How social networks usurp Google’s local search dominance
Google may dominate most results, but not local search. Contributor Wesley Young looks at how Facebook and other social networks take a significant share of local search away from Google.
Wesley Young is the Local Search Association’s Vice President of Public Affairs. He blogs about the industry on the Local Search Insider blog.
Google may dominate most results, but not local search. Contributor Wesley Young looks at how Facebook and other social networks take a significant share of local search away from Google.
Wesley Young | Jun 18, 2018 at 3:32 pm ETGoogle has made some significant changes in the area of local search. Contributor Wesley Young gives an overview of the important changes and shares tips on how to keep your local business visible in the search results.
Wesley Young | May 21, 2018 at 10:27 am ETAs a business owner, are you tempted to slip in a few positive reviews since you think everyone is doing it? Resist, says contributor Wesley Young.
Wesley Young | Mar 26, 2018 at 12:15 pm ETWith more and more people window shopping on a small screen, contributor Wesley Young shares six ways to use online tactics to drive customers to an offline store.
Wesley Young | Feb 26, 2018 at 11:21 am ETLoyal customers are both your cheerleaders and bodyguards. Contributor Wesley Young shares six ways to boost local search results using customer loyalty.
Wesley Young | Jan 29, 2018 at 2:08 pm ETColumnist Wesley Young covers a growing storm of events that are likely to culminate in substantial regulatory change and analyzes the impact that can have on the local search industry.
Wesley Young | Jan 3, 2018 at 10:30 am ETFrom location data to SEO, columnist Wesley Young of the Local Search Association provides his top 10 list of local search lessons learned in 2017.
Wesley Young | Dec 4, 2017 at 10:40 am ETAs organic search becomes ever more targeted, SEO is evolving in ways that require more customization. Wesley Young explores a recent study on ranking factors and provides 7 practical takeaways to boost search rank.
Wesley Young | Nov 6, 2017 at 11:54 am ETDon't turn your attention away from the Internet of Things just yet. Contributor Wesley Young contends that the data provided by connected devices could help smaller players better compete with the big guys.
Wesley Young | Oct 9, 2017 at 12:25 pm ETColumnist Wesley Young looks at how far consumers are willing to travel to shop at local stores and how to use your store’s location to boost conversion of your marketing campaigns.
Wesley Young | Aug 14, 2017 at 10:39 am ETBefore you start exploring voice search, make sure you've optimized your site images as fully as possible, suggests columnist Wesley Young. Find out why and how to take advantage of this often-neglected type of search.
Wesley Young | Jul 17, 2017 at 11:54 am ETColumnist Wesley Young looks at recent improvements Facebook has made -- and functionality being tested -- that may position the social media giant to compete with Google in the area of local search.
Wesley Young | Jun 19, 2017 at 1:21 pm ETMore and more small local businesses are using social media profile pages, rather than websites, as the main face of their operation. Columnist Wesley Young explains why this isn't the good idea that it may seem to be.
Wesley Young | May 22, 2017 at 11:15 am ETMany national franchise stores are failing to appear in Google Maps search results. Columnist Wesley Young's observations may help these brands improve their visibility.
Wesley Young | Apr 24, 2017 at 1:52 pm ETWesley Young shares expert insights about location marketing and local search from the Local Search Association's 2017 Annual Conference.
Wesley Young | Mar 27, 2017 at 10:18 am ETColumnist Wesley Young compares the online presence of several new businesses to find out what makes one stand out and consistently outperform the others in Google Map search results.
Wesley Young | Feb 27, 2017 at 11:53 am ETLSA survey reveals important standards SMBs want from a provider that will help marketers stand out from the competition and reduce churn. Columnist Wesley Young elaborates.
Wesley Young | Jan 30, 2017 at 11:55 am ETFake content and information will be a growing problem in 2017. Columnist Wesley Young takes a look at this trending issue and discusses ways that false information is being used and how local businesses and marketers can protect against it.
Wesley Young | Jan 3, 2017 at 10:15 am ETColumnist Wesley Young of the Local Search Association looks back at 2016 to find the top 10 insights that local search marketers should remember in planning for the year ahead.
Wesley Young | Dec 5, 2016 at 11:50 am ETUp to $35 billion of co-op funds go unused every year. Wesley Young of the LSA takes a look at trends in the use of co-op funds, challenges and threats arising from digital media and opportunities to make co-op work for you.
Wesley Young | Nov 7, 2016 at 11:29 am ETConsumers are searching, doing and buying on their mobile devices, yet the challenge to reach them seems greater than ever. Columnist Wesley Young of the Local Search Association takes a look at 9 stats that suggest ways to improve your capture rate.
Wesley Young | Oct 10, 2016 at 11:35 am ETYour local business profile image has a significant impact on the impression prospective customers have of your business. Columnist Wesley Young of the Local Search Association covers ways to make sure that impression is a positive one.
Wesley Young | Sep 12, 2016 at 11:08 am ETWesley Young of the Local Search Association provides 5 tips to create a seamless search-to-purchase experience for your local business.
Wesley Young | Aug 15, 2016 at 9:40 am ETNon-locals make up a significant percentage of local search business. Columnist Wesley Young looks at the importance of this audience and provides seven marketing tips to help you maximize its potential.
Wesley Young | Jul 18, 2016 at 10:30 am ETVoice search usage is seeing unprecedented growth, with personal assistant devices leading the way. Columnist Wesley Young explores why this new medium is taking off, how it differs from keyword searches, and the challenges for local businesses to compete on yet another platform.
Wesley Young | Jun 20, 2016 at 9:56 am ETBranding is often viewed as the domain of large national businesses. Yet small businesses will benefit from branding strategically on a local level. Columnist Wesley Young takes a look at ways to boost your profile and your page rank with local branding strategies.
Wesley Young | May 23, 2016 at 9:43 am ETConsumers weave their way through more media and platforms than ever before to find local information, making marketing to them more complicated. Columnist Wesley Young recommends which marketing tasks can be DIY and which should be outsourced by local businesses.
Wesley Young | Apr 25, 2016 at 9:51 am ETThe Local Search Association recently held its 2016 Annual Conference, LSA16, and Wesley Young shares 10 insights from experts and SMBs that will impact your marketing strategy.
Wesley Young | Mar 28, 2016 at 9:48 am ETHaving a mobile website may soon not be enough to get users to patronize your local business if it doesn’t deliver a fast and positive user experience. Wesley Young takes a look at the latest data and developments with regard to mobile websites.
Wesley Young | Feb 29, 2016 at 10:01 am ETApps consume the majority of mobile media time, but local business apps struggle to compete for attention. Columnist Wesley Young looks at how SMBs can instead use space on the most popular apps to get in front of customers.
Wesley Young | Feb 1, 2016 at 9:35 am ETLooking back at lessons learned last year and expected trends for this year, columnist Wesley Young cuts through the clutter and suggests ways to make your marketing strategy simpler, clearer and easier to execute.
Wesley Young | Jan 4, 2016 at 10:17 am ETUsing strategies and metrics such as PPC and CTR that are meant to drive clicks instead of calls can hurt your ad performance. Columnist Wesley Young takes a look at targeted strategies that optimize ads to drive mobile phone calls.
Wesley Young | Dec 7, 2015 at 9:12 am ETNow that Facebook's Universal Search includes public posts, columnist Wesley Young takes a look at the pros and cons of using Facebook for Local Search.
Wesley Young | Nov 9, 2015 at 11:40 am ETBusinesses in the Home and Auto Services category have unique characteristics that define certain local search and marketing practices. Columnist Wesley Young examines these practices and identifies opportunities for improvement for those businesses with similar profiles.
Wesley Young | Oct 12, 2015 at 10:07 am ETThese overlooked search and marketing practices save you time, require minimal investment, or even pay for themselves. Columnist Wesley Young shows you how to get the best bang for your marketing buck with these underused tactics.
Wesley Young | Sep 14, 2015 at 10:50 am ETColumnist Wesley Young takes a look at the Local Search Association's latest research on how consumers respond to video ads -- and how local businesses can take advantage of this effective marketing tool.
Wesley Young | Aug 17, 2015 at 10:05 am ETLocal businesses have unique competitive advantages over larger brands, and columnist Wesley Young analyzes a study by Yodle to find ways to leverage them into an effective search strategy.
Wesley Young | Jul 20, 2015 at 9:45 am ETColumnist and Local Search Association VP Wesley Young shares data that takes a look at 50 business categories and how they perform in a variety of marketing media including search engines, directories, review sites and social media.
Wesley Young | Jun 22, 2015 at 10:08 am ETColumnist Wesley Young notes that, according to recent survey by the Local Search Association, search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the greatest areas of concern for small and medium-sized businesses.
Wesley Young | May 25, 2015 at 1:12 pm ETColumnist Wesley Young recaps some of the biggest takeaways from the 2015 Local Search Association Conference.
Wesley Young | May 4, 2015 at 12:47 pm ET