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Google Places Visibility as a Decathlon
I apologize in advance if sports metaphors annoy you. But if you can tolerate them, I’ve got a good one: Getting your business visible in Google Places is like the Olympic decathlon. (You know, that...
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How to Divide up Your Time for Maximum Local Visibility in Google Places
The problem: you’re not visible in Google Places and are considering one of two things: rolling up your sleeves to try to get visible yourself, or paying someone else to help you do it. In the first...
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The 2011 Google Places Slangbook
Fine, so maybe it’s not yet a book of Google Places slang. But “book” just sounds better than “compendium.” Whatever you want to call it, I’ve written it for two purposes: Purpose 1: To show that we...
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9 Secrets for Easier and Faster Local Citation Gathering
You already know citation-gathering is crucial to your local ranking in Google Places, and you know at least the basics of how to get citations for your business. That’s not the problem. The problem...
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5 Google Places Tests I’d Love to See
I discover a lot about Google Places by wrestling with it all day, every day. But I’m also constantly scratching my head at questions—things that I just started wondering about based on observations,...
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My Caveman Painting of a Local Search Engine
Fine, I guess our cavemen ancestors didn’t have search engines to help them find the closest woolly mammoth watering hole or the finest maker of custom wooden clubs this side of Bedrock. I’m afraid I...
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Best Local Search Tools – 2012
It’s possible to get a business visible in Google Places and other local search engines without using any tools…but why would you want to? Sure, you can drive a nail with a brick (or that poundcake...
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The 2012 Local Search Ranking Factors – out Today
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...
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How Long Can a Google+ Review Stay Filtered? At Least 2 Years
I’m a jerk. Someone wrote a nice Google+ review on my business page in 2012, and I didn’t thank him until today. ‘Course, it would have helped if I knew about the review. It had been filtered for...
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Local Citation Audit Tip: Use the New Sitelinks Search Box
One benefit of Google’s new sitelinks search box: it can help you save time on finding messy local citations. See what I mean? Just type in the name of the site and search for your listing(s) from...
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Using the Sitelinks Search Box for Your Local Business
I don’t think anyone’s talked about Google’s sitelinks search box in the context of how small-to-medium local businesses can use it. It will probably never be a big part of anyone’s local SEO efforts....
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10 Reasons to Get a Google Business View Photo Shoot
Since 2010 Google has let business owners hire a “Google Trusted Photographer” to come to their store or office, take a bunch of photos, and splice them together into a virtual tour. That tour is...
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User Behavior Affects Local Rankings. Now What?
First, go check out Darren’s slides. After you pick up your jaw, come back here. The two presentations were an unofficial duo that kicked off the Local track at State of Search 2014. Want to know how...
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Every Local SEO Diagnostic You’ll Ever Need to Know (Plus Some)
You may be stumped as to why you’re not ranking well (or at all)…but don’t say it’s because you tried everything and just couldn’t figure it out. You probably didn’t try everything. I can think of 56...
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Latest Google Places Guideline Flip-Flop: Natural Extension of Pigeon Update?
As you may have read from Mike or Linda, Google just updated the “My Business” guidelines (again). Among several rule-updates that will Google will probably enforce haphazardly or temporarily, here...
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The Lazy Man’s Way to Find Meetup.com Local Link Opportunities (in 5 Seconds...
Has your local SEO person nagged you to earn a few good links? I hope so, because that’s good advice. Especially since the Pigeon update, your ability to do RCS and earn links – like from local media...
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Have Google Places Descriptors Been Grandfathered in?
It’s been exactly one week since the latest revision of the Google Places My Business Quality Guidelines. Of all the changes, arguably the biggest change was that Google put the kibosh on...
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The 20 Principles of a Dynamite Local SEO Audit
If you aren’t sure what a local SEO audit is and have no idea how to do one, you’ve come to the wrong place. (In that case, start with Casey Meraz’s monster post.) But I’m guessing your problem is...
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12 Kinds of Duplicate Content in Local SEO: Which Ones Are Trouble?
There are two intertwined myths about duplicate content: 1: That Google is on the warpath against it, penalizing sites left and right. 2: That duplicate content is a thing – one specific problem....
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10 Benefits of a Disappointing Local SEO Effort
You’re the business owner. You’ve paid for help. You’re the local SEO. You’ve been paid to help. Maybe you did help – just not quite enough. Both of you were expecting boom. But all you got was...
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