Local Businesses, Ensure Your AdWords Accounts Are On Target

Paid Advertising Platforms are growing exponentially on what seems like a weekly basis. What once was Keywords + Ad + Bid = Money has now become a full-time job. Bid adjustments, rules, remarketing, extensions, day-parting, local or geographic targeting, modified broad match, and more — the…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Key Metrics For Success With A Local Business Website

There’s a lot of literature out there discussing what local businesses can do to improve their websites, ranging from boosting search visibility through targeted keywords to leveraging content like video to keep visitors engaged. But what’s often missing from these conversations are broader…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

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…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Bing To Include Local Product Inventory In Search Results

Yesterday Microsoft and Local Corporation announced a deal in which the latter’s Krillion local product database will be provided to Bing for display in search results. Local Corp. will supply in-stock product data from a range of mostly national-local retailers. The list of participating…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Foursquare Aims To Improve Venue Database By Expanding Superuser Program

Foursquare’s superuser program, now 40,000 people strong, is getting an overhaul. The company says it’ll soon launch an automated test that will make it easier for users to become superusers — they’re the ones with special privileges to edit business listings and venues in…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

10 Questions To Ask Before You Hire a Customer Review Management Service

I have been doing a bit of work in the reputation management space as of late, and the subject of customer review management comes up a lot. There are probably hundreds of review management services out there, and it’s difficult to understand what makes one better than the other. With that in…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Crush The Competition With Hyper Local Listing Management!

In May 2012, Google partnered with Ipsos OTX Media CT to get a better understanding of U.S. smartphone usage. Their study revealed that 94% of smartphone users have looked for local information, and 90% took action as a result (called the business, walked into a store, redeemed a coupon, etc)….

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Google Adds Waze Traffic To Maps App, Search To Waze

The first “synergies” from Google’s Waze acquisition are being rolled out to both Google Maps and Waze users. Google announced this morning in a blog post that real-time Waze traffic updates will appear in the Google Maps app (for iOS, Android): Users of Google Maps for Mobile…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Best & Worst Ways To Influence Local SEO Rankings

The vast majority of local businesses out there – even those heavily invested in digital and mobile marketing – are constantly looking for insights on how they can improve their placements in Google’s search engine results. While there’s plenty of advice available on specific tactics ranging from…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Logo Optimization: A Local SEO Stealth Tactic

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…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

New Local Ad View (And AdWords Click Type) Comes To Google Maps App

Google is following up on the recent roll-out of its updated Google Maps app for Android and iOS devices with a new local ad view and click type. The ads appear at the bottom of the screen.  In addition to the standard title and ad text, the ads include the car icon link to get […]

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

7 Things I’ve Figured Out About The New Google Maps

Google has been busy changing a lot of the user interfaces for its local search services. Between the new Google Maps, the Google Local Carousel and the new Reviews Pop-Ups, they have certainly thrown the local search world into a tizzy. I have been pl…

Google Reportedly Testing Local News Card For Google Now

Google is reportedly testing a local news “card” for its Google Now predictive search product. Quartz first reported on the project, and says it’s currently only being tested internally by Google employees. The revelation came from an interview last week that Quartz did with…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Report: Building Contractors Number 1 Local Ad Category

Restaurants is still the most widely searched local business category according to YP’s Q2 Local Insights report. However restaurants doesn’t even show up in the top 10 when it comes to advertising spend. According to YP data, the following list represents the most searched local…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Google+ Local Reviews Now Pop Up As Overlay, Rather Than In New Page, In Google Search

If you search for a keyword phrase that triggers local listings in Google’s Web search results, such as searching for [barber], Google will show you Google Business listings. If you click on the reviews on one of those listings, instead of taking you to the Google Business Local page, Google…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Google To Shutter Its Google+ Local iOS App Next Month

With the newly updated Google Maps app for iOS out, Google has announced its plans to shut down the Google+ Local app for iOS on August 7th. There’s been no official announcement that I’m aware of yet, but both 9to5 Mac and Mark Traphagen posted a Google email detailing the shut down…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

The Key To Success In Local Lies In A Vertical Approach

Vertical offerings are playing an increasingly critical role, not only in attracting consumers and directing them to relevant local business listings, but also in providing consumers with the necessary tools to evaluate and directly make purchases. As …

HopStop Bought By Apple For Public Transit Data

Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Locationary, Apple has bought transit site and cityguide HopStop for an undisclosed amount. It’s an ugly site that has very useful public transit schedules, maps and related information. The value of the data to Apple Maps is obvious. HopStop launched in…

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.