Recently, I came across a startling statistic from a study about U.S. Internet users searching habits, conducted by BIA/Kelsey and ConStat.

According to their new User View Wave VII report, nearly all consumers use online media for shopping decisions. More specifically, 97% of consumers research products and services online. And of these Internet users, a whopping 90% use search engines first when researching nearby businesses.

If you target local consumers, these figures prove the importance of having an effective online presence. But they also bring up a crucial question

What are you currently doing on your website to target your local market?

If youre serious about attracting a local audience online, then your website must make it easy for your prospects to find you using search engines such as Google.

That means having keywords your prospects use in search engines incorporated into your websites content. These keywords must be in your title tags (the area displayed in the blue bar at the top of your browser), your headers (the larger text that breaks up your content and explains the big benefit of doing business with you) and your anchor text (clickable content that links to other pages on your site).

Keywords in your URL will also help your cause.

If you need help determining which keywords people use to find businesses like yours, try Google AdWords Keyword Tool.

And dont forget about building your incoming links. You want as many relevant and reputable websites as possible linking to your online home. This will help drive traffic to your website and give you virtual votes from Google.

Article marketing using http://EzineArticles.com is one way to start building your backlinks.

Once your website begins getting local search engine traffic, the absolute easiest way to collect targeted prospects (and I will write this advice until my fingers can no longer type on a keyword) is to give away a special report/guide and saturate it with valuable content. Of course, you want to collect any prospects e-mail address before you deliver your free report/guide.

This simple step allows you to begin creating your own list of targeted prospects. Because heres the honest truth:

Unless your website is building your customer list right now, its totally useless to you as a marketing tool.

The above statement might sound harsh, but I promise you its the truth.

Of course, you may not know what to include in your free report to attract prospects. If thats the case, here are two easy topics:

(Insert Number) Critical Mistakes to Avoid When Buying (Your Product or Service)

(Insert Number) Critical Questions to Ask When Hiring (Your Type of Company)

All you have to do is reveal the mistakes or question your prospects need to know when shopping for your product or service. Of course, your information can tie right into your companys strengths.

The added bonus is you instantly become an industry expert regardless of how long youve been in business. As well, you now have a lead-generating marketing piece you can promote online and offline.

If youve read this far, then you know these prospect-gathering tips will make a major difference in the number of leads you collect off your website. The only mistake you can make now is waiting to incorporate them.