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The latest stories about local search and local promotion, including how-to guides to improve visibility of local businesses.
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Twitter and American Express have announced a partnership that will see the companies offer $100 of complimentary Twitter advertising to the first 10,000 SMBs that sign up. Participants will gain access to Twitter's self-service advertising system.
The hypothesis: Yelp reviews are a primary optimization key for local listings in Siri. Here are the results for one experiment designed to undertand Apple's data sources and explore the causality between Yelp reviews and listing position.
Small businesses are merely scratching the surface when it comes to penetrating the web for marketing needs. Are decades-old mom-and-pop businesses finally open to reaching a target audience through alternative means like Google and Yelp?
As the search for local information continues to rise, so does the need for a shared consistent identity across all platforms. These best practices will ensure a normalized version of your company’s anchor identity throughout search results.
Is a new local paid inclusion program that promises to "put your business above the competition" in local search rankings really in the works? Google, Bing, and one company supposedly involved all are denying any involvement in such a product.
Foursquare recently announced "Explore", their new web-based tool that takes geosocial and local search to a new level and goes beyond mobile check-ins for badges and mayors. Check out these enticing perks that come along with the new features.
PEWInternet recently conducted a survey in which 1087 adults (age 18 and older) were interviewed in both English and Spanish about their habits when searching for local businesses and restaurants. They were asked about both their online and...
Google is integrating additional mobile and Offers features with the Google+ social network. Upcoming features will allow check-in based offers, incentivizing Plus shout-outs for local businesses – but stepping on the toes of other Google services.
Geo-location social network Foursquare has announced a "Save" button for webmasters. This button allows users to store a location with a single click, then receive a notification when they're close to the location itself.
You may have received a pile of Groupon offers yesterday, but one sale the company did not want you to see was their stock 50 percent off their first day highs and well below the initial IPO price of $20. Why is the company's growth stalling?
Google recently added bubble ads to select Google Maps locations. The choice to create new ad space has caused controversy, with some business owners concerned about the potential for reputation warfare and poorly targeted ads.
When it comes to small, local and in particular rural business; directories are critical. However, when it comes to authoritative local data sources in the UK, a handful of official sources contain errors. Solution: take the following steps.
Google has added highlighting for businesses in their maps that are tied to recommendations users make through their Google account and others the company thinks match their reviewed locations, further distancing users from review sites like Yelp.
In conjunction with the new deal they have made with Intuit, Google is now offering free websites - built with the Intuit product - as well as domain names, help setting up AdWords accounts, and tips on online marketing to New York businesses.
How do individuals interact with the search results from Google Places listings? Where do people look on a page? Do listings with reviews get more attention? Do people really look at the maps? A new study tries to answer these questions.
A new search results page layout for places queries adds significant benefits for users, but poses a real threat to marketers. Google has added a large, graphic display on the right side of SERPs for restaurant, museum, and other local queries.
Any site or app using the Google Maps API (such as through embedded maps) may be charged for usage, should their visitor volume be high enough. Google will charge $4 for every 1,000 visitors past 25,000, starting on January 1, 2012.
Google evidently believes better targeting will turn a deals strategy previously tried - and abandoned - by Facebook into a winner. Google announced distribution relationships with 14 brands like Kgbdeals, Gilt City, Tippr, and Plum District.
Google is giving more trust to user reports on the address, hours & operating name of businesses. Submitted updates will show up regardless of business verification, though business owners will receive a notice and have the option to halt the change.
SEOmoz recently conducted an eye-tracking study that looked into the way people focus on results on different Google layouts, including those with video thumbs, Locals/Places listings, maps and suggested search terms. The results might surprise you.
