The discipline of local search engine optimization has grown to encompass so many factors, from on-site optimization, to local business data management, to in-store initiatives that grow online reputation. Whether your brand is large or small, 2018 is your opportunity to make your best-ever Local SEO efforts, and I’d like to highlight here some of […]

Do you have a local business that has lost rankings or is failing to rank as highly as you think it should? Chances are, you’ve got hidden problems holding you back. Bring those issues to light by taking a few minutes to read my latest Moz blog post: Troubleshooting Local Ranking Failures: A Beginner’s Guide. […]

I’ve been wanting to document this for a some weeks, but between awesome clients, the awesomeness of Moz work and other engagements, I just haven’t been blogging here much. I’ve not seen this topic covered on any of my favorite Local SEO blogs, and wanted to jot it down here in case you should ever […]

Please pop over to Moz.com to read my article, published today: Top 20 Local Search Ranking Factors – An Illustrated Guide. I am so gratified by some of the comments I’m already receiving which state that this post will help marketers better explain to their local business clients what they need to do to compete […]

Feedback First! To me, this is the gem of genius behind the recently-launched new review and rep management tool, GetFiveStars.com. Imagine if you had a way to get feedback from your customers before they took steps to leave you a review on a third party platform like Google+ Local or Yelp. Imagine if this customer […]

I don’t have any technical advice to share today. Instead, I want to share some stories. I’ve been thinking about how often we emphasize good customer service in the Local SEO world. We tell business owners that the possession or lack of caring customer service can make or break their reputations on the web, typically […]

I’ve had occasion recently to be researching the hotel industry as it relates to Local Search Marketing, and something has come to my attention that I thought it would be worthwhile to jot down. First, all readers must understand that the consistency with which a local business publishes its NAP (name, address, phone number) on […]

I may be getting into a groove here. Wouldn’t you like to know how much Google-based reviews are actually influencing local business rankings? I certainly would, and I’m exploring this the only way I know how: step by step, looking at rankings and poking into the listings to see what I find there. I don’t […]

Working with a will to earn great reviews for your local business? Believe your company’s high customer satisfaction standards and pro-active review earning policies will be rewarded by Google? You may be right…but then again, you may not be. Let’s take a look at this. Whether or not you are fan of Google’s new carousel […]

If you’ve owned a local business or have been providing Local SEO services to clients for half a decade or more, I’m sure you can recall a time, not long ago, when Merchant Circle had a dominant presence in Google’s first page results for local-type queries. Back in 2009, when Mike Blumenthal penned this post […]

If you own a local business and are investigating ways to utilize the web to promote your company, chances are, you’ve come across discussions of strategies involving city landing pages. First, let’s clarify…   What Are City Landing Pages?   City landing pages are commonly defined as pages you create on your website to target […]

The above is a screenshot from our new client’s website, TheOaksDementia.com, a skilled nursing facility caring for Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients in Petaluma, California. So far, we’ve revamped the website and migrated it to WordPress, provided copy editing, are hoping to add some great photos soon, and are about to begin on our Local Search […]

Out with the old year, on with the new, and local business owners like you are asking themselves how they can earn the most visible possible presence in the Google-dominated local search engine results in 2013. Waltzing our way out of a 2012 that was fraught with penalties targeting all kinds of iffy practices, your […]

I am just so excited today about the news of the acquisition by SEOmoz of David Mihm’s GetListed.org. I see big things in 2013 for Local SEO as a results of this brilliant acquisition. On a personal level, I am delighted by this news, because I have had the pleasure of being acquainted with both […]

I was truly gratified by the industry recognition of my recent article, The Zen of Local SEO and what I’m writing today is a follow-up post. In The Zen of Local, I discussed the futility of trying to write a static tactical guide for implementation of a Local Search campaign, because of the constant changes […]