Google Places Optimization Blog

Announcing a new series of FREE educational events designed for the Local Search industry, brought to you by BrightLocal & the Local Search Forum.

So excited to finally be able to announce the launch of the new Google Places Dashboard. YAY! This new All-in-One Google Local Listing Management Dashboard offers SOOOOO many significant advantages and yes the old dashboard is really going away. Tons of new info and screenshots below. SNEAK PEEK – Click Image to see All the [...]

I just completely restructured and expanded my intensive Advanced Google+ Local training program. Doubled the time and added tons of content – without increasing the price. Added more bonuses too.

Over 1,150 SEOs took part in BrightLocal’s 2012 Local SEO Industry Survey. Excited to announce the survey is back! Click here for the 2013 survey.

There are several new Google+ Local bugs ‘bugging’ folks and I have not done a very good job of reporting them individually over at the Local Search Forum as they come up. I’ll try to do a better job of sharing new issues as I become aware of them. But here are a few recent bugs/problems/issues all in one post…

I thought this was a great post to kick off the New Year, since most local search pros I know are workaholics and this post gets into some great insight from leaders in the field about work/life balance, making time to stay healthy and taking time for family. I was emailed recently by Adam Steele, a member of a Local Mastermind Group I’m involved in… See answers from Mike Blumenthal, Alex Fusman, Mary Bowling, Darren Shaw, Matthew Hunt and Mike Ramsey.

Happy Holidays & Season’s Greetings

There have been so many important topics at the Local Search Commmunity Forum, I don’t I have time to cover them all. Some MAJOR Google updates for local, big issues you need to read. Plus lots of insightful advice if your local search consulting business is struggling. Plus some bugs and display changes for local.

What were the biggest changes to Local SEO in 2012? What do experts predict is coming for Google+ Local in 2013? What’s the best advice for the coming year? And let’s throw in some CRACKPOT Google+ Local predictions too!

I was recently interviewed by Myles from BrightLocal, along with thought leaders Mike Blumenthal, Mike Ramsey and Laura Betterly. Read the link below to discover our answers to the questions below.

There were several defining moments in local search in the year 2012; The update to Google+ Local, the ability to merge your Place page with your Google+ Business page (still not ready for prime time), the Google Local review problems and the thousands of small businesses deleted by Google due to the service area/hide your address fiasco. Following are my picks for the best local search blogs posts of 2012.

Latest local SEO and Google+ Local news from the Local Search Community. These are just a few of the many great threads that started in November. There are lots of other great discussions too, so head over and join in!

WOW! Did someone at StreetFight just reach inside my brain and pen all my Google Local frustrations? He summed up SO many of the complicated Google+ Local issues, that plague consultants and business owners alike. Article below, but 1st – a Google Places CARTOON that says it all! SEE INSIDE.

This new forum is dedicated to providing resources to help manage the “Business Side” of local search consulting. Great topics for this forum would include anything related to: prospecting, pricing, packaging, billing, time management, productivity tools or anything about managing and GROWING a more successful business! Already have some great posts started. Jump in and check it out.

Today is our 3 month anniversary at the Local Search Forum. Can you believe this thriving community is only 3 months old? Wow! It’s been a crazy whirlwind of activity that has resulted in over 4,000 posts and almost 400 members. To celebrate our 3 month milestone we wanted to add 3 new member perks!

Busy week? Today might be a good day for you to take a break and get caught up on the latest local SEO and Google+ Local news from the Local Search Community Forum you may have missed. Following are just a few October posts I hand picked and think are some of the most important to read. Also see BIG HEADs UP.

The Local Search Forum is just over 2 months old, but we’ve been experiencing rapid growth due to the overwhelming support of the local search community. The forum has expanded to the point already where it’s getting hard for folks to find the info they need. So we need to start to splitting off some more forums to help keep everything organized and easy to find. So I just launched the new Local SEO Tools – Local Search Software Forum…

Google just updated many of the Google Guidelines. Since the blended algo is primarily about organic, Local search consultants need to keep up with the changes and comply, just as you do with the Google Places Guidelines. See RED highlights for IMPORTANT Guideline changes for LOCAL I want to alert you to and discuss. If your site dropped, this likely why.

See all the screenshots and discover some LOCAL keyword research techniques you may have missed. PLUS a few new algo updates recently rolled out and some ARE affecting local. (Including NEW PANDA update.)

All weekend the forums and blogs were atwitter with the news and lots of webmasters have reported getting hit by the algo change. Here are posts at Search Engine Land, SEOmoz and over at WebmasterWorld the discussion is up to 15 pages so far. I was involved in a few of those conversations, plus others, trying to determine the impact on local and have not seen evidence of it. I did quite a bit of research over the weekend and here are just a few of the local EMDs I found still sitting in top spots…

I’m thrilled to announce that the Local Search Community is expanding and we just added my friend Miriam Ellis to the team. Most of you that have worked in Local for awhile know who Miriam is. She’s a fellow contributor with me over at David Mihms “Local Search Ranking Factors” and is the Local SEO Associate over at the SEOmoz Forum, plus you’ve likely read her blog…