Chris Marentis
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Chris Marentis

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About Chris Marentis

Chris Marentis is the Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, the ultimate marketing cloud for local business lead generation, providing comprehensive, results-driven digital marketing technology and services for local businesses and national brands across North America.

Chris Marentis's latest articles

SEO

How To Present Your SEO Plan

Are you preparing to present your 2015 SEO strategy to the C-suite in the coming weeks? If so, columnist Chris Marentis has some advice for this and any presentation.

Google algorithm updates

2015 Predictions: Google In The Year Of The Goat

It’s that time of year when people seem almost instinctively compelled to simultaneously reflect back on and look ahead to multiple areas of life. As SEO professionals, we’re in no way an exception to the rule. No one can dispute that 2014 has been a year of pretty big changes — almost upheavals at times — for […]

Content

User-Centered SEO: Creating Long-Term Value

CMOs understand that by its very nature, SEO rarely stays the same for long. The shift to putting end customers and users front and center is quite different from SEO practices of yesteryear. While this new SEO direction may seem daunting, it also opens up a huge realm of opportunity for those that are willing to […]

Content

The 4 Truths About Link Building

The world of link building hasn’t just evolved over the last couple of years — it has been completely turned upside down. In essence, what in many ways was once a relatively easy business has become a formidable venture to maintain. Just a few years ago, finding sources to build links in bulk was a […]

Link building

Top Five Local SEO Myths — And Truths

There seems to be no end to the range of declared “SEO truths” for local mom and pop shops. Search Engine Optimization strategies that work for the big brands differ from those that work for small, local players, so it’s no wonder that so many local marketers end up confused about how to really use SEO […]

Google

A Complete Guide To The Essentials Of Post-Hummingbird SEO

Google has made stark changes over the past couple years in the way it ranks websites. When one of its most recent algorithm incarnations, Hummingbird, was released in August of 2013, it created a whirlwind in the search landscape and has since continued to have far reaching impact. In its wake, businesses have been forced […]

Google Analytics

5 Uncommon PPC Strategies For the Local Business’ Toolkit

Any search on PPC strategies will yield a tremendous amount of resources that are focused on generalized positive and negative PPC strategies for local businesses, e.g., keyword management, bid management, negative keywords, landing page optimization. What is often not as readily available is information on uncommon and highly effective PPC tactics that squarely benefit local […]

Google

4 Go-Tos To Make Online Reviews Work For Your Business

By now, everyone knows that online reviews can have a tremendous impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions. Ultimately, a single review — positive or negative — can tip the scale in favor of one company over another. No doubt, the power of reviews on Google+, Yelp, Angie’s List and other local search directories continues to mount. […]

Apple

What Will 2014 Bring For Local Search? 6 Predictions

Another year is closing and search marketers are anxiously looking ahead to what is on the horizon for local search in 2014. As opportunity grows for businesses to connect with customers via search, so do the challenges of determining the best approach and the potential for search engines to change the game entirely, as Google […]

LinkedIn

How Local Businesses Should Size Up & Tackle Social Media

The most frequently asked question posed these days at events, webinars and new client meetings is “What is the best social media platform for my local business?” Research shows social channels are becoming more important signals in major search engine algorithms that affect the entire SEO and local search landscape. However, effective local and social […]

Apple

Local Voice Search Wars And The Opportunity For Businesses

Since the official inception of mobile voice search with Apple’s launch of Siri in 2011, consumers, search professionals and businesses have watched for the rise of voice search in local. Despite Siri’s initial inadequacies and obvious voice recognition challenges, savvy multitasking mobile consumers are finally adopting the technology to find the best nearby restaurant, an […]

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