SEO > SEO: Local
May. 8, 2008 at 7:24am by Matt McGee
A Small Business Marketing Success Story: Avante Gardens
There's a battle going on in the floral industry, and many small, independent florists are losing. Like other small businesses, they don't have the time or knowledge to keep up with the latest marketing trends and tactics. But there are other challenges, too: Way back in 1998, the FTC...
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May. 5, 2008 at 12:00pm by Chris Silver Smith
Use Universal Search to Leapfrog Local Rankings
Most locally-oriented sites focus their natural search optimization efforts on the big cities of the world — metros like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Yet there is a lot of traffic to be found in the long tail of search queries involving the many tens of thousands of...
See Related Stories In: Locals Only, SEO: Local
Feb. 11, 2008 at 7:00am by Chris Silver Smith
How To Get On Google Maps Without An Address
One of the top issues in delivering up local search results in a map-based format is what to do with businesses which have no street address. During the SMX Local & Mobile conference back in October, Dick Larkin asked Google Earth VP Michael Jones a question about this very...
See Related Stories In: Google: Maps & Local, Locals Only, SEO: Local, Search Marketing: Local Search Marketing
Jan. 16, 2008 at 12:39pm by Galen DeYoung
B2B SEO: Capturing Geo-Specific Search
Local search results are great for B2B if your physical location is in the middle of the city you serve—and your prospects actually use search terms that include the name of your city. But what if you serve a broader region (e.g., Northern California)? Or what if your office...
See Related Stories In: SEO: Local, Strictly Business
Sep. 18, 2007 at 9:47am by Elliance
Search Illustrated: Six Simple Steps For Local Optimization
Optimizing content for local search is similar to, but subtly different from, optimizing for general web search. Many key factors, such as optimizing for specific keywords, securing good backlinks to content and so on all apply. But there are several other steps—simple ones, fortunately—that you can take to really...
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Sep. 13, 2007 at 11:45am by Chris Silver Smith
Local SEO For Retail Store Locators
Many companies have brick-and-mortar locations spread out across the country or around the world, and most have some type of store locator utility on their websites. Restaurant chains, hotels, retailers, service providers, and more will frequently have a substantial web presence coupled with the desire to make it easy...
See Related Stories In: Local Search Week, SEO: Local
Sep. 11, 2007 at 7:30am by Mike Blumenthal
Yahoo Local Now Features "User Denigrated Content"
After exploring Yahoo's Mapspam, I started investigating Yahoo's end user local reporting features more fully. I may have underestimated Yahoo's features to deal with spam (and to abet it). The new Yahoo Local is making a strong attempt at encouraging user input and content about local businesses with reviews,...
See Related Stories In: Local Search Week, SEO: Local, SEO: Spamming, Yahoo: Maps & Local
Sep. 6, 2007 at 1:29pm by Greg Sterling
Mapspam Now Appearing On Yahoo Local
If spam isn't an indication of the arrival of an advertising medium (e.g. email spam, search spam) I don't know what is. Mike Blumenthal, who identified instances of Google mapspam has now investigated non-local businesses trying to fool the local algorithms on Yahoo into thinking they are local. Blumenthal cites...
See Related Stories In: SEO: Local, SEO: Spamming, Yahoo: Maps & Local
Aug. 23, 2007 at 7:26am by Mike Blumenthal
What Should Google Do About Mapspam?
The first widely reported Google Mapspam (and see here) clearly highlighted the potential and pitfalls for local search. Mapspam is a relatively new phenomemon, where black hat SEOs are spamming local search and map listings. It also raised a number of questions for Google, and for the search marketing industry:...
See Related Stories In: Google: Maps & Local, SEO: Local, SEO: Spamming
Aug. 3, 2007 at 4:11pm by Greg Sterling
Bulk Upload 'Mapspam' On Google
Is it black hat "mapspam," a mistake or a creative response to a legitimate business need? Mike Blumenthal has chronicled the history of some recent bulk upload abuse on Google Maps in a couple of detailed posts: TechPro's CEO speaks about Google Maps Bulk Upload abuse and the related Batten...
See Related Stories In: Google: Maps & Local, SEO: Local, SEO: Spamming
Jul. 23, 2007 at 8:22am by Chris Silver Smith
Using Images For Local SEO
Google's recent deployment of Universal Search resulted in the inclusion of content drawn in from their other search verticals into the main web search results. As this integration trend continues, and as Google further expands upon the 200+ signals they use for ranking, it becomes increasingly important to diversify...
See Related Stories In: Locals Only, SEO: Image Search, SEO: Local
Feb. 5, 2007 at 4:12pm by Greg Sterling
Local Search Best Practices
Kevin Newcomb at Search Engine Watch points to Michael Gray's blog, where Gray has just begun a kind of all-star line-up of interviews on "local search tips, tricks and secrets" with some industry leading practitioners. These are in-depth discussions and most will be worth taking a look at. Here's the...
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Jan. 17, 2007 at 9:35am by Barry Schwartz
Advanced Local Search Optimization Tips
Extreme Local Search Optimization Tactics by Chris Silver Smith of SuperPages.com at the Natural Search Blog has given us seven "extreme" local SEO tips we might try in our local SEO campaigns. Here they are in short....
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Jan. 12, 2007 at 10:05am by Greg Sterling
Local And The Paradox of Participation
Yesterday's SearchDay article referenced a Yahoo-Harris Poll conducted in October about user-generated content and its importance to local buying decisions. The poll involved roughly 2,700 U.S. adults. Here were the verbatim questions and the top-level findings:...
See Related Stories In: SEO: Local, Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines, Search Engines: Social Search Engines, Search Marketing: Local Search Marketing, Yahoo: Maps & Local
Dec. 17, 2006 at 11:22am by Greg Sterling
'Reverse Engineering' Google Local Results
Search engine marketer Mike Blumenthal on his blog, "Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local," has been doing an interesting investigation to try and understand the Google Maps and local search algorithm and what factors influence those rankings. As a basic matter, Google uses different algorithms for general and local search...
See Related Stories In: Google: Maps & Local, Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers, SEO: Local
Dec. 12, 2006 at 10:29am by Barry Schwartz
Simple Ways To Get Into Local Search
Matt McGee writes 8 Simple Steps to Make a Page More "Local" at Search Engine Guide. The tips to get into local search, in short, place your address and phone number on your pages, ensure your contact us has your address, make a page for directions with written out directions,...
