To get the best results from local SEO searches, a few simple steps can make a world of difference.  Follow these quick tips and you should see improved results in your local SEO searches.

First, spend some time researching the local link groups of the sites you are in competition with.  Finding out which local link groups the competition is using will give you an idea of what you are up against.  If you can get your web site attached to these same local link groups, you will make huge strides in catching up to the competition.  While you are working on this part of the project, you could make Hubpages or Squidoo pages to enhance your results.  The objective here is to simply group together sites that are normally together and add your website into the mix.

Another way to improve your local SEO search results is to focus on address citations.  For this step you want work on getting your business name, business address, business phone and business website with as many references as possible.  If you have access to HTML code, it is helpful to bracket your business address like this:

    * [address]
    * [/address]

Remember that each time your website gets a citation on another reputable website, search engines look at this in a positive light.  The more citations you get in your geo-location, the better your SEO ranking.

Finally, combining the authority and anchor text will help to give you a final boost in rankings.  Both anchor text and site authority are valuable factors in raising your ranking.  By combining the individual strengths of anchor text and site authority, you will be more likely to win the ranking in a close race.

Blogging has become a standard way for getting all types of information from daily news and commentary to “features” about raising children and what to cook for dinner.  Having a blog is an excellent way to get your opinion to the masses, but finding the best blog host can be a problem.

Wordpress is a superior blog hosting site.  The Wordpress structure allows for excellent search engine results.  To enhance Wordpress’ already excellent search engine results, try these simple SEO tips.

    * Google Sitemap Plug-in.  The Google Sitemap Plug-in automatically submits your blog postings to Google.  Doesn’t get easier than that…anything you post to your blog automatically goes to Google for indexing.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/

    * Keyword Rich Titles.  As with any SEO writing, all posts to your blog should be keyword enhanced.  The typical 5-6% keyword density goal would apply. However, don’t forget to include a title when writing keyword rich content.  Your title should have the keyword for the article in it. Putting the keyword in the title will also help to draw new readers to your blog by increasing your search ranking.
  

   * Permalink Structure.  Regardless of which permalink structure you choose, the key is to use your keyword in the URL.  The only way for your SEO to be truly effective is to have a strong permalink structure.  In other words, keep the keyword in the URL for best performance results.
    * All-In-One SEO Plug-in.  This plug-in allows for full optimization of your blog postings.  With the All-In-One plug-in you can list tags and keywords, arrange title and meta descriptions and set “no follow” on pages of your blog.  Tag each post individually for the best results.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/
    * Backlinks.  Creating backlinks for your site allows your blog to compete for the most popular keywords.  The use of onpage and offpage SEO techniques will help to establish you as one of the most popular blogs on Wordpress and on the internet.

There are over 3000 plug-ins for Wordpress.  You can read about them all here: 
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/