If you’ve spent any time on Google lately (and let’s face it, who hasn’t?), you’ve probably noticed the evolvement of local search. Local-based results now occupy a majority of the first page, stealing prime real estate from both paid and organic results—not great news for advertisers who have invested a lot of time and money into paid and organic search efforts for localized keywords.

Don’t get me wrong, paid and organic search are still very effective and should be embraced by advertisers. It just surprises me that local search—perhaps the easiest, most inexpensive category of search—is so often overlooked by businesses.

Last month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of location and local services, revealed that 20 percent of searches across Google properties are local in nature. Even more impressive: that number doubles to 40 percent when referencing mobile searches. Talk about opportunity.

Get started by verifying your listings with the major search engines. Create accounts with Google Places and the Bing Business Portal, and follow the steps to control your listing in local search results. You’ll want to dress up your listing by adding a business description, photos, videos and any other content that might attract customers. Make sure to select relevant search categories where you want your listing to appear. If you have multiple business locations, don’t fret—you can add multiple listings under a single account. And the best part? It’s totally free!

Once you’ve tackled the obvious ones (I suppose Yahoo! Local should also fall into that category, though enhanced listings are not free), expand your listings into other local business directories, such as Yelp and Citysearch. Customers will search for and—very candidly—discuss local businesses in these popular environments. Advertiser fees and capabilities will vary by platform.

The number one rule with local search is to pay attention! Not only should you maintain your listings and keep your information up-to-date, accurate and consistent across directories, but also be aware of and respond to customer reviews. As consumers, we all know the impact that both rave and negative reviews can have on our purchasing decisions. Thank your advocates and appease your adversaries.