When I 1st started doing Local SEO I thought it was a walk in the park compared to organic SEO. I quickly discovered all of Google’s quirks however and find Local SEO and specifically Google Places Optimization a frustrating challenge worthy of all my time and attention.

So it was great to read Matt McGee’s post about how crazy and inconsistent Google Local search results and the algo can be sometimes. He points out a radical example complete with screenshots. Be sure to read the comments too for other local search marketer’s feedback.

Why Local SEO is Harder Than SEOs Think

Few things grate on me more than hearing my fellow SEOs talk about how easy local SEO is. There’s less competition! The competition isn’t SEO savvy! Keyword choices are limited! It’s a piece of cake, they say. That’s about as accurate as me saying that traditional SEO is a piece of cake. Sweeping generalizations are often wrong, and below I’ll show why local SEO isn’t as easy as many think it is.