SearchInfluence

Dream Systems Media is the copyright owner of this info graphic.

Yelp and Foursquare, Google Maps and Siri — these are just the most recent efforts in Local Marketing. The folks over at Dream Systems Media put together this amazing graphic on the History of Local Search today. It shares just how far we have come with local marketing, from word-of-mouth through radio and TV to today’s local search. We wanted to share this timeline with our readers over here so enjoy and Kudos to the DSM team for putting together such an awesome graphic on local marketing!

Black Friday: 5 Apps That Make Bargain Shopping Easier — Mashable

The holidays are upon us, and many businesses local and nationwide are gearing up for the Black Friday sales frenzy. Be a savvy shopper and utilize these handy applications in order to find the best deals, compare prices, check to see where your desired item is on sale in your area and more!

How Groundbreaking Thinkers Spread Their Ideas — Inc.com

Forget Facebook: 4 Reasons Your Company Needs a Google+ Page — Inc.com

While some discouraging stats about the use of Google+ have emerged in recent days, there’s no reason to give up the ghost just yet — particularly with the recent introduction of G+ business pages. If you’re hesitating to jump into the pool and establish your business on G+, linger no longer — Inc.com’s Abram Brown is here to give you the skinny on why getting in early is a smart move for small businesses and mega-corporations alike.

Content Marketing Essentials: Tactical Advice From A To Z — Search Engine Land

Hot on the heels of big redesigns to a whole suite of Google services, including Docs, Reader and Gmail, searchers will soon see shakeups in the way local listings are displayed on their results pages. Instead of the familiar red pin of Google Maps, searchers looking for businesses matching a given term such as breast augmentation Maryland will now be greeted with a row of grey icons which can be expanded with a click to show a highlighted popout with site preview, map and reviews:

Google Places results page when no selection is highlighted.

Results page with mini-Place page expanded.

Google has a crackerjack team of people helping to make their products bigger and better all the time, or at least, that’s the impression we get from them. I just might have caught an embarrassing typo in Google Docs last week, but otherwise, they seem to be pretty much on the ball. That is, unless you visit their Places page, which apparently is hot to show you photos of women’s bare breasts and much more — if the place you’re looking for happens to be a cosmetic surgeon’s office.