Last Week in Local 5/8/17
Join Local U for the latest public episode of Last Week in Local, a weekly conversation about the articles that attracted our attention during the past week ending May 8th, 2017. This week featuring Beth Kahlich and Mike Blumenthal.
This year we will be publishing our Last Week in Local video directly to the Local U blog. It will be published every Monday and will include discussions about the events in the last week — strategic and tactical — that affect Local SEO & marketing.
If you have a special topic you would like us to discuss for our other weekly feature, the Deep Dive in Local, or if you would like to be on one or the other of our segments, reach outand send us the topic and your availability. If you are interested in sponsoring this weekly show also please let us know.
Let us know what you think. Welcome to Last Week in Local!
Our weekly discussions are also now available as a podcast as well.
Beth’s Links
Mobile Marketing ROI Has Come A Long Way in the Past Decade, But Email’s Still Tops
The survey of almost 700 in-house marketers – the majority of whom are UK-based found that mail’s still tops even in the mobile world. (Followed closely by SEO)
Should You Make It a Page or a Post? | LocalVisibilitySystem.com
If your content has “commercial intent” and you want it want to convert it should probably be a page, rather than a post. People expect posts to be educational. Phil Rosek does a good job of creating a “decision tree” for what can be a complicated decision.
The Yext IPO and the triumph of local SEO
The article seems to overstate the value of local listings and how much folks are willing to pay for this service.
Mike’s Links
Many Local ‘Angie’s List Certified’ Contractors Unlicensed
The dark under belly of virtually all of the sites that show listings whether Yelp or Angie’s list is that many of the listings are not certified or licensed to operate in the markets in which they list.
Research Blog: Updating Google Maps with Deep Learning and Street View
Interesting read on how machine learning can automate the digestion of StreetView imagery to retrieve not just street names and numbers but to learn of and locate new businesses as well.
The world of rank and real world brand building are converging
Constructing the Enterprise Priority List for Local Search | Street Fight
It certainly seems that if an enterprise local effort could bring brand building down to a local level, they could have an advantage over their small business competition. I suppose they would need to assess where they are on this list (canonical data, submissions, aggregate data, analytics, content) and start there. But in the end, a well designed website with localized, user focused content seems like it could give them a huge advantage in the race for local eyeballs.
May Updates to The Expert’s Guide to Local SEO – What’s New? – Local University
Joy Hawkins’ Expert Guide to Local SEO is receiving monthly updates… and this month has some interesting additions. Ever wonder why you sometimes see a blue dot in the local pack?
How Accurate is Google My Business Insights? | Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Long dissed by Local SEOs (and for good reason) there are indications that Google My Business Insights are getting better
Just How Long Can a Google My Business Name Be? | Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Given how much spam we are seeing with humongous business names have you ever wondered how long a name could be? I won’t spoil the punch line but its a lot
