Local SEO (Local Search) at Small Business Marketing Unleashed

Sadly, I can’t tell you exactly what was said (I’d have to kill you apparently according to the organizers) but Matt McGee of SmallBusinessSEM.com gave a fantastically detailed presentation on all facets of local search.

I strongly recommend this conference for small businesses interested in internet marketing and those who might help them (like us).

Matt’s presentation was absolutely worth the price of admission.

So, like I said, we’re not supposed to recap too tightly but I want to give mega kudos to Matt for such a comprehensive piece of work. Matt’s both a good presenter and a fantastic slide preparer.

I want to recap a couple areas which I think could be easily done by any small business:

  • The basics of Local Search
  • And some more advanced stuff
    • Add your physical address and local phone number on each page
    • More than one location? Make location pages
    • Make sure you have a “Location / Directions” page
    • Use location modifiers whenever you can in and important on-page areas</li> </ul> <li>And finally, one I love which wasn’t mentioned</li> <ul> <li>If the business has a multi-city reach make “Directions from [City Name]” pages — this way you can attract searchers looking for [search phrase] [nearby city] as well</li> </ul> </ul> <p>I can’t overstate how much I got from this conference. I’m a big fan of <a href="http://www.searchengineguide.com/">Search Engine Guide</a> and we’ll continue to support them as much as we can.</p> <p>We got to meet with quite a few small businesses which is always good for us as we learn how to help better.</p> <p>And of course, we got to network with lots of other search marketers. There’s a TON of folks targeting this market and we wish them well. The great news is there are many, many more small businesses than search marketing firms.</p> <p>Finally, and perhaps most personally gratifying, was the time spent with the <a title="Search Engine Guide" href="http://www.searchinfluence.com/search-engine-guide/">Search Engine Guide</a> bloggers and forum moderators and participants.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.nineyards.com/about-us">Diane Aull</a> <ul style="display:none"> <li><a href="http://www.livermorecharterschool.org/?shane">Shane move</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/2006/07/bio.html">Mack Collier</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/about-stoney-degeyter.php">Stoney deGeyter</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.lianaevans.com/about-liana-evans.html">Liana Evans</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/">Jennifer Laycock</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sagerock.com/about/staff.html">Sage Lewis</a> <p style="display:none"><a href="http://www.jimplagakis.com/?flubber">Flubber video</a></p> </li> <li><a href="http://thelinkspiel.blogspot.com/">Debra Mastaler</a><br />Don’t tell my wife, but I have a big intellectual crush on Debra. I may need a poster for my office <img src='http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> Her workshop on link-building both affirmed and added to (significantly) our techniques.</li> <li><a href="http://www.searchrank.com/founder.html">David Wallace</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sparkplugging.com/about/">Wendy Piersall</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sitelogicmarketing.com/about-sitelogic">Matt Bailey</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.searchenginewriting.com/heather-lloyd-martin.shtml">Heather Lloyd-Martin</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sitelogicmarketing.com/about-sitelogic">Matt McGee</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.futureentrepreneur.com/">Chris Logan</a><br />One of my first <a title="contact" href="http://www.searchinfluence.com/contact/">contact</a>s at the Search Engine Guide Forum and a wealth of great ideas.</li> </ul> <p>These are all some great, smart people from whom I’m happy to have had the opportunity to learn over the last few days and with whom I intend to grow friendships into the future.</p> <p>So, if you have a chance, do get out for the next <a title="Small Business Marketing" href="http://www.searchinfluence.com/small-business-marketing/">Small Business Marketing</a> Unleashed — we’ll be there too!</p> <p><strong>Update:</strong><br /> David Wallace has a MUCH more thorough review on the <a href="http://www.searchrank.com/blog/2008/04/sbm-unleashed-local-search-workshop.html">SearchRank blog</a>.<strong style="display:none"><a href="http://blog.jakerocheleau.com/?dangerous_beauty">Dangerous Beauty movie full</a></strong></p><div class="addtoany_share_save_container"><ul class="addtoany_list"><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/facebook.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Facebook"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/twitter.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Twitter"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/delicious?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Delicious" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/delicious.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Delicious"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/stumbleupon?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="StumbleUpon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/stumbleupon.png" width="16" height="16" alt="StumbleUpon"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mixx?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Mixx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/mixx.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Mixx"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/yahoo_buzz?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Yahoo Buzz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/buzz.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Yahoo Buzz"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/linkedin.png" width="16" height="16" alt="LinkedIn"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Reddit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/reddit.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Reddit"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/posterous?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Posterous" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/posterous.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Posterous"/></a></li><li><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/digg?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed" title="Digg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/icons/digg.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Digg"/></a></li><li><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchinfluence.com%2F2008%2F04%2Flocal-seo-local-search%2F&linkname=Local%20SEO%20%28Local%20Search%29%20at%20Small%20Business%20Marketing%20Unleashed"><img src="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" alt="Share/Bookmark"/></a></li></ul></div> <b>Author : </b><a href="http://www.searchinfluence.com/author/wscott/" title="Posts by Will Scott">Will Scott</a> <br /> <b>Date: </b>Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 <br/> </div> </div> <!-- You can start editing here. --> <h3 id="comments">9 Responses to “Local SEO (Local Search) at Small Business Marketing Unleashed”</h3> <ol class="commentlist"> <li class="alt" id="comment-11460"> <img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/d414fd8401fbbd9e8bf2624244f2eee5?s=32&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D32&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' /> <cite><a href='http://www.davidmihm.com' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>David Mihm</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11460" title="">April 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 am</a> </small> <p>Phenomenal wrap-up, Will. Glad the conference was worthwhile for you. I think I’ll probably go next year & replace SMX West on my itinerary…</p> </li> <li id="comment-11462"> <img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/9f61bcb073a296e68f697a80c2846f22?s=32&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D32&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' /> <cite>Matt McGee</cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11462" title="">April 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 am</a> </small> <p>Wow, Will — I don’t know what to say! Thanks so much for the high praise. If someone such as yourself, with your knowledge and experience, got something out of that presentation, I feel like it was a success. Very, very cool.</p> <p>It was GREAT to meet you. (And Jennifer, too.) You’re good people, and I hope we get to hang out again soon. </p> <p>David – I think you should. <img src='http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p> </li> <li class="alt" id="comment-11463"> <img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/079aac1a1361accc41440b242a83ad41?s=32&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D32&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' /> <cite><a href='http://www.searchinfluence.com/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Will Scott</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11463" title="">April 23rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm</a> </small> <p>@David,</p> <p>Thanks for dropping in! You were definitely missed. Without you, I had no choice but to buy the drinks.</p> <p>@Matt,</p> <p>It was my pleasure sir, right back at ya!</p> <p>Aside from all the other stuff you’ll further goad me to step up my PowerPoint clarity.</p> </li> <li id="comment-11472"> <img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/5f8f0c6d2a70c9469769f795deb8d761?s=32&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D32&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' /> <cite><a href='http://www.polepositionmarketing.com' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Stoney deGeyter</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11472" title="">April 24th, 2008 at 7:50 am</a> </small> <p>Will, it was great meeting you. Glad you had a blast. I think I met and engaged in real conversation with more people at Unleashed than all the other conferences combined. I had a fantastic time and it was all because of you. Well, OK, partly because of you… but don’t let that minimize your contribution!!!!</p> </li> <li class="alt" id="comment-11473"> <img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/079aac1a1361accc41440b242a83ad41?s=32&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D32&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' /> <cite><a href='http://www.searchinfluence.com/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Will Scott</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11473" title="">April 24th, 2008 at 9:09 am</a> </small> <p>@Stoney,</p> <p>Thanks for your support. My great interaction with <a href="http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/about-us.php" rel="nofollow">you and Diana</a> and everybody go a long way to validating our choice of SBMU as a coming-out party.</p> <p>Hopefully we can keep it going off-line as well.</p> </li> <li id="comment-11480"> <cite><a href='http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/the-future-of-search-conferences-smaller-is-better/1146/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>The Future of Search Conferences: Smaller Is Better</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11480" title="">April 25th, 2008 at 6:17 am</a> </small> <p>[...] Will Scott: Local SEO (Local Search) at Small Business Marketing Unleashed [...]</p> </li> <li class="alt" id="comment-11481"> <cite><a href='http://www.hybrid6.com/webgeek/2008/04/small-business-marketing-unleashed-essential-conference-for-small-business-owners.php' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Small Business Marketing Unleashed - An Essential Conference for Small Business Owners | WebGeek</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-11481" title="">April 25th, 2008 at 10:02 am</a> </small> <p>[...] Local SEO (Local Search) at Small Business Marketing Unleashed | SearchInfluence [...]</p> </li> <li id="comment-16959"> <cite><a href='http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/01/01/loci-2008-will-scotts-best-of-2008-in-local/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Loci 2008 - Will Scott’s Best of 2008 in Local » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-16959" title="">December 31st, 2008 at 8:16 am</a> </small> <p>[...] presentation there is one of the most thorough reviews of local search I’ve ever seen. It could practically have been a survey [...]</p> </li> <li class="alt" id="comment-17085"> <cite><a href='http://blumenthals.com/blog/2009/01/07/loci-2008-the-year-in-local-from-michael-jensens-point-of-view/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Loci 2008: The year in Local from Michael Jensen’s Point of view » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search</a></cite> Says: <br /> <small class="commentmetadata"><a href="#comment-17085" title="">January 7th, 2009 at 10:49 am</a> </small> <p>[...] Local SEO (Local Search) at Small Business Marketing Unleashed (Conference notes) by Will Scott (@w2scott on Twitter) Great notes, and everyone loves Will. Everyone should know Will. [...]</p> </li> </ol> <h3 id="respond">Leave a Reply</h3> <form action="http://www.searchinfluence.com/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform"> <p><input type="text" name="author" id="author" value="" size="22" tabindex="1" aria-required='true' /> <label for="author"><small>Name (required)</small></label></p> <p><input type="text" name="email" id="email" value="" size="22" tabindex="2" aria-required='true' /> <label for="email"><small>Mail (will not be published) (required)</small></label></p> <p><input type="text" name="url" id="url" value="" size="22" tabindex="3" /> <label for="url"><small>Website</small></label></p> <!--<p><small><strong>XHTML:</strong> You can use these tags: <code><a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> </code></small></p>--> <p><textarea name="comment" id="comment" cols="60" rows="10" tabindex="4"></textarea></p> <p align="center"><input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" tabindex="5" value="Submit Comment" /> <input type="hidden" name="comment_post_ID" value="1053" /> </p> </form> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div id="footer"> <div class="footer-text"> <div class="copy"> © 2008 Search Influence</div> <a href="http://maps.google.com/places/us/new-orleans/pine-st/1423/-new-orleans-internet-marketing-search-influence" style="color: #FFFFFF">Search Influence LLC - 1423 Pine Street, New Orleans LA 70118</a><br /> (504) 208-3900 (phone) | (504) 617-6096 (fax) | <span class="email"><a href="mailto:sales@searchinfluence.com">sales@searchinfluence.com</a></span> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> a2a_linkname="Local SEO (Local Search) at Small Business Marketing Unleashed"; a2a_linkurl="http://www.searchinfluence.com/2008/04/local-seo-local-search/"; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-327433-5"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script> <script type="text/javascript"> var blvdTrack = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); blvdTrack += 'track.blvdstatus.com/js/initBlvdJS.php?tid=BS-29e92cda-1'; document.write('<scr' + 'ipt src="' + blvdTrack + '"><\/scr' + 'ipt>'); </script> <script language="javascript"> var _ref_value = "self" var searchString = "-" var searchType = "-" if(document.cookie.indexOf("__utmz") != -1){ var cookieBoy = document.cookie.split(";"); for(var i=0; i < cookieBoy.length; i++ ){ if(cookieBoy[i].indexOf("__utmz")!= -1){ var qs = cookieBoy[i].split("|") for(var q=0; q < qs.length;q++ ){ if(q ==0){ var temp = qs[0].split("utmcsr=") _ref_value = temp[1] } if(qs[q].indexOf("utmctr=") != -1){ searchString = qs[q].replace(/utmctr=/,"") } if(qs[q].indexOf("utmcmd=") != -1){ searchType = qs[q].replace(/utmcmd=/,"") } } } } } document.getElementById("Search Engine").value =_ref_value document.getElementById("Keyword").value = unescape(searchString) document.getElementById("Search Type").value = searchType </script> </body> </html>