Last week in local 8/28/2017
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 August 28th, 2017. This week features Joel Headley and Mike Blumenthal.
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.
Last week in local 8/29
Local U Advanced Santa Monica – Online Marketing Conference
LocalU Advanced is coming to the Los Angeles area this Nov. 16th. Pre Agenda (and deeply discounted tickets) are now available.
Startup company doc.ai has been working with university researchers to create a platform on the blockchain where patients can discuss their medical data with an advanced artificial intelligence “doctor.”
EHR adoption rates increased with passage of HITECH Act – Health IT Pulse
Due to the early rush due to incentives, many are finding that the early adoption has led to other problems.
5 Interesting Facts About Millennials’ Mobile App Usage from “The 2017 U.S. Mobile App Report”
At the top of the list was Amazon, with 35% of 18-34 year-olds selecting that app, followed by Gmail (30%) and Facebook (29%). Only 1 of the top 10 wasn’t owned by Amazon, Facebook (4) or Google (4) … The Apple App store app
Amazon Cuts Whole Foods Prices as Much as 43% on First Day
Amazon and Wholefoods are starting out of the gate quickly to disrupt grocery stores.
The Fallacy of Google’s “Micro-Moment” Positioning
Google Express partners with Walmart, which is good for both of them, but it doesn’t really help Google in creating something to slow Amazon down
Schema Markup Generator (JSON-LD) | TechnicalSEO.com
If you are looking for help creating JSON-LD schema this does the trick for many of the schema entities but not all
ScreenwerkGoogle and the Case of the Disappearing Location Modifiers
It wasn’t that long ago that “near me” searches were going through the roof. Google continued to tweak their local algo and now have largely eliminated the need for the modifier and consumers are learning that.
Video Deep Dive: How to rank in cities where you don’t have a physical location
A common question in the Local space. Darren Shaw and Mike Blumenthal lay out the options
Google Advanced Verification & Home Services Ads – An Update
Big changes in service area businesses and the most frequently spammed categories like locksmiths and plumbers. Google seems to be responding with HSA as a way to limit the spam.
Is Google Going to Remove the 3-Packs? What You Need to Know about Home Service Ads (HSAs)
A more detailed look at the impact of these HSA changes.
Upload Video to Google Maps Listings – New Google Local Feature
One more new feature that a business needs to think about: crowd sourced video showing up on their business listings
Google: Things Looking Good For Mobile First Index
It’s coming and should be out by the first of the year. If you are not using a responsive site you need to be sure that your current strategy for the mobile web provides Google the content they need
Google showing review snippets in the mobile pack results (a test)- Tom Waddington on Twitter
Google has added new API attribute endpoint for Languages spoken- Joel Headley on Twitter
The 2017 Rules of Local Search
David Mihm podcast
Ranking your local business part 5: Citations for local search • Yoast
Part 5 of David Mihms excellent series
Google Maps shows the journeys with BlablaCar | The Stopru
Ola and Google join hands for its outstation category
Even if consumers throw away their cars and their need for navigation assistance because they are using self driving cars or ride sharing, Google wants to be the mapping system of choice
