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…

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Yelp Outs More Businesses With Another Batch Of Paid Review Alerts

Yelp’s battle against phony reviews and unacceptable tactics to earn reviews continues today with the company posting another batch of “Consumer Alert” messages on business profile pages. This is the second time Yelp has announced that some businesses will be outed for trying to…

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Keys To Working With New Search Clients: Planning, Communication & Setting Expectations

I recently conducted a series of interviews with four successful and respected local search experts. The interviews focused on the all-important client-agency relationship and examined four key stages, from winning new customers to retention of long-te…

Confessions Of A $100/Month SEO Client: Part II

Last month’s post on the realities of low-cost SEO for small businesses seemed to hit a nerve and got some great responses. One of the best was from a Bill Trott, the owner of Bill’s Pest and Termite in Phoenix, not to mention a guest star on Discovery’s Property Wars….

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You’re Dead… If You Don’t Integrate Social Media & PR Into Your Local SEO Strategy

The peppered moth (Biston betularia), once white with black spots, faced a strange challenge in London during the Industrial Revolution. Buildings and trees, stained with soot, turned black. The light colored moths could no longer hide against this bac…

2013 Study: 79% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations

Today, we at BrightLocal released the findings of our 2013 Local Consumer Review Survey. This is the third wave of this study which explores consumer consumption (aka “reading”) of online reviews and how these influence their opinions and purchases from local businesses. More People…

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Maps & Metros: Surviving And Thriving In Local Search

Last week I attended the SMX Advanced session, “Maps & Metros: Surviving And Thriving In Local Search,” moderated by Matt McGee with speakers Mike Blumenthal, Mary Bowling and Mike Ramsey. It’s extremely challenging right now to recommend new “advanced” SEO methods…

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The Best Link Building For Local SEO — None!

Since Google rolled out the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates, numerous sites have been impacted or penalized. Often, companies that incur penalties or experience a drop in rankings don’t have a clue as to what they’ve done wrong — especially small, local businesses. This leads…

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Google Glass Diary, Part 4: Local Search & Navigation

Remember that first Google Glass video? It was published a little more than a year ago and gave the world its first glimpse at what Google had in mind for Glass. Even though Google described it as “an early concept video,” you can clearly see that local search and navigation was a key…

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New Google Maps UI Calls For Shifts In SEO Tactics

Last week at the Google I/O developer conference, a newly redesigned Google Maps design was introduced. While a number of online commentators have virtually gushed about the new interfacing from an end user perspective, there may be a less-than-rosy vi…

How Latvia Teaches Us That “Think Global, Act Local” Is No Longer Useful In Search Marketing

Last week, I was lucky to join a number of great speakers at the iLive conference in Riga, Latvia. As with all conferences, I learned a lot. (I simply can’t relate to those who go to a conference and say they’ve heard it all before.) I learned at least as much from the people I met […]

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93% Of Local SEOs Expect To Grow Their Business In 2013

Last week, we published the findings of the BrightLocal Local SEO Industry Survey 2013. The objective of this survey is to gain greater understanding about the health and nature of the local SEO Industry. Through this survey, we aim to find out what life is like “on the ground” for…

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7 Takeaways From The Local Search Association Annual Conference

Earlier this month, local search marketing leaders from the U.S., Canada and 12 other countries gathered in Las Vegas for the Local Search Association’s 2013 annual conference, “Search Starts Here.” Over several days, attendees engaged in informative discussions about the numerous…

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Google Places For Business Gets Its Own iPhone App For Managing Listings

Local business owners have a new tool for managing their Google Places For Business listing: a dedicated app that works on the iPhone and iPod Touch. There’s no official announcement that I can find about the app, and as best I can tell, the iClarified blog was first to report on it. The…

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