Of all that’s been written and said about local search, there’s one single-most important piece: It’s David Mihm’s annual “Local Search Ranking Factors” study.
The first one came out 4 years ago (at almost exactly the time I got started in local search). It’s the Rosetta Stone for all local search specialists and for many more business owners all over the world.
This year I had the honor of being one of the 41 contributors. Answering the questions put everything I’ve learned so far through the wringer, but it was a lot of fun, very eye-opening, and more than worth it.
Even if you do nothing else for your local-search visibility today, first read David’s extremely helpful recap.
Then give the 2012 Local Search Ranking Factors themselves a read-through.
You’ll definitely have to pull up a chair, but you’ll be glad you did.
A huge thanks to David for masterminding the whole thing and bringing it to life – as always – and to my fellow contributors for their superb insights and dedication to the local-search community.
By the way, if you have a question about any of the ranking factors, my two cents on them, etc., just leave a comment!