Local SEO
-
Would like to read articles on local SEO that have been recently published in the past few months. Has anyone come across good articles on this topic?
-
Hi Brett,
To be honest I think I learned most by really taking the time to read through David Mihm's "Local Search Ranking Factors" for 2011 and 2012.
This information compiles the industry's expertise, resulting in quite a good hypothesis as to what one should do in order to rank with guidelines as to your website, Google+ Local page (even though introduced after the 2012 survey), citations, link-building, etc.Lock yourself away for an hour or two... an open plan office is not ideal to chew through all the info
http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml
http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors-2011.shtml
Hope this helps?
Cheers
Greg
-
We're looking a Local SEO expert who can assist us.
Please feel free to get in touch.
-
My pleasure, Brett. Happy reading!
-
thanks Miriam, a great list
-
Hi Brett,
You've gotten some excellent replies here. Let me give you a list of my go-to sources for excellent reportage on this topic, some of which have already been mentioned. Put these in your feedreader and you will have a blow by blow account of the constant changes going on daily in Local:
Mike Blumenthal's Blog
Mike is considered by most Local SEOs to be the godfather of the industry. He is also a Google Top Contributor (in the Google and Your Business Forum). If you read nothing else, read Mike's blog religiously.
Nyagoslav Zhekov's Blog
http://www.ngsmarketing.com/blog/
Also a Google Top Contributor. Extremely smart guy with very important, factual blog posts.
Linda Buquet's Blog
http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/
Another Google TC. Linda's blog is very active and she is also now running her Local Search Forum. Expect lots of breaking news here.
David Mihm's Blog
http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/
David doesn't blog as often as the above 3 bloggers, but when he does, his stuff is must-read. Also, as the founder of GetListed.org and the annual Local Search Ranking Factors report, David is definitely and industry leader...as well as being a really nice guy!
Greg Sterling's Blog
An extremely intellectual man who gives best-in-industry commentary on industry news in Local (who just bought who, what is this new technology, etc.). Greg brings a unique perspective to Local.
Matt McGee's Blog
http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/
Matt is a marketing veteran and is the Executive News Editor at Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. He often blogs about local issues and I always really enjoy his commentary on the review aspect of Local. Matt's writing style is truly lay-person-friendly and I value his voice.
Andrew Shotland's Blog
Andrew is a no-nonsense local blogger with a gift for irony and a ton of experience. He's very respected in Local and while his blog isn't updated daily, what he writes is well worth reading. Another very smart fellow.
Search Engine Land
http://www.searchengineland.com
Regularly publishes good local news, often from some of the bloggers listed above.
Google and Your Business Blog
http://googleandyourbusiness.blogspot.com/
This is where Google tends to make most of their announcements about Local issues, so definitely be aware of this.
We also publish some great Local articles here at SEOmoz from time to time, and in our YouMoz section as well. You're welcome to check out my blog at http://www.solaswebdesign.net/wordpress/ but I confess that, of late, being busy has kept me from blogging half as much as I'd like to. There are many other talented bloggers in Local, but what I've listed here are my most-visited sources.
I hope these resources will be just what you're looking for, Brett!
Miriam
-
Andrew Shotland is my local info go-to guy - http://www.localseoguide.com
-
thanks Marie. An interesting forum and lots of changes at the local search level
-
Linda Buquet who is well know in the Local SEO field just started a thriving new forum: http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/
-
thanks Gyi
-
thanks Roberto. A great resource and it also answered an unrelated question on google place pages
-
Not specific articles, but some great local search sources:
-
This is the guys I follow. He is very informative and always on top of any changes. I highly recommend him. http://blumenthals.com/blog/
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
SEO for Videos and Infographics
Hi Mozers, When optimizing videos and infographics does it helps to put the word "video" or "infographic" in the browser title and H1? Any guidance is much appreciated! Yael
Image & Video Optimization | | yaelslater0 -
Good Example of Local Pages With Multiple Services
Can I get a site that is well optimized and has a good landing page for a business that serves multiple regions with multiple services. For example they may have construction and mold removal services and serve Indianapolis, Columbus Ohio, Louisville Ky.
Image & Video Optimization | | Atomicx0 -
A lot of local SEO questions from a newbie...
I've been doing basic SEO for customers for quite awhile now in terms of on-page stuff, but am starting to move into the arena of local SEO services and had a few questions that I hoped you guys could help with. 1. What services besides Google+ Local do you list customers websites in, such as Yahoo or Bing Local? 2. When creating accounts at the services listed question #1, do you have to verify the phone number that's listed with the business owner or is there any extra type of verification needed? How do you deal with getting all that verified for the company? 3. Do you create all these listings at Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. from the same account? 4. Does anyone know of a list of the top 50 places to get local citations such as Yelp or YellowPages? 5. When creating citations do you normally have to verify the phone number or address that you list and how do you deal with that with business owners? 6. Do you use the same accounts to create all the local citations or are different ones required for each listing? 7. What companies would you recommend that handle all the above for you, such as a setting up accounts at Google, Yahoo, and Bing - and then also creating around 50 citations for you? Of course all the login information would also need to be provided for everything they create. Thanks for taking the time to read this post, I look forward to hearing back from all of you!
Image & Video Optimization | | ChaseCameron0 -
What are you most concerned about or interested in for Local Search?
Hi All, I'm speaking to a local SEO meetup at the end of this month. If you were attending (hypothetically), what would you be most interested in hearing about for local search? The audience is a mix of SEO professionals, web developers, internet marketers, and business owners. I suspect that there will be a number of people who understand the foundations of SEO, though not all of them will be practiced at implementing it. I believe the number of people who get really indepth with Local is quite small. At the moment, I'm thinking about covering things such as: The local search universe in general--which data sources are doing what these days, where it's heading. Google Local+ recent changes Migration to Local+, data cleanup, merging (or not merging!), and other Local+ nuances Current ranking factors, and where I think they're going. I'd love to hear, and greatly appreciate, any ideas you might have. Cheers, Bede
Image & Video Optimization | | BedeFahey0 -
Timeline For Local Prospect
Hi Mozzers, I need a judgement. I've been approached by a deck building company whose business is local. They do have an existing web site, but almost no content or indexed content. Their visibility online is very close to zero. They are also a seasonal business, with people getting interested in decks from April through June by which time they would be expecting a result. There is one very large competitor and many smaller ones. This gives me 6 months, starting from very close to scratch. Would you take it on? Discussion and debate welcome.
Image & Video Optimization | | waynekolenchuk0 -
New Local Tracking Number for Places vs an 800 Number.
I am having a problem with local search for my business. I submitted the same NAP (Name, Address, Phone) info to Google Places as I have submitted via LocalEZE and Universal Business Listing. Here is the issue. The local number that is being used does not have any way to track calls, meaning the phone company (xo communications) does not give us the number of incoming calls. To add call tracking to the local numbers through our PBX system is very expensive, $2000 per store. Also to transfer this local number to a call tracking company (like callsource or whoiscalling) is a lot of trouble and not an option either. I need to track the call count somehow so I have two options left. 1) Get a new local number (that is also a tracking number through a phone tracking company) and then submit this to Google Places, LocalEZE and Universal Business Listing. The issue with this is that all of our citations will be re-set with a new local number, basically we'd have to do local SEO all over again. 2) Use the main 800 number in Google Places, this can be tracked. However, then our local number is on all of the NAP citations and Google Places will be the only web property with an 800 number. What are your thoughts?
Image & Video Optimization | | qlkasdjfw0 -
Does adding the city to your business name in a Places page help or harm Local SEO?
Hi, All! Another local SEO question... For one of our clients, the title on their Place page is <official business="" name=""><city>. Example: John's Sporting Goods Detroit. Now, most citations will say "John's Sporting Goods." Is having "Detroit" as part of the business name in Places problematic (NAP inconsistency) and we should remove it, or is it helpful for ranking for "sporting goods detroit" or is it neither?</city></official> Thanks! Aviva
Image & Video Optimization | | debi_zyx0 -
Outsourcing SEO
I have decided to give my website a boost by outsourcing some of my SEO. Especially looking for building quality backlinks and help with Google Places. Any good recommendations?
Image & Video Optimization | | PMC-3120870