Local Posts You May Have Missed

Local Posts You May Have Missed for 09/09/2015

September 09, 2015

Local posts, woo!

Hey, here are the latest local search posts

 

Excerpts:

Google recently shook up the local results in its SERPs, killing the local 7-packs in favor of a 3-pack that resembles the mobile experience. This post tells you everything you need to know about the change and what it means for your local marketing.

Hospitals: are patients easily finding your physicians when performing searches on Google, Yahoo, Bing and Apple Maps? Searching for hospital physicians online remains a messy and painful process despite the investment that healthcare providers have made into developing their physician directories. With retail enablement happening in the healthcare space, patients are expecting to find either […]

Do you want to start the new year off right with a successful local SEO campaign in 2015? This new year guide by Casey Meraz will help you to understand the common issues businesses will face and how to jump start your campaign.

Last year, Moz introduced the SEO Expert Quiz, which to date over 40,000 people have attempted to conquer. Today, we're proud to announce the Local Search Expert Quiz. Written by local search expert Miriam Ellis herself, the quiz contains 40 questions to completely challenge your knowledge of Local SEO.

Learn about the latest feature release from Moz Local including how it can help you track the accuracy of your listings over time and what's coming next.

The concept of the centroid has evolved quite a bit from its early days and now centers around individual users. In this post, local SEO expert Miriam Ellis shows you how you can best target those users-as-centroids.

Follow Casey Meraz as he covers 11 ways for local businesses to earn valuable, non-spammy links to help you build the authority of your site.

One of the most consistent refrains from the Moz community as we've released features over the last two years has been the desire to see Moz Local expand to countries outside the U.S. Today I'm pleased to announce that we’re embarking on our journey to global expansion with support for U.K. business listing searches in our Check Listing tool.

Learn how to grow your target audience and improve your local SEO with a strong local content strategy.

Google's Snack Packs (a.k.a Local Stacks) haven't gotten the best reception in the local business community. Let's take one of these results apart and discover how best to respond to their limitations.

Competition in local search is fierce. While it's typical to do some surface level research on your competitors before entering a market you can go much further down the SEO rabbit hole. In this article we will look at how you can find more competitors, pull their data, and use it to beat them in the search game.

To all Moz Local fans in the UK, I'm excited to announce that your wait is over. As the sun rises "across the pond" this morning, Moz Local is officially live in the United Kingdom!

Those of you who have logged into your Moz Local dashboard recently may have noticed a few updates this week! I thought I'd post a quick announcement to highlight them.

Have you seen the new Snack Pack? Explore Casey Meraz's click test results on Google's new local 3-pack, seeing what's changed, what works, and what the future holds.

Are you a local business owner? Explore the hows and whys of submitting your business to local business directories in order to boost your local search visibility on Google.

Every week Mary Bowling, David Mihm and Mike Blumenthal share their thoughts about the previous week in local. The complete video is posted in the Local U forums. In the second half of that weekly video, they take a deeper strategic and tactical dive into one interesting area that caught their attention during the week. [...]

You don’t hear much about Craiglist these days. It seems to be on a kind of autopilot, an internet 1.0 company that keeps chugging — or coasting — along. If I’m not mistaken the UX hasn’t changed meaningfully in a decade — the UI is the brand — and there’s no official mobile app. One […]

Google announced September 3 that it will more than double the amount of health conditions listed in its feature that provides information to answer health-related queries. (The feature was launched in February 2015.) As a result of the update, Google will offer information on conditions to help patients answer queries such as “pink eye symptoms.” […]

Posted by Amanda Bury at Doctor Google Doubles Down on Health Conditions. Visit SIM Partners for more great information!

Traffic violation-avoidance app maker PhantomALERT has sued Waze/Google for copyright violations and related claims. The company contends that Waze stole its points of interest (POI) database after partnership negotiations broke down between the two companies. Google is named in the suit only as...

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Local businesses' visibility on the SERPs took a hit when Google adopted the "Snack Pack," which shows only three results. Contributor Marcus Miller shares advice on how to handle the increased competition that's likely to result.

The post Local SEO Is Not An Island (Or At Least It...

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Search by name for a specific restaurant or other food-related business and you’ll see what I just saw: That “Popular Times” section appears to be brand-new – at least in the desktop results.  Google has been showing peak times in mobile-browser results for over two months now. It’s also showing in the “local finder” results. […]

This week Google made one of its biggest changes in 16 years — the company changed its logo. The new logo is more than a cosmetic change; it’s a sign of what’s to come for its platforms and devices. I also believe that with its new brand identity, Google is sending a message that the […]

Posted by Tari Haro at What Google’s New Logo Means for the Industry. Visit SIM Partners for more great information!

Google just released several iOS app updates including the Google Plus app which now supports Collections, Google Maps with an improved review flow and most significantly Google StreetView which now allows both the creation and uploading of PhotoSpheres. PhotoSpheres are the poor man’s version of Business View (as of today called Street View | Trusted), Google’s professionally …

On August 6th, 2015, Darren gave a presentation at a Jobber gathering in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), titled "Basics of Website Optimization".

In this presentation Darren covers the following topics:

How to do Basic Keyword Research

Website Optimization Best Practices

Have a decent amount of content on the homepage

Have a web page for every service and sub-service

Have plenty of quality content throughout the site

Watch your URL structure

All about Title Tags

Your Meta Description

Forget about Meta Keywords

Use Headings (H1, H2, H3) properly

About Image Alt Attribute

Keyword in bold/italics is something from the past

Don't over optimize

How to do internal linking properly

The Importance of Fast Loading

Mobile Friendly websites

About Good Site...

  On August 31, data geeks rejoiced when data aggregator Factual announced a relationship with Facebook and an expanded partnership with Apple. Both Apple and Facebook are relying on Factual to supply vetted location data for U.S. businesses. The Facebook relationship should improve the accuracy and utility of Facebook features such as place check-ins, business […]

For many solo practitioners and small law firms just starting out, establishing a consistent client base is the number one priority. In the increasingly competitive land of marketing your law practice, it’s imperative to look beyond the traditional methods such as putting your picture on a billboard, directly contacting potential ...

Google is adding more content, filters and personalization to the “Explore” feature in Google Maps for Android in the US and UK. In several markets to start (SF, NYC and London), Google says you’ll get new “curated recommendations” about nearby dining options: Once you...

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford I’ve always loved Henry Ford’s famous quote about the birth of the auto industry — it’s one of my favorites actually. That’s probably because I’m a firm believer in the connection between success and the ability to think outside […]

With mobile devices influencing just under $1 trillion worth of in-store sales, businesses that lag behind on mobile marketing do so at their peril. Those that embrace it, providing quality content and a seamless user experience, will position themselves ahead of the curve, adding value to their brand and a greater return to their investment.…

With local media marketing spend expected to reach $145.4 billion by 2016, local marketing has become a higher priority on the senior marketer’s agenda. Enterprises that manage thousands of locations, such as national retailers, can scale their local marketing efforts by investing in the right tools. To guide senior marketers of multi-location enterprises, Third Door […]

Posted by Tari Haro at Does Your Local Marketing Automation Tool Measure Up?. Visit SIM Partners for more great information!

Every week Mary Bowling, David Mihm and Mike Blumenthal share their thoughts about the previous week in local. The complete video is posted in the Local U forums. In the second half of that weekly video, they take a deeper strategic and tactical dive into one interesting area that caught their attention during the week. [...]

Restored to its native name by US President Barack Obama, the transformation has yet to fully complete on the major search engines.

The post Mount McKinley Becomes Mt. Denali On Google Maps; Bing Stays With Old Name appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Here at Search Influence, we take our colleagues’ birthdays very seriously. With cards, delicious treats, and amazing desk decorations, you can definitely feel the love on your birthday at SI. There are many ways we have celebrated colleagues’ birthdays, but one of my favorite times was when we all dressed ...

As we race once again towards the holiday season, it’s important to keep in mind one of the often-overlooked shopper categories. Back-to-school, as valuable as it is, often gets overlooked in favor of Halloween. With ‘back to school’ searches growing 12% in 2015 and a forecasted $68 billion in spend, it’s an opportunity not to…

Limited to the San Francisco Bay Area, the ads are available to a plumbers, locksmiths, house cleaners and handymen.

The post Google Home Services Ads Launch In AdWords Express appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

I spent some time over the past couple of weeks playing around with the iOS 9 beta and dug into Apple Maps and local search on Spotlight. I put up some initial thoughts on some of the Apple Maps for iOS 9 Screenshots on AppleMapsMarketing.com for your perusal.

The post Check Out Apple Maps on iOS 9 appeared first on Local SEO Guide.

[Ed. note: The following is a guest article written for Local U by Paul Sherland of IX Brand SEO Services Company.] OK, so you've read part 1 of this article in the Local U blog about how video can be the foundation for a local content strategy. The hard part is the first step — [...]

Good news for advertisers! It appears that Instagram Ads are now open for advertisers through Facebook’s Power Editor. While no official announcement has been made (and Instagram hasn’t even updated their site), I stumbled across these new features while poking around my Business Manager. What tipped me off was the ...

Earlier this month, Google modified the map results to render three local business results rather than the seven that have graced desktop local search for the past several years. The ‘map pack’ terminology used by the search community has been degraded to ‘stack pack,’ ‘snack pack’ for restaurants or for those more upset at the…

The post Local SEO Impact of Google’s Updated 3-Pack appeared first on Rio SEO. by@rio_seo

NOTE: This technique will only work if...

When Google rebranded Webmaster Tools as Search Console SEOs were going wild over the new Search Analytics report. However, as the resident skeptic I’m not so quick to worship at the feet of Google’s data.   Rankings Up, Impressions Down It seems pretty intuitive to say as your rankings increase, so too should your site’s impressions [...]

Target announced the rollout of beacons at 50 stores in Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. Through beacons, the retailer will offer deals and product recommendations as customers shop at their local Targets. With nearly 1,800 stores in the United States and a strong brand, Target joins a growing list of […]

Posted by David Deal at Target Makes a Strong Play for the Mobile Consumer. Visit SIM Partners for more great information!

This August, Search Influence welcomes its four newest Influencers to the team! Andrew Shepherd – Junior Account Associate Andy graduated from Tulane University in May of 2014 with a degree in political science and Spanish. After a year of serving as an AmeriCorps member in his hometown of Birmingham, AL, ...

This back-to-school season we can all learn something from consumers — mobile is huge. People are doing their homework before making a purchase, relying on their mobile devices to find the best deals and the stores that carry items on their shopping lists that are closest to them. Study this infographic to earn all A’s […]

Posted by Julie Piatek at The Mobile Back-to-School Study Guide. Visit SIM Partners for more great information!

Columnist Myles Anderson shares key findings from BrightLocal's 2015 Local Consumer Review Survey.

The post 87% of Potential Customers Won’t Consider Businesses With Low Ratings appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Earlier this month, Google re-launched Map Maker after a several-month hiatus to address issues that had resulted in racist map references and several other problems. Map Maker came back first in Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, India, the Philippines and Ukraine with a new moderation structure that...

Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Having just moved, I’ve spent a lot of my free time shopping on Amazon. From new bathmats to nice wine glasses, a majority of my paychecks have gone towards furnishing my new house. One thing I really needed, though, was a solution to the rock of a mattress that came ...

[Ed. note: The following is a guest article written for Local U by Brian Barwig.] How many times have you run into the boss' office, buzzing with mind-blowing ideas for increasing conversions, optimizing business listings or purchasing a new SEO tool? How often has the boss shared your enthusiasm? Probably not so often. Middle managers [...]

I had an interesting development today. As I was on a call with a Local SEO peer exchanging troubleshooting advice, it was pointed out to me that one of my problem clients (a chiropractor) actually had a viewmenu.com listing attached to their Google My Business (GMB) page and consequently, to their Knowledge Panel (KP). Viewmenu.com

To attract and acquire customers in the mobile era, enterprise brands must think beyond business listing management. Today, brands must harness the power of their locations by transforming their location data into a scalable asset that is accessible and actionable.     In my latest Search Engine Watch byline, I discuss how mobile consumers, with […]

Posted by Jon Schepke at Build Your Brand with a Location Data Strategy. Visit SIM Partners for more great information!