Local Advertising and Marketing, Items 1 to 50

Take advantage of local advertising through Citysearch, which provides both enhanced listings and PPC ads. Yahoo! Local Match is offering my readers a $20 bonus for sign-ups, but it's not available directly on their site, so use this link. If you are an advertiser or agency that needs a specialist organization in placing your local PPC ads for you at a reasonable cost, consider ReachLocal. You'll also find lots of information in Dr. Wilson's brief 41-page book How to Promote Your Local Business on the Internet.

"Local Advertising and Marketing" includes 253 items
This page contains items 1 to 50

1. Google Ditches Local Listings for SEOs and Designers, by Chris Crum, WebProNews, 1-8-2010 SEOs and web designers have been noticing that Google has not been showing local listings in search results for queries related to their businesses, even location-specific ones, Crum reports. Shows screen shots, comments from SEO professionals.
2. Local Online Media Planning Options, Part 2, by Hollis Thomases, ClickZ, 11-3-2009 Continuing a series on local online ad options, the author discusses: top portals, ad networks, and publishers; contextual, advertorial, and lead gen buys, local news and organization sites; traffic, weather, sports, real estate, job listings, and relationship sites.
3. Why I Love Foursquare, by Om Malik, Business Week, 11-25-2009 Structured data sets such as those being collected by Foursquare are going to become highly effective resources for cost-per-action advertising or even e-commerce revenue models, writes Malik, explaining what makes Foursquare attractive.
4. A Web of Classified Ad Rivals Challenges Craigslist, by Douglas MacMillan, Business Week, 12-7-2009 Globally, upstarts led by OLX move to edge Craigslist out of fast-growing local classified advertising markets and to crack its dominance in the U.S., MacMillan reports.
5. Local Online Media Planning Options, Part 2, by Hollis Thomases, ClickZ, 11-3-2009 The author continues in a series suggesting local media options. Here she discusses top portals, ad networks, and publishers; contextual, advertorial, and lead gen buys; local news and organization sites; traffic, weather, sports, real estate, job listing , and relationship sites.
6. Get Started in Local Search Without a Web Site, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 12-31-2009 Explains how even businesses without a website can optimize local search with profiles (mini-websites), local directories, and local search marketing packages.
7. Can Your Business Achieve Landmark Status In Google Maps?, by Chris Silver Smith, Search Engine Land, 12-7-2009 Discusses icons for types of businesses in Google maps. Factors that appear to influence landmark status are: business category, zoom level/business density, years in business, authoritativeness/popularity, and related Wikipedia page.
8. 6 Ways Local Domains Crush Dot Coms In International SEO, by Andy Atkins-Krüger, Search Engine Land, 11-17-2009 Local businesses tend to outrank dot coms for 6 reasons: (1) clear, unequivocal geo-targeted signal, (2) good site architecture, (3) people generally buy locally, (4) link attractiveness, (5) more powerful internal linking, (6) resistance to the shifting sands of algorithms.
9. Blocking And Tackling: 10 Fundamentals Of Local SEO, by David Mihm, Search Engine Land, 11-5-2009 Suggests: (1) claim your business listing at Google, Yahoo, etc., (2) submit your business to Localeze, infoUSA, and Acxiom, (3) put yourself in the right categories, (4) make sure your business info is consistent, (5) get contact info in hCard microformat or add a QR code on your website, (6) create a KLM file and upload it to Google Webmaster Central, (7) use your official business name in the title tags of your contact or location page, (8) use geographic keywords in title tags, (9) install
10. Local Online Media Planning Options, Part 1, by Hollis Thomases, ClickZ, 10-20-2009 As you're looking for ways to use the Internet to help local companies, the author explains how to use search, Internet Yellow Pages and local directories, location review sites, and regional media sites.
11. LinkedIn and Local Search 101, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 10-22-2009 Discusses how local businesses can use LinkedIn. Explains how to create profiles, connect with people you already know, find and join groups, interact, and let others know about you.
12. Twitter for Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 10-8-2009 Explains how Twitter can be used to talk about your products and services, offer deals, make announcements. Twitter tools for business include: Twitter Search, Advanced Twitter Search, Twellowhood, Localtweeps, and TwitterLocal.
13. Taking Advantage of Google's Local Business Listings, by Kevin Lee, ClickZ, 10-23-2009 Discusses Google's new flat fee Local Listings product now rolled out in San Diego and San Francisco. The SERPs will become nearly fully dominated by non-organic listings with a 1024 x 768 SERP for a local result.
14. Google Boosts Mobile Search, by Marin Perez, Information Week, 10-1-2009 The search giant is syncing desktop and mobile searches, as well as making easier for mobile users to do local searches without typing, using the Personalized Suggest feature, Perez reports.
15. Social Media and Local Search 101, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 9-24-2009 Introduces how social media can show up in local searches. Discusses the power of word-of-mouth marketing.
16. Get Started in Local Search Without a Web Site, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 9-10-2009 Explains how to use local search profiles as mini websites on Google Maps, Bing Local, MerchantCircle, Citysearch, SuperPages, and Yahoo. Discusses local directories and local search marketing packages.
17. Why Social Media Should Welcome Location-Based Services, by Max Zeledon, Business Week, 9-27-2009 Zeledon concludes that sites offering location-based services (LBS) represent vast, unrealized potential to radically transform the way we communicate and stay connected. Despite privacy concerns, Zeledon says data could be a "gold mine" for marketers.
18. Will Google Eliminate the Need for Small Business Websites?, by Chris Crum, WebProNews, 10-2-2009 Crum describes a Google Maps feature providing many details about a place (a city or a business) in one spot. Concern of some is that Google is trying to eliminate the need for users to leave Google and even visit a small business' web site.
19. Bing Local: A New Face in Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 8-27-2009 Explains how to get a Bing local business listing and some of the nice features of Bing Local.
20. Managing Multiple Listings on Google Maps, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 8-13-2009 Google Maps is dropping duplicate local business listings as it cleans up results. Explains how to ensure that your best, correct listing survives.
21. Can Anyone Tap the $100 Billion Potential of Hyperlocal News?, by Michael Gluckstadt, Fast Company, 9-1-2009 Community-driven news services have been the next big thing online for years. Can The New York Times or AOL find the $100 billion local-advertising pot of gold, Gluckstadt asks.
22. Yahoo Launches Neighbours Nationwide, by Kaila Krayewski, Internet Search Engine Database, 9-8-2009 A fourth tab is now available in Yahoo Local, Krayewski reports. It’s called Neighbours, and it will act as a local bulletin board for every city in the US., expanded from just several cities when it was launched in 2007.
23. What News Websites Are Missing: Useful, Real-time Municipal Traffic and Transit Reports, by Kathlyn Clore, Online Journalism Review, 9-16-2009 Demand for public transportation is growing in some parts of the country, yet mainstream media are not reflecting this shift in transportation habits, Clore writes. Suggests newspapers pick public transportation to build or feature mobile applications.
24. Local Search = Where Are You? + What Do You Do? Part 1, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 7-16-2009 What? Where? These two big questions must be answered over and over again in local search. Explains how to answer these on the home page, in page titles, and meta descriptions.
25. NBC Local Launches 10 City Sites, by Katy Bachman, Media Week, 7-29-2009 The city Web sites were conceived as an alternative to the typical TV Web site that serves as an extension of the on-air TV brand, Bachman reports. Unique visits to the city Web sites increased from 5 million October 2008 to 20 million in June 2009.
26. Local Search=Where Are You? + What Do You Do? Part 2, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 7-31-2009 Part 2 explains how to increase your company's visibility in Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local.
27. Local Search = Where Are You? + What Do You Do? Part 1, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 7-16-2009 Explains that search engines want to know the same things about your business that searchers want to know. Here are some things to do to avoid wasting your search marketing investment.
28. Advertising and Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 7-2-2009 What can you do to get people to shop at your business? Explains how to determine the distance of your range, then offers approaches to stretch your range. Advertise where your prospects are -- especially on Google Local.
29. Should You Geotag Pages For Local SEO?, by Chris Silver Smith, Search Engine Land, 7-20-2009 How useful is providing precise geocoordinates on webpages with other content? Recommends Google's Rich Snippets format. For content that is not particularly street address or contact-info oriented, geotags could make sense, such as photos. Gives examples of the most popular geotag formats.
30. Local Search Marketing: More Than Just Google, by David Mihm, Search Engine Land, 7-16-2009 Google Maps has pulled even with MapQuest due to the introduction of its generic 10-pack to universal search results. The citations for Google Maps are vital. But also consider YellowPages.com partnering with Bing, TripAdvisor, Kayak, Yelp, BooRah, Urban Spoon.
31. Google Maps Dashboard a Boost for Local Businesses, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 6-18-2009 Discusses the new analytics dashboard for Google Maps that can help local businesses and encourage them to claim their listings.
32. Advertising and Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 7-2-2009 To stretch the distance people will drive to come to your business consider: unique or rare, good price/value, variety and selection, quicker gratification, and the best. Advertise where your customers are likely to be -- especially Google.
33. Information and Trust in Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 6-4-2009 Discusses how Yellow Pages used to be so important -- and trusted. Provide reliable information to increase trust -- especially on Google Maps.
34. Do SMBs Still Need The Middleman To Advertise?, by Hanan Lifshitz, Search Engine Land, 6-11-2009 Ad professional middlemen are still important to help small businesses, even though a number of self-serve systems are available for online advertising. Shows graphic examples of small business local ads.
35. AOL Goes Local, by Laurie Burkitt, Forbes.com, 6-11-2009 Burkitt reports that online giantAOL buys 2 start-ups that target communities large and small: Patch Media, an online news service for small towns, and Going, an online local event-listing company that targets big cities.
36. Chicago.com Adds Insight to its Website, by Mila D'Antonio, 1 to 1, 5-7-2009 Chicago.com, an online guide that highlights the city's neighborhoods and attractions, recently deployed a solution that analyzes numerous variables to determine which interface designs will increase clicks and show better conversion rates.
37. Find the Growing Value in Local, by Court Cunningham, iMedia Connection, 7-10-2009 Forecasts for online ad revenue look grim, but the local segment is thriving instead of shrinking. Cunningham discusses how to take advantage of the opportunities through local advertising.
38. Digital Transition: Going Hyper Local, by Diane Mermigas, OMMA, 7-1-2009 There is growing evidence that local broadcasters gone digital can defend their turf while generating sorely needed new revenue streams, Mermigas writes.
39. Local Search's Google 10 Pack, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 5-21-2009 Results for Google local search yields the Google "10 pack," 10 very obvious local business listings adjacent to a map. But the top organic listings may not even appear in the 10 pack. Discusses the discrepancies and how the map results filters seem to work.
40. Yelp and Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 5-7-2009 Explains that Yelp is growing faster than Citysearch, and its pages often appear in search results for local business searches. Its tagline is: "Real Reviews, Real People." Explains who the reviewers are, and that Yelp earns money from businesses that advertise on its pages.
41. Mobile Browser King For Local Content, by Marin Perez, Information Week, 6-10-2009 Consumers are increasingly using their mobile phones to discover local information like maps or restaurants, according to a study by ComScore, Perez reports.
42. YellowSpaces Makes Bid to Become the Local 'Search Utility for the Consumer', by Laurie Sullivan, Media Post, 5-20-2009 YellowSpaces hopes to feed information from businesses into the local search engine to offer data on mobile devices found far beyond blue links and brief descriptions, Sullivan writes.
43. Craigslist and Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 4-23-2009 Discusses how Craigslist is used in local searches and how the service works. Sees it as a possible place for some local businesses to advertise.
44. Yahoo and Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 4-9-2009 Describes various Yahoo search tools: (1) Yahoo Everything, a directory of Yahoo sites, (2) Yahoo Local, (3) Yahoo Local Maps, (4) Yahoo Yellow Pages, and (5) Yahoo Travel.
45. The Quandaries of Local Search and Vertical Directories, by Kevin Lee, ClickZ, 4-3-2009 Discusses typical vertical directory pricing models often used to promote local search: annual membership, cost per click, sponsorships, banner ads, and cost per lead. Then gives examples of 4 legal directories.
46. Ins and Outs of Local Search, by Scott Van Achte, StepForth Placement Services, 4-14-2009 Defines local church, who it benefits, and its importance. Gives factors to assess whether a particular directory is worth listing in: location, relevance, price, traffic, and ranking value.
47. New Wave of Apps Build ‘Where’ Into the Web, by Michael Calore, Wired, 5-19-2009 Calore reviews companies offering the latest in geo-aware technology, both for mobile devices and for applications such as data visualization.
48. Frito-Lay Pitches Its Lay's Potato Chips as Locally Made, by Bruce Horovitz, USA Today, 5-12-2009 Chip Tracker at Lays.com will let folks see where any bag of chips was made, reports Horovitz. Type in the first three digits of the product code on the bag and your ZIP code and out pops the location of the plant.
49. Tools for Local Search, by Mary Bowling, ClickZ, 3-12-2009 To help with local directory listings on various platforms, use GetListed (www.getlisted.org) to search for your listings in 4 directories: Best of the Web Local, Yahoo Local, MSN Live Local, and Google Maps. Explains how to use Google Trends and Google Insights for local search.
50. Local Search Means Business, by Larry Small, Search Engine Land, 3-16-2009 A comScore study released by the Yellow Pages Association shows local search growing 58% in 2008, 75% of the top 100 keywords searched on Internet Yellow Pages sites are non-branded. Details implications of these findings.