best of us and we simply searched for “happy hour.”

Among the handful of pinpoints dotting the U.S. map, two pierced Denver directly. A brief scan of the listed businesses and we found a local bar prominently listed in the sixth spot—Illegal Pete’s. We’re no stranger to Illegal Pete’s, their delicious burritos, bottomless chips and salsa, irresistible queso, affordable drinks and laidback atmosphere make it an establishment frequented by Location3 at all hours, whether for a rejuvenating breakfast burrito or late-night libation.

Pleased with the results from Google Maps, off to Pete’s we went. Pleased, but I must confess, not surprised. We’re actually familiar with Pete’s for another reason—Illegal Pete’s is a client of Local Search Traffic, using our local map listing service.

We enhanced local map listings for Pete’s to highlight their food, drink specials and rave customer reviews. And to reach all those stressed out politicians looking for a casual place to relax and get a sense of the local scene, we optimized their listings for the rapidly approaching DNC.

The downtown location of Pete’s comes up in the number one local position for “happy hour denver.” Awesome results for searchers that know to geo-modify. But even if they don’t, they can still learn of the great drink specials and toothsome fare at Illegal Pete’s thanks to our local map listing team.

Moral of this story: You don’t have to be a huge corporation with unlimited funds to get found online. In fact, local map listings are perfect for local restaurants, stores, etc.—the organic nature of local listings complements the spirit and atmosphere of independent businesses everywhere. If you are regionally-operated company with a community presence, local map listings are a great way to improve online visibility and increase business. Moral number two of the story: If you’re looking for some cheap drinks and a delicious burrito in Denver or Boulder, just do a quick local search to find your nearest Illegal Pete’s.