Search Influence is honored to have once again been invited by David Mihm to take part in his annual study on Local Search Ranking Factors. The best part of this collaboration is that the questions have remained fairly constant from year to year in order to study the change from year to year that SEOs have observed in Google’s local algorithm.
Next week’s SMX Advanced Conference in Seattle is sure to prove itself a valuable experience for all in attendance. On June 8 and 9, some of the brightest minds in search marketing will gather in Seattle for a conference that has come to be know as a must-attend for those interested in gathering high level actionable information to apply to their strategies.
The reason testimonials and reviews are so powerful is because they provide a third-party (and hopefully, unbiased) opinion of what actual users think about products and services. Google knows this and considers reviews and citations an important factor in local search rankings.
Studies have shown that not only do long customer stories (2.5 times longer than reviews)
lead to increased, more relevant search results, but increasing website interactivity with fresh, real-world content like customer questions and answers can increase sales conversions and lower customer service costs. For some business owners online reviews have become far more useful than the traditional print yellow pages and savvy business owners have figured out proactive ways to use online review sites.
I’ll be making a very quick trip to Chicago on Monday to do a couple presentations at the Local Search Summit.
I’ll be solo presenting with Steve Espinosa moderating on uses of Social Media for local search.
And, I’ll be jointly presenting with Steve on Mobile applications and their importance for local search.
Sadly I won’t have any time to spend with Mat Siltala who will be there Monday, but is leaving Tuesday AM. Perhaps a little dessert!
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