On Tuesday last week, London hosted the Local Social Summit 2012, the fourth year this great (and growing) summit has been put on. As a UK-based local SEO, I am envious of the plethora of local and social events that run regularly in the US; sadly, I don’t get across to many of them. So, […]
It’s been a few months since I have written for SEL. I had to take a short ‘sabbatical’ to hunker down and focus on a major phase of development and updates on our own site. It’s nice to get back to blogging but I have to admit that I feel a bit off the pace. […]
In March and April, we (BrightLocal) published the findings of Parts 1 and 2 of the Local Consumer Review Survey 2012. The data and charts below are the 3rd and final installment of this survey. About Local Consumer Review Survey 2012 This online survey was conducted between 15th January – 1st March 2012. A set […]
In March, we published the findings of Part 1 of the Local Consumer Review Survey 2012. Part 1 dealt with the consumption of online reviews and the influence they have on consumer behavior & purchase of local business services. You can view the key findings and analysis here on Search Engine Land. About The Local […]
The findings of this year’s Local Consumer Review Survey (2012) show a positive shift in consumer trust and appreciation of online reviews. Approximately 72% of consumers surveyed said that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, while 52% said that positive online reviews make them more likely to use a local business. About […]
Before I dive in and give you some juicy, usable ideas for winning new customers and growing your business through social channels I want to get something straight. When I say ‘social’ business, I don’t mean social enterprise or non-profit businesses. What I mean by ‘social’ is making your business a talking point. It’s about […]
As more local consumers turn to search engines and IYPs to locate good businesses in their area, it’s surprising how many local businesses have not updated their websites or, worse still, don’t have a website at all! The majority of local SEO activities focus on reaching new, potential customers via Google Places, local directories, social […]
Here is a little Christmas gift for all local Citation builders: a carefully curated list of the top 50 Citation Sources for businesses in the US & UK.* Over 1 Million Local Citation Sources Found Between March-May 2011, the research team at BrightLocal conducted a huge Citation Analysis project. Over 480,000 Google Places listings were […]
2011 has been a dramatic year for the local SEO industry. Our little world is growing faster than ever with more businesses, more SEOs and more money flowing into the market. But it has also had its share of drama too. Google has kept us on our toes with some fundamental changes to its Places […]
In a recent staff meeting, it emerged that the most regular question our customer support agents get asked by our customers* is: “When we track our local search rankings, how much should we focus on search terms that include a local term (e.g. town name, ZIP code) vs. generic keywords without the local term?” From […]
The local search market is a rapidly growing and changing area of search marketing. Local consumers are both more elusive and more connected than ever before and local business owners need to keep step with their customers’ online behavior in order to remain relevant and prominent in their local market. Smart business owners have already […]
If you ask any local SEO what the nature of our industry is like, you’ll get a range of answers from ‘exciting‘ & ‘high-growth’ to ‘ever changing’, ‘full of opportunity’ and ‘challenging’. The local online advertising market has seen strong growth over the last few years and this positive trend is expected to continue. Research […]
Google’s recent act of removing 3rd party reviews and citations from Google Places has had many local businesses and SEOs scrambling to review their local search strategies. As the dust settles on these changes, it appears that while the content may have gone from view it is still being captured and used within Google’s local […]