VIDEO + SLIDESHOW: The Future of Local Search – The Human Algorithm

Say goodbye to local search as we know it. We have entered into a period of the human algorithm. The future of local search can be summed up in two words — collaboration and trust. Are you prepared? Listen to Justin Sanger, a long–time innovator and leader in local search, share his…

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What Local Business Leaders Must Know About Search Engines And SEO

When I write about SEO and business success, I often realize that I’ve touched upon a point that merits a column of it’s own. This is one such column. It will focus on the fact that online and offline marketing have grown inextricably codependent — especially for local businesses….

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VIDEO + SLIDESHOW: Local Search at 60+ MPH

Every business needs to know what’s coming next, whether it’s shifting demographics, supply and demand changes or product pricing predictions. What are some of the near–future changes coming, and what are the systems, brands, and technologies that that will impact businesses on a…

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Survey Finds Organic Search Delivers The Best ROI For Local Businesses

We at BrightLocal recently conducted a survey that examines the sources of traffic and leads to local businesses. We had 288 SEOs and SMBs complete the survey. Combined, this group claimed to have optimized over 7,000 locations in the last 12 months. (That’s a whopping 24 locations per head…

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Use Products As Pawns To Win The Local SEO Chess Game

In the competition to rank highest in local search results, you must employ a number of tactics in coordination. It’s not unlike playing a chess game. However, many businesses have yet to bring all their chess pieces into play on the board. There are many types of products which consumers…

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How To Build A Local Brand Through Online Marketing

The terms “Brand” and “Brand Marketing” are usually associated with large businesses. Having a “brand” is seen as something significant — something that only businesses with big ideas and even bigger wallets can afford to invest in and create. But…

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Survey: 85% Of SEOs Shoot For 1-5 New Local Reviews Per Month

Managing reviews and reputation isn’t a new discipline for search consultants and agencies to focus on, but it is gaining prominence as reviews take on more significance in the world of local search. Consumers consult online reviews more regularly in their research process and put an…

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The Local Search Event Horizon: Adopt Events Markup For Your Business

This month, Google Maps just announced a new events feature appearing on Android phones which has already been appearing in desktop local search results — for some types of business, events information is now being displayed in addition to the other local profile elements. The focus on events…

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10 Local Marketing Myths Hamstringing Your Business

As an internet marketer, I frequently encounter local business owners (and large chain store companies with many local outlets) that haven’t had time to really understand online marketing. Many of them have latched onto some myth that’s completely false — and which can keep their…

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Why Duplicate Business Listings Are Like The Walking Dead

In the Local SEO biz, we spend a lot of time fixing duplicate business listings. Duplicate records of your business appearing throughout the Local Search ecosystem can cause a variety of issues like messing with your Google Local rankings, causing you …

62% Of Marketers Say Local Search Is Getting Harder

During the recent InsideLocal webinar series, I’ve had the chance to gather the opinions and feelings of the hundreds of search agencies, consultants, “in-bound” marketeers and business owners who logged in to listen. We ran a number of on-the-spot surveys (or polls) during each…

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SMBs Spend An Average 46% Of Marketing Budget On ‘Digital’

In October 2013, BrightLocal teamed up with ChamberOfCommerce.com to conduct an insightful piece of research into the attitudes toward and usage of Digital Marketing by SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses). (In the survey, we used the phrase “Internet or Mobile Marketing” to make it…

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Ingress: Is Google’s AR Game A Stealth Local Data Effort?

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….

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34% Of Local SEOs Make Less Than $30,000/Year. Why?

As the local search industry evolves and becomes more complex, the role of local search consultants and agencies becomes more critical. Complexity is increasing across most areas of our fast-growing industry, which makes “local search” all the more confusing for local business owners….

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The Structured Data Brouhaha At SMX East: Clarifying Contentious Issues

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…

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10 Tips For Using YouTube To Kill At Local SEO

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…

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