Local Search
Google Cautions Against Local SEO Scams
Update 4/23/15: Google has updated their help file with additional information about these scams: Local SEO telephone scams claiming to be Google and targeting local businesses continue unabated. The pitch, promising to help fix your listing or rank you number one, ring into small business phone lines with the regularity of Big Ben, hour after hour, year after…
Read MoreYour Google My Business Profile Image – The Most Important Image?
There probably isn’t an image of your business that gets seen more by potential customers and searchers than your Google My Business profile image. There isn’t a single image that has more impact on searcher’s behaviors. And there isn’t an image in the online world that is harder to “get right.” The profile image is…
Read MoreTakeaways from Streetfight’s Local Data Summit 2015 in Denver
Last week, Streetfight held its second Local Data Summit in Denver, Colorado. Many of the Streetfight folks are based in the Mile High City area and quite a few of the sponsors were based in Denver or Boulder, as well. There were also representatives of some national companies involved in data, like Yext and YP.com,…
Read MoreLocalUp 2015 Agenda Released
If you’re like me, you’ve been anxiously waiting for a peek at the finalized agenda for LocalUp, a brand new blockbuster conference on Local Search that’s a hybrid of LocalU Advanced and MozCon. Well it’s finally here and you won’t be disappointed! We’ll start out with Dr Pete and Professor Maps (aka Mike Blumenthal) drawing…
Read MoreUpdated (June 2017) Rules for Google My Business Listings
Google Local Business Listings Google local business listings can appear in 3 places in the search results for Google: in Google Maps, in the local pack and within the localized organic Google web results. Since Google owns the lion’s share of local search traffic AND organic search traffic, it’s very important that both your website…
Read MoreMy Local Knowledge Panel Doesn’t Show on Google – What can I do?
My local Knowledge Panel does not show in Google when I search on my company name. Why not and what can I do? We recently got this question in the Local U forum. We are repuplishing my answer here as we think the answer will be of general interest AND we are hoping to entice…
Read MoreReal Estate Has Lost It’s Home In Local Search, But I Offer 3 Tips To Ground Pigeon
Many of us in local search have specific verticals we pay stronger attention to. By default, with a wife that’s a realtor, real estate is one such vertical for me. This summer’s Pigeon update to Google’s local search results has left many scratching their heads. Local Map Results Get Foreclosed With little optimization effort over…
Read MoreGoogle Now Allows Brand Pages to Become Google+ Local Pages
Today, Google is releasing a feature worldwide that allows a business to transfer the “heart” of its local data (verification, reviews, Map pin, location) from a verified Local Page to an existing Brand Page. This allows a business to now “upgrade” their Brand page (or any non-local page) to a full local page where it…
Read MoreHow Do I Merge My Google + Pages? Usually You Can’t, Now What?
UPDATE June 3, 2014: Google has announced a feature that now allows a Brand Page to Become Google+ Local Page. Please read this newer article before reading the following. The question of how to handle the existence of two (or more) G+ Pages for a given local business has become a frequent one. Over the past…
Read MoreHow To Move Your Business (Without Destroying Your Local Search Visibility)
These days, anyone who’s going to move their business to another location needs to consider the best way to handle that move online and plan their steps carefully. You’ll want to get started with your online preparation a couple of months before you actually pack up your shop and re-open it at the new address.…
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