Online marketing experts have spent a lot of time providing advice on managing online ratings and reviews for local businesses — but reputation can have much broader impact than your reviews in Yelp and Google. There’s hardly a business out there that doesn’t have an occasional issue arise with a customer. Ideally, you can resolve […]
There’s something of a void where local business marketing is concerned. Local marketers understand they need to target keyword queries in SEO and PPC campaigns, but they assume they know what people search for, and they miss out on valuable referrals because of it. Here’s a brief guide on local keyword research to close the […]
I recently got a new Android phone and found a little card in the box advertising Ingress, the “massively multi-player location-based alternate reality game from Niantic Labs at Google.” Ingress had slipped past my notice despite Greg Sterling’s mention of it nearly a year ago. Yet, here it was, already preloaded as an app in […]
If you attended the Structured Data Superstars session at SMX East earlier this month, you probably witnessed a very brief interchange between myself and Googler Pierre Far at the end of the session. Pierre woke everyone up by stating that some of the semantic markup recommendations I’d presented would be considered “spam” by Google. It was […]
At SMX East this morning, I sat in on the Improving Your Geographic Targeting Tactics On Google & Bing session, in large part because I’m far more familiar with SEO than with paid search, so I like to stretch myself and learn more about the advertising side of the local search equation. The session was […]
Here’s a local search optimization tactic that is a staple in the repertoire of many professional SEOs: YouTube Optimization. It’s particularly effective in local search since relatively few businesses have created and published video promotions for themselves. Before launching into the technical tips for optimizing your YouTube videos for local search, it’s worthwhile to mention […]
When local businesses look to beef up their SEO game, they’re often looking for some clever technical trick. But, one of the simplest and most elegant local SEO tactics is to optimize the site’s logo. Since many businesses are unaware of it, employing it will amount to a “stealth” tactic, giving an advantage over competitors. […]
I’ve written before about the benefits of using various semantic protocols to improve your search engine optimization efforts. Using Schema.org markup and geotagging webpages can help search engines associate your website with online business listings, and a variety of semantic markup types can help your site’s listings appear more attractive in search engine results with […]
Last week I attended the SMX Advanced session, “Maps & Metros: Surviving And Thriving In Local Search,” moderated by Matt McGee with speakers Mike Blumenthal, Mary Bowling and Mike Ramsey. It’s extremely challenging right now to recommend new “advanced” SEO methods for local search within Google (this is my take, prior to going into this […]
Last week, I attended the SMX Advanced session, “From Microdata & Schema To Rich Snippets: Markup For The Advanced SEO,” moderated by Elisabeth Osmeloski with speakers Marcus Tober, founder of Searchmetrics Inc., Julia Gause, Director of SEM for Scripps Network and Stephan Spencer, CEO of Koshkonong LLC. Just prior to the session starting, Bruce Clay, […]
Since Google rolled out the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates, numerous sites have been impacted or penalized. Often, companies that incur penalties or experience a drop in rankings don’t have a clue as to what they’ve done wrong — especially small, local businesses. This leads me to a novel proposal: perhaps for local businesses, the best […]
Up Close Coverage From SMX Advanced 2013 Recently, I attended the SMX Advanced session, “Authorship: The Deep Dive“, moderated by Elisabeth Osmeloski, and featuring speakers: John Carcutt, Advance Digital, Janet Driscoll Miller, Search Mojo, Mitul Gandhi, seoClarity, and Mark Traphagen, Virante, Inc. There were a number of interesting takeaways. Mitul Gandhi is up first. He […]
Last week at the Google I/O developer conference, a newly redesigned Google Maps design was introduced. While a number of online commentators have virtually gushed about the new interfacing from an end user perspective, there may be a less-than-rosy view for many local businesses. Thus far, the new version of Google Maps is pretty much […]
Last week, Alex Chitu at Google Operating System blog reported on some screengrabs that were apparently leaked from Google Maps. The images indicated that new Maps interfaces could be in the works, and it was supposed that these might be officially announced at Google I/O today or tomorrow. This morning, Mike Blumenthal reported on new […]
I began working for a particular type of traditional business industry recently, and I noticed that a great many of the small businesses operating within it were still proceeding as though it were pre-Internet days. They did promotions as though they were a one-way transmission instead of a dialogue. Unfortunately, that’s not the only industry […]
Many small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) focus heavily on their organic search rankings. After all, it’s “free,” and if you enjoy a high ranking, you can derive excellent business from it. But, even if your business ranks well in local search (and especially if you don’t), there are great reasons to consider some paid search advertising, aka […]
In the past few weeks, I’ve been confronted multiple times by the question of whether social media is truly worthwhile for local businesses. The question comes from companies feeling the pinch of costs while also desiring to promote themselves adequately. The ROI may not be clear in many cases, so let’s examine it. First of […]
For local business listings, ranking well in Google search results is highly important. So, many proprietors attempt all sorts of things to get their businesses to rank well, and they often unintentionally break Google’s rules in the process. Yet, there’s no real means to get forgiveness once their listing is burned. Confusion surrounding this further […]
One of the least-tapped areas of local business website optimization continues to be semantic markup. Semantic markup can increase chances that information from your website will be highlighted in search engine results pages via rich snippets, attracting greater attention and clickthroughs. So, read on and use this checklist to see if you’re exploiting all elements […]
For years now, there has been some discrepancy between statements from Google Local engineers and general optimization advice from some local search marketers where reviews and ratings are concerned. So, what’s the skinny? Rating values may simply not affect your rankings. Read on to see why.
I get called frequently by local companies wanting a quick fix for local rankings. In many cases, they discover that local SEO doesn’t equate with a cheap shortcut to high rankings. Increasingly, local SEO is about ongoing, consistent online promotion activities. That’s where blogging comes in. Good blogging doesn’t have to be a back-breaking enterprise. […]
Google’s marketshare and success at fighting spam in rankings continues to create pressure in the local search ecosystem as businesses vie to rank higher than one another in various markets. Some businesses are now resorting to relocating under the assumption that this will give them an advantage in rankings. Will it? Read on to find […]
Do you spit out status updates on Facebook for your local business without much thought? Carefully engineering your status updates can result in more effective targeting, better engagement with your audience, and improved EdgeRank to help more of your followers actually see your status updates. These tips should be considered to be “spice”, rather than […]
Local businesses are often mystified as to why they don’t appear prominently in local search. Yet, when their online marketing is audited from a local SEO perspective it becomes clear that their lack of search optimization has effectively cloaked them — they’re invisible! So, how is it that these businesses have made themselves invisible? To […]
The small, local businesses in a particular industry on this island all vied for top slot in Google’s rankings, since the top dog could command a substantially higher yearly profit as a result. The competitors’ products weren’t all that different, and their potential customers didn’t have the expertise to tell the difference, either. Their relative […]
We usually hyperfocus on Google Place search and Maps results, since they have such large market share. But there are good reasons for local businesses to be concerned with ranking elsewhere as well. So, here are a few other local search engines to consider, and a few tips for ranking effectively in their results. It’s […]
In 2007, I took some heat for pointing out that Google Trends showed declining searches for “yellow pages” while theorizing that this indicated reducing consumer interest in print and online YP sites. About four years later, we can now look back and see whether this turned out to be a valid prediction, and also reflect […]
Microsoft has announced the launch of Location Extensions in adCenter, after mentioning plans for this, among other new features, nearly a year ago. The Location Extensions allow local business advertisers on Bing and Yahoo! search results to display their addresses and phone numbers within the ads, similar to the Location Extensions in Google AdWords.
Check-in services have been one of the few Web 2.0 concepts to tightly combine location data with social media interactions, but it has not been clear if such services convey distinct local ranking benefit beyond the sort of citational reference provided by general online business directories. However, there are some good reasons to believe check-ins […]
Local business marketers often hyper-focus on Google search rankings, but it’s important not to forget that even if Bing and Yahoo! do not have the lion’s share, even 15% of search volume can create a sizable number of potential business referrals. So, here are a few basic tips for optimizing for Bing Local search rankings. […]
The last few years in local search have seen some unprecedented changes in online local business marketing, and you might think that the evolution would be ready to slow down. However, I don’t believe that’s going to happen yet, so enter 2012 — Year of the Dragon! For the purpose of this article, I’m using […]
Looking for a little extra lift for your holiday season local search rankings? Instead of relying on some elf-magic, consider making your own ranking magic through using Pinterest, a young social media site that is rising in popularity faster than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve!
It’s not surprising that small businesses make mistakes in Google Places when setting up and claiming their profiles. It can be confusing and the guidelines even change over time. So, here’s a list of some common mistakes to avoid.
Press releases have long been a preferred (and now a patented) part of optimizing sites; when done well, they can be a good method for link building on steroids. Larger corporations often use the medium effectively, while it doesn’t occur to many local businesses. Here’s why you should consider it for promoting your local company online.
One way to kick up your local search optimization game is through beefing up the local signal through images. There are a few techniques for doing this — read on for details. Incorporating images as part of your overall content mix is a good idea for search optimization in and of itself. Images can provide […]
Quite a few marketers have raved about QR codes as the best thing since sliced bread. Small-to-medium local businesses wonder if they should jump on the bandwagon as well, but is there enough substance to justify the buzz? Consider this contrarian view before deciding if you should. With new and emerging technologies, it can be […]
There’s lots of advice out there for what to do in optimizing websites for local businesses, yet day after day, we see some of the same bad practices continue to be perpetuated in bad web designs. So, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, here’s a reminder of some basic things NOT to do […]
Obtaining citations and links for a local business are important components of local search engine optimization. Yet, many businesses struggle with how to get links and mentions of their place. Here are 10 unorthodox ideas that could help you nab a few more valuable links. As you may know, citations can be instances where people mention your […]
Undoubtedly, you may have seen Google’s Instant Preview interface which provides glimpses for webpages listed in SERPs. What you may not be aware of is that they’ve added sophisticated code to make it unique on mobile devices. These Instant Previews provide compelling evidence that mobile optimization continues to be important. Google rolled out Instant Previews in November 2010, […]
Referrals via phone calls have historically been challenging for marketers to assess by promotion channel, although special tracking phone numbers set up to count calls have arisen to satisfy the need. Unfortunately, using different numbers per channel can impair local SEO, and lack of an alternative option is causing some to use a potentially risky […]