SearchInfluence

Don’t make me angry.

At a recent event I found myself ranting – yes, really, ranting and I understand there’s video – about what I think is a very big deal for SMBs and those who market for them. The topic at hand was call tracking and local search.

Over the course of my interaction with a few of our attendees I discovered that at least a couple of them were using call tracking to demonstrate ROI for their customers in a potentially harmful way. Call tracking in local SEO, if done poorly, is one of the most irresponsible things an online marketing company can do.

1. Dusting The Website For Spring: Optimization and SEO Cleaning – SEOmoz

Local U brings together the brightest minds in Local Search.

With Local U just around the corner, I’m getting really excited about the opportunity it’s bringing to New Orleans. While there are so many things I love about the this city, it’s not necessarily known for its booming tech industry… yet. Local businesses could use a technological boost, and that’s exactly why I’m so eager to have Local U in our city. This informative event brings together some of the top players in local search to give entrepreneurs an introductory training session in Internet marketing.

1. Bing Places For Business replaces Bing Business Portal - Small Business Search Marketing

Bing has made some significant changes in its local business listing management platform. Bing Places will replace the old Bing Business Portal, and along with the name change comes a simpler system that strips away much of the non-local search functionality that previously existed. Learn more about the update and decide whether you think this is a good move for Bing.

2. 10 Inbound Discoveries That Will Disrupt Marketing Forever - HubSpot

1. Back to Basics: Meta Descriptions 101 - Search Engine Journal
If you haven’t looked at your meta descriptions in over a year or 6 months, it may be time to refresh your meta data. Meta descriptions are the ones that will show up in search results, so they should sound coherent to humans. Read this refresher on meta tags.

2. Thinking about adding 10,000 pages to your site at once? Take caution. - Search Engine Land
If you are adding a large number of pages to your site, it is better to do so in stages according to Google’s Matt Cutts. Adding them in batches may be better. Releasing thousands of pages at once may cause Google to manually review your site for any suspicious behavior.

1. Who is Winning the Apple vs. Google iPhone Driving Directions Battle? Too Close to Call – Mike Blumenthal

Even if you don’t keep up with the war between Apple and Google, you’re probably familiar with Apple Maps and it’s not-so-impressive emergence last fall. Well, since then, the app’s gotten its ducks in a row, and I know quite a few people that use it as their primary navigation tool. But how does it compare to Google Maps? Mike Blumenthal decided to find out. Check out this blog post to see how the two compare now that Apple Maps has matured a bit. I assumed that Google Maps was still the outright leader and was surprised by the results. Who knows, maybe I need to switch over to Apple Maps!

1. Top 4 Strategic SEO Trends to Watch for in 2013 - Search Engine Journal

Don’t get lost in the mix! Take a broad look at your organization to make sure you’re producing top quality content, including social media, making your site mobile friendly, and understanding the knowledge graph.

2. Google Announces Retirement of RSS Reader – The Content Standard 

Google has just announced that on July 1, 2013 Google Reader will retire. This is part of Google’s plan to remove irrelevant and no longer useful services. If most of your audience is using this to get your updates, now is the time to transition them to a new service.

How Brand Came to Dominate Google’s Relevancy Algorithm – SEO Book
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said, “Brands are the solution, not the problem.” Going all the way back to 2003, this infographic details the timeline of Google’s preference for brands in rankings, even going into some high-profile companies using shady techniques and not being penalized in the same ways small businesses might.

Google Plus communities, the newest section of the social networking site (often referred to as G+ for short) are meant to bring people of similar interests, work experience, or hobbies into one place. These communities can be created by anyone with a G+ account, opening up a whole new vista of networking and sharing potential for users.

• Ranking the 100 Most InDemand Employers Using LinkedIn Data [INFOGRAPHIC] – LinkedIn

In pulling professional data from their 175 million users, LinkedIn creates an infographic to display which companies are most attractive to potential job candidates. Software and technology dominating the top 5 positions, with Google taking the lead and Apple placing second. Makes you wonder if job candidates are willing to stick it out in hopes for landing their dream job with the top dogs of tech!

• 5 Important Post-Penguin Guest Post Prospecting Questions - Search Engine Journal