Chris Silver Smith is President of Argent Media, a search marketing agency specialized in search engine optimization, online reputation management, shopping search, and local SEO.

He previously worked as a strategist for both KeyRelevance and Netconcepts (since acquired by Covario), and he has provided optimization expertise to many Internet Retailer 500 and Fortune 500 companies.

Chris also serves on the board of advisors for Universal Business Listing and on the SEO advisory board for FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business. Chris writes for the Local Search column at Search Engine Land, and blogs at Nodal Bits.

• 5 “Local” Search Engines You Should Be Targeting
• Are Yellow Pages Toast? Four Years Later We Review Ad Value
• Microsoft adCenter Launches Location Extensions In Ads
• Are Check-Ins A Local Ranking Factor?
• 10 Basic Bing Local Optimization Tips
• Predictions For Local Search In 2012 – Year Of The Dragon
• How To Use Pinterest For Local SEO
• 9 Common Ways To Bork Your Local Rankings In Google
• 12 Tips For Using Press Releases In Local Online Marketing
• A Guide To Geocoding Images For Local SEO
• Are QR Codes Good For Local Marketing? A Contrarian View
• What NOT To Do On Local Business Websites
• 10 Unorthodox Ideas For Local Citations & Links
• Google Instant Provides A Hint For Local & Mobile Optimization
• For Local SEO, Lack Of Call Tracking Solution Spawns Cloaking
• A Local Search Marketing Tactic That’s One For The Books
• Advanced Development Should Be The Future For Yellow Pages
• Investigating Google Places Hypocrisy For Address-less Businesses
• The Decor My Eyes Fiasco & Local Reviews Tactics
• Local SEO Primer: How To Rank Higher In Google Place Search
• Blast Open The Doors Via Facebook’s Open Graph For Local SEO
• Google Announces New Reseller Program
• Live Blogging BIA/Kelsey’s DMS ’10 Conference – Day 3
• Live Blogging BIA/Kelsey’s DMS ’10 Conference – Day 2
• Live Blogging BIA/Kelsey’s DMS ’10 Conference – Day 1
• Who Will Own Local Data? Search Engines, Yellow Pages, Aggegators Or Social Media?
• Optimizing Facebook Status Updates For Local Marketing
• Google Local Search Experiment Will Give IYPs & SMBs Heartburn
• Double Your Traffic Using Optimal Category Names
• Setting The Table For Restaurant SEO: Menus
• Google’s Usability Fixation Reveals Local Ranking Factors
• Greenpeace: Google, Microsoft & Other Online Giants Need Greener Data Centers
• Is “Yellow Pages” Becoming An Obsolete Concept?
• Leveraging Your Employees For Local Search Rankings
• Six Odd Tactics For Getting Ads Into Google Maps
• A New Behemoth Emerges In Google Maps: Wikipedia
• Can Your Business Achieve Landmark Status In Google Maps?
• Local Newspapers Need To Embrace SEO To Survive
• Google Custom Maps: A Goldmine For Local Businesses
• Brave New World For Yellow Pages: Google Nabs Marketshare, Strangles Local Directories
• Three Ways To Optimize Business For Local Search Via Online Newspapers
• Should You Geotag Pages For Local SEO?
• Idearc’s Bankruptcy: Why? A Former Employee’s View
• Has Google Maps Switched From PageRank to “BizRank”?
• Using Analytics For Local Search Optimization
• Leveraging Reverse Search For Local SEO
• Act Like A Cybersquatter To Capture Your Long-Tail Brand Traffic!
• Harness The Power Of Twitter For Local Marketing
• How To Geocode An Address & Optimize Location Pages
• How To Appear In Multiple City Searches With One Website