Andrew Shotland is the proprietor of Local SEO Guide, a leading local search engine optimization blog and consultancy.
Google has made its review markup guidelines fairly clear and has even issued penalties to sites that utilize spammy or misleading structured data markup. But columnist Andrew Shotland points out that many sites are still violating these guidelines, intentionally or unintentionally.
What does it take to get noticed as a service-area business? Columnist Andrew Shotland explains some of the challenges facing these businesses and offers tips for how to approach your local SEO efforts.
Google recently stated that users are beginning to drop location qualifiers when searching for local businesses. But is it time for local SEOs to stop focusing on these terms? Columnist Andrew Shotland discusses.
If you work in the local SEO space, you may have noticed that Google sometimes makes unwanted updates to your Google My Business listings. Columnist Andrew Shotland dives into the issue.
National retailers’ digital divisions often think of their websites as e-commerce sites first and local store sites second. Columnist Andrew Shotland explains why this mindset may be hurting their ability to get the most out of organic search.
Columnist Andrew Shotland takes a look at the "near me" phenomenon and shares data that helps illuminate how to rank for these queries.
The road ahead looks rough for local SEO practitioners and agencies, but is there hope? Columnist Andrew Shotland takes a look at what recent trends mean for those who serve local search clients.
Columnist Andrew Shotland shares some common problems that occur during site migrations to HTTPS and explains the importance of updating your citations.
We all know that data can sometimes be unreliable, but columnist Andrew Shotland makes the case for why we shouldn't just rely on free Google tools for data collection and analysis.
Local citations are often thought to be the bread and butter of local SEO, but are we placing too much importance on them? Columnist Andrew Shotland discusses the results of a study which suggests we might be.
Columnist Andrew Shotland shares insights gleaned from a large-scale statistical analysis of local search ranking factors in Google.
Unable to attend SMX Advanced this year? Columnist Andrew Shotland recaps the "Ask The SEOs" session for those who missed it.
Planning and executing a local search campaign requires a lot of data and insight, making a good local SEO tool stack invaluable. Columnist and local search expert Andrew Shotland shares his.
SEO value is rarely considered in acquisition deals. Using Sports Authority as an example, columnist Andrew Shotland discusses how a website's SEO should factor into these discussions.
As Google increasingly incorporates direct answers and other types of featured snippets into search results pages, columnist Andrew Shotland points out that businesses may want to get smarter about marking up their pages.
Columnist Andrew Shotland discusses the impact Google Local Business Cards may have on local businesses and local SEO. Will they help, or will they hurt?
Performing local search engine optimization for franchise locations can be a real pain. Columnist Andrew Shotland explores some common issues for local search marketers, as well as solutions.
Columnist Andrew Shotland finds most local ranking solutions to be lacking for a number of reasons. Is there any way to solve this problem?
Having trouble getting traction for your SEO campaign due to bureaucratic red tape? Columnist Andrew Shotland suggests that you consider thinking local.
Should local search marketers be worried about Google's new local display format in SERPs? Columnist Andrew Shotland takes a look at the impact from multiple angles.