local search optimization - it's more than google places preview

Local Search Optimization: It’s More than Google Places

Copyright © 2011 by Eric Shanfelt

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Shanfelt, Eric.

Local search optimization – it’s more than google places : a business owners guide

to getting customers from the search engines / by Eric Shanfelt.

p. cm.

ISBN: 1452898340

ISBN 13: 9781452898346

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010907932

CreateSpace, North Charleston, SC

Individual copies of this book may be purchased at www.LocalSearchHandbook.com.

Bulk quantities of this book in either print or digital format are available at special

quantity discounts for professional and local business associations, trade media / event

organizations, etc. Please contact the author at [email protected].

Contents Preface ........................................................................................................... vi

About the Author .......................................................................................... viii

Introduction to Local Search ........................................................................... 9

What Is Local Search? ...................................................................................... 10

How People Search for Local Businesses ......................................................... 12

The Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ........................................................... 13

Business Search, Maps, and Mobile ................................................................. 17

Constant Change .............................................................................................. 20

Local Search Fundamentals ........................................................................... 21

What Qualifies As a Listing? ............................................................................. 22

Professional Listings ......................................................................................... 23

How a Business Gets Listed .............................................................................. 25

The Local Search Optimization Process ........................................................... 27

SEO the Right Way ........................................................................................... 29

A Quick Assessment ......................................................................................... 30

Google Places ............................................................................................... 34

Anatomy of a Google Business Listing ............................................................. 35

Starting the Listing Process .............................................................................. 39

Basic Business Information .............................................................................. 41

Choosing Your Business Categories ................................................................. 46

Additional Business Information ...................................................................... 49

Photos and Videos ........................................................................................... 51

Custom Attributes ............................................................................................ 53

Validating Your Listing ...................................................................................... 54

Yahoo Local .................................................................................................. 57

Anatomy of a Yahoo Local Listing .................................................................... 58

Submitting Your Business ................................................................................. 62

Completing the Listing ..................................................................................... 66

Basic vs. Enhanced Listings .............................................................................. 69

Bing Local ..................................................................................................... 72

Anatomy of a Bing Local Listing ....................................................................... 73

Starting the Listing Process .............................................................................. 76

Business Details and Categories ....................................................................... 81

Mobile, Photos, and Additional Details ........................................................... 83

Verification ....................................................................................................... 85

Data Providers .............................................................................................. 88

What Data Providers Do .................................................................................. 89

Localeze ............................................................................................................ 91

Universal Business Listing ................................................................................ 92

InfoUSA ............................................................................................................ 93

Acxiom .............................................................................................................. 94

Other Important Sites ................................................................................... 96

Which Sites Are Important? ............................................................................. 97

Yellowpages ..................................................................................................... 98

Yelp ................................................................................................................... 99

Superpages ..................................................................................................... 100

Citysearch ....................................................................................................... 101

Insider Pages .................................................................................................. 102

Citations ...................................................................................................... 104

The Importance of Citations .......................................................................... 105

How to Develop Citations .............................................................................. 107

Competitive Citation Research ...................................................................... 111

Should You Pay for a Listing? ......................................................................... 112

Customer Reviews ....................................................................................... 115

The Importance of Customer Reviews ........................................................... 116

Top Customer Review Sites ............................................................................ 117

Responding to Reviews .................................................................................. 120

Positive Reviews ............................................................................................. 122

Negative Reviews ........................................................................................... 122

Fake Reviews .................................................................................................. 125

Soliciting Customer Reviews .......................................................................... 127

Optimizing Your Web Site ............................................................................ 131

Why Optimize Your Web Site ......................................................................... 132

Domain and Hosting Optimization ................................................................. 135

Website Optimization Guidelines .................................................................. 138

Location‐Specific Pages .................................................................................. 141

Helping Search Engines Find Your Site ........................................................... 147

Links to Your Site ............................................................................................ 149

Importance of Site Design .............................................................................. 153

Conclusion ................................................................................................... 155

Search Optimization Doesn’t Stop ................................................................. 155

Reputation Management Tools ..................................................................... 157

GetListed.org Local University ....................................................................... 158

Local Search Consultants ............................................................................... 158

The Next Steps ............................................................................................... 160

Appendix A: Free Local Search Tools ........................................................................ 161

Appendix B: Local Search Bloggers .......................................................................... 169

Appendix C: Local Search Ecosystem ........................................................................ 170

Appendix D: Google Ranking Factors ....................................................................... 171

Table of Figures ........................................................................................... 173

Index ........................................................................................................... 177

Local Search Optimization: It’s More than Google Places vi

Copyright © 2011, Eric Shanfelt. All Rights Reserved www.LocalSearchHandbook.com

PrefaceNearly 80% of U.S. consumers use the Internet to find a local business. It doesn’t

matter if you’re an accountant, lawyer, doctor, landscaper, or salon owner or

operate any other local business—your customers are looking online for a

business like yours right now. Will they find you?

Local search optimization helps ensure these potential customers will find you

whether they search from their desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, and no

matter what site or service they happen to use.

I wrote this book for you, the local business operator, to demystify local search,

separate fact from fiction, and tell you in plain English what you really need to

do to generate business from Internet search engines.

Isn’t this information available for free on the web?

Much of the information in this book is indeed available for free on the

web, but it is scattered over hundreds of different websites,

disorganized, and written in industry jargon rather than plain English.

The Internet also presents a wide variety of opinions—some of which

can actually get your business into big trouble.

Shouldn’t I just hire a local search consultant?

I’m a big fan of local search consultants. The good ones can do

everything in this book and more—and can cost thousands of dollars

every year. But even if you do outsource your local search optimization,

this book will help you understand what your consultant should do for

you and give you the framework to select the right professional at the

right price.

All I need to do is claim my listing on Google Places, right?

This is a good start, but Google accounts for only 41% of local searches.

You need to ensure your business is properly optimized for the other

59% of local searches and that your Google Places listing itself is

optimized for the best results.

What if my business doesn’t have a website?

Having your own website certainly helps, but even if you don’t have

Local Search Optimization: It’s More than Google Places vii


one, there is plenty you can do to optimize your business for local

search and be found by potential customers.

I already have a great website. What more do I need?

Many businesses have websites that don’t show up well, or even at all,

when people search. The best website in the world won’t help you if

people can’t find it, and creating a website is only a small step toward

truly optimizing your business for local search.

What if my business already shows up in the search engines?

That’s great! But are you sure you’re showing up in all the ways

potential customers might search for you? And is your position in the

search results safe once similar businesses start competing with you

online too?

Do I have to become a search engine expert?

No, but you at least need to understand how search engines work and

what you can easily do yourself to get more customers. This book will

show you—in plain English, not jargon.

What if I don’t have the time to do this?

The fundamentals outlined in this guide can be done with minimal time

commitment, and you don’t have to do everything at once. But even if

you don’t want to do all the work yourself, you can’t afford not to

understand the information in this book.

This book is not about running after every search engine trick and rumor or

trying to “game” the system and cheat your way to the top. It’s about doing the

fundamentals of local search optimization well and getting more customers as a

result. As you read this book and have comments or ideas, please contact me at

www.LocalSearchHandbook.com. I constantly post local search tips and answer

reader questions on a regular basis. I wish you all the best as you grow your

business by optimizing it for local search!

Eric Shanfelt

Local Search Optimization: It’s More than Google Places viii


AbouttheAuthorEric Shanfelt began his career in

online media nearly twenty years ago.

He has worked at interactive ad

agencies and held executive positions

at several consumer and business

media companies including Penton,

Virgo, Interweave, and Thomas

Nelson. He has served as a consultant

for the past several years helping

dozens of media companies grow

their online businesses.

Many of the companies Eric works

with produce magazines and trade

shows for small business owners.

These companies often ask Eric to

write articles or speak at conferences to help their small‐business‐owner

readers with online marketing—especially optimizing their businesses for local

search.

Eric has a passion for teaching businesses how to use the Internet to grow

revenues and get new customers. He emphasizes simple, practical techniques

and has a unique ability to demystify technology and explain it in plain English.

Eric resides in Colorado and is a private pilot/general aviation enthusiast and an

avid proponent of adoption and orphan care.

Local Search Optimization: It’s More than Google Places 9


IntroductiontoLocalSearchBefore we begin the process of optimizing your business for local search, it

helps to understand exactly what local search really is, how it works, and how

we’ll go about the process of getting more customers through the search

engines.

What Is Local Search?

How People Search for Local Businesses

The Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

Business Search, Maps, and Mobile

Constant Change



WhatIsLocalSearch?Nearly all of us have used Google or another search engine to look up

something of interest, personally or professionally. American idol results,

symptoms of swine flu, and network security tips are examples of typical

searches.

Increasingly, consumers and other small businesses also use search engines and

online directories to find businesses in specific geographic locations. When a

person looks online for a local business like pediatricians in atlanta or virginia

beach appliance repair, this is local search.

Local search is critically important to your business. Increasingly, it is how new

customers discover your business and how you keep your business in front of

existing customers. The first place most of today’s consumers and small

businesses look to find a local business is an Internet search engine or directory.

79% of U.S. consumers use the Internet to find local businesses.1

82% of those say they use search engines to find local companies.2

23% fewer people use the Yellow Pages vs. two years ago.2

25% fewer people use local newspapers vs. two years ago.2

The three most important search engines are Google, Bing (Microsoft), and

Yahoo. Together, they account for over 95% of all searches in the United States.3

1. BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey (November 2010)

2. Nielsen and Webvisible research via Marketing Charts (January 2009)

3. comScore Explicit Core Search Report, Total U.S. Home/Work/University Locations (May 2011)



Figure 1 ‐ Search Engine Market Share

In the summer of 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a ten‐year partnership

where Bing (owned by Microsoft) would drive all of Yahoo’s search results. This

integration has already begun, and the new partnership means Bing/Yahoo now

powers nearly 30% of all Internet searches.

But the major search engines are not the only place where people look online

for local businesses. They also use Internet yellow page directories (IYPs),

mapping sites, city guides, and customer review sites. In addition, consumers

search for businesses on computers and laptops, in‐car GPS units, and,

increasingly, on mobile devices. And many people now use popular social media

applications like Facebook and Foursquare to “check in” to local businesses.

Figure 2 – Local Search Market Share

Google65.5%

Yahoo15.9%

Bing14.1%

Other4.5%

Google41%

Bing11%

Yahoo10%

Yellowpages9%

Superpages9%

Yellowbook9%

Other8%



You can see that Google accounts for 41% of all local business searches.4 With

59% of all local searches done elsewhere, you cannot focus on Google alone

when optimizing your business for local search.

Your job as a local business owner is to ensure that your business appears in all

of these places and that your business information is correct and complete so

that it appears high up in the search results when consumers search for a

business like yours in your geographic area.

HowPeopleSearchforLocalBusinessesWhen a person looks for a local business on a search engine, they typically ask

two questions: what and where. Here are some examples of what people enter

into a search engine when looking for a local business:

cleveland self storage

tanning salons in portland oregon

scottsdale landscaping

chinese restaurants near nashville

albuquerque insurance agents

Notice the variety in the way people search. They may put the “what” before

the “where,” may or may not include the state name or abbreviation, and may

be general in their search (restaurants) or more specific (chinese restaurants or

even dim sum). The user may even use local colloquialisms to identify the

“where” in their search:

daycare in philly

bay area churches

denver tech center hotels

In these examples, philly, bay area, and denver tech center are not actual city

names but terms that locals use. The good news is that the search engines have

become pretty intelligent about figuring out what a person intended, and they

are constantly making adjustments to make search results even more relevant.

4. TMP / comScore Local Search Usage Study (October 2010)



TheSearchEngineResultsPage(SERP)When someone does a search, the results are displayed in a Search Engine

Results Page, or SERP for short. Each site has its own way of displaying search

results, but all have three distinct types of results:

Sponsored results: These are paid ads that businesses purchase to show

up when someone searches for specific terms or specific geographic

locations, typically located at the top right side of the SERPs. Paid search

engine advertising is a different marketing discipline from local search

optimization and will not be covered in this book.

Local business results: These are pulled from a search engine’s local

business directory. A map of the local area is also typically displayed

with the results or close to them on the SERP. Local business results are

usually located below paid ads and either above or mixed in with web

search results.

Web search results: Also called “organic search results,” these are

pages around the web that closely match what was searched for.

When you search from the Bing and Yahoo home pages, local business results

and web search results are displayed in separate sections. Google handles

things a bit differently. Depending on what search term the user enters, Google

will sometimes separate local business and web search results and at other

times will blend them together.



Figure 3 ‐ Bing Primary Search Results Page

Figure 4 ‐ Yahoo Primary Search Results Page



Figure 5 ‐ Google Primary SERP (Separated Business / Web Results)

Figure 6 ‐ Google Primary SERP (Blended Business / Web Results)



Of course, Google, Bing, and Yahoo aren’t the only sites with local business

search results. Internet yellow page directories, city guides, and other sites that

feature local businesses also have their own search results pages (SERPs).

Figure 7‐ Superpages Search Results Page

Figure 8 ‐ Citysearch Search Results Page



BusinessSearch,Maps,andMobileIn addition to the primary search results pages, Google, Yahoo, Bing, and many

other search sites have several other ways people can search for local

businesses including:

Specific local business search pages

Map search pages

Primary, local business, and map search optimized for mobile devices

iPhone, Droid, and BlackBerry applications that users can download

Don’t let all of these variations overwhelm you. If you optimize your business

for the primary Google, Yahoo, and Bing search results, your business will

automatically be optimized in their maps, mobile websites, and mobile

applications as well.

Local business search pages remove web search results and focus the SERP only

on local business listings. These often look like map search results pages, but are

actually different pages.

Figure 9 ‐ Google Places Search Results Page



Figure 10 ‐ Bing Local Search Results Page

The major search engines also have dedicated map search pages, which are

organized a bit differently. Another popular dedicated map site, MapQuest, also

offers business searches.

Figure 11 ‐ Google Maps Search Results Page



Figure 12 ‐ MapQuest Search Results Page

Of course, with the proliferation of smartphones, people increasingly are

searching for local businesses right from their iPhone, Droid, BlackBerry, or

other web‐enabled device instead of using their desktop computer.

To address this, Google, Yahoo, and Bing—as well as most other local business

search sites—offer websites that are optimized for display on mobile devices. As

with their full‐size desktop cousins, these mobile search sites display a

combination of sponsored, local business, and web search results.

Figure 13 – iPhone Versions of Google, Bing, and Yahoo



Search engines also offer native applications for iPhone, Droid, and BlackBerry

that people can download to their phones to make it even easier to search for

local businesses.

Figure 14 – BlackBerry Google Maps Application

ConstantChangeIt’s important to be aware that local search is constantly changing:

Search sites continually change search, results, and business listing page

designs to improve the user experience. This happens on their “full size”

websites, mobile‐optimized websites, and smartphone apps.

Search sites (especially Google) often change which businesses to

display to end users and in what order. They do this to improve results

for users and to combat people who try to abuse the system.

Search sites occasionally update how businesses claim, set up, and

update their business information to make it easier for business owners,

more secure for business owners and to provide additional information

to people searching for businesses.

In just the time that I’ve been writing this book, there have been several major

changes to the local search landscape that have caused me to go back and

rewrite sections of the book. There already may be some changes from the time

this book was published!

However, despite changes that may happen to specific page designs or

processes to submit and update your information, the fundamentals of local

search remain the same. Follow the process outlined in this book, and you will

generate more customers from the search engines.



TableofFiguresFigure 1 ‐ Search Engine Market Share ................................................................ 11

Figure 2 – Local Search Market Share .................................................................. 11

Figure 3 ‐ Bing Primary Search Results Page ........................................................ 14

Figure 4 ‐ Yahoo Primary Search Results Page ..................................................... 14

Figure 5 ‐ Google Primary SERP (Separated Business / Web Results) ................. 15

Figure 6 ‐ Google Primary SERP (Blended Business / Web Results) .................... 15

Figure 7‐ Superpages Search Results Page .......................................................... 16

Figure 8 ‐ Citysearch Search Results Page ............................................................ 16

Figure 9 ‐ Google Places Search Results Page ...................................................... 17

Figure 10 ‐ Bing Local Search Results Page .......................................................... 18

Figure 11 ‐ Google Maps Search Results Page ..................................................... 18

Figure 12 ‐ MapQuest Search Results Page ......................................................... 19

Figure 13 – iPhone Versions of Google, Bing, and Yahoo .................................... 19

Figure 14 – BlackBerry Google Maps Application ................................................ 20

Figure 15 ‐ Professional Listings on Google ......................................................... 24

Figure 16 ‐ Business Listing Information Sources ................................................ 25

Figure 17 ‐ The Local SEO Process ........................................................................ 28

Figure 18 – GetListed.org Listing Snapshot .......................................................... 31

Figure 19 – GetListed.org Local Business Listing Overview ................................. 32

Figure 20 ‐ GetListed.org Google Listing Detail .................................................... 33

Figure 21 – Google Blended SERP for Japanese Restaurant ................................ 35

Figure 22 ‐ Google 7‐Pack SERP for Japanese Restaurant ................................... 36

Figure 23 – The Fort Restaurant Place Page ........................................................ 37

Figure 24 ‐ Google Places Home .......................................................................... 40

Figure 25 ‐ Enter Country and Phone in Google Places ....................................... 41

Figure 26 ‐ Edit or Add Listing in Google Places ................................................... 41

Figure 27 ‐ Entering Basic Business Information in Google Places ...................... 42

Figure 28 – Mike Blumenthal's Google Business Category Preview Tool ............ 48

Figure 29 ‐ Entering Business Categories in Google Places .................................. 49



Figure 30 – Entering Additional Business Information in Google Places ............. 49

Figure 31 ‐ Service Areas in Google Places .......................................................... 50

Figure 32 – Adding Photos and Videos in Google Places ..................................... 52

Figure 33 – Custom Attributes on Google Places ................................................ 54

Figure 34 ‐ Validate Your Listing on Google Places .............................................. 55

Figure 35 ‐ Enter PIN to Validate Listing .............................................................. 56

Figure 36 ‐ Yahoo SERP for Golf Courses in New York, NY ................................... 58

Figure 37 ‐ Yahoo Local SERP for Golf Courses in New York, NY ......................... 59

Figure 38 ‐ Yahoo Local Mini‐Listing .................................................................... 59

Figure 39 ‐ Yahoo Local Full Business Listing ....................................................... 60

Figure 40 – Yahoo Local Sign Up .......................................................................... 62

Figure 41 ‐ Yahoo Local Submission Form ........................................................... 63

Figure 42 ‐ Yahoo Local Submission Form (Continued) ....................................... 64

Figure 43 ‐ Yahoo Local Edit Listing or Add Listing ............................................... 65

Figure 44 ‐ Yahoo Local Categories ...................................................................... 66

Figure 45 ‐ Yahoo Local Preview .......................................................................... 67

Figure 46 ‐ Yahoo Local Verification and Terms of Service .................................. 68

Figure 47 ‐ Yahoo Local Listing Thank You ........................................................... 69

Figure 48 ‐ Yahoo Enhanced Listing Promotion ................................................... 70

Figure 49 ‐ Local Search Results on Bing.com ...................................................... 73

Figure 50 ‐ Local Search Result on Bing Maps ..................................................... 74

Figure 51 ‐ Search Results on Bing Local .............................................................. 74

Figure 52 ‐ Bing Local Business Listing ................................................................. 75

Figure 53 – Bing Business Portal Home Page ....................................................... 77

Figure 54 ‐ Check If Listing Exists on Bing ............................................................ 77

Figure 55 – Enter Security Characters to Proceed with Bing Sign Up .................. 78

Figure 56 ‐ Sign in to Bing or Sign up for a New Account .................................... 79

Figure 57 ‐ Bing Business Portal ........................................................................... 80

Figure 58 ‐ Bing Business Portal ........................................................................... 80

Figure 59 ‐ Enter Business Details on Bing ........................................................... 81



Figure 60 ‐ Business Profile (Additional Categories) in Bing ................................ 82

Figure 61 ‐ Mobile Site Creation on Bing ............................................................. 84

Figure 62 ‐ Adding Photos on Bing ....................................................................... 84

Figure 63 ‐ More Business Details on Bing ........................................................... 85

Figure 64‐ Verification Options for a Bing Listing ................................................ 86

Figure 65 – How Business Data Flows Throughout Local Search ......................... 90

Figure 66 ‐ Localeze Home Page .......................................................................... 91

Figure 67 ‐ Universal Business Listing Packages .................................................. 92

Figure 68 ‐ ExpressUpdate by InfoUSA ................................................................ 94

Figure 69 ‐ MyBusinessListingManager by Acxiom .............................................. 95

Figure 70 ‐ Unique Visitors per Month for Local Search Sites ............................. 97

Figure 71 – Claim Your Listing with AT&T Yellowpages ....................................... 98

Figure 72 ‐ Claiming Your Listing with Yelp .......................................................... 99

Figure 73 ‐ Claim Your Listing with SuperMedia Superpages ............................ 100

Figure 74 ‐ Claim Your Listing with CityGrid Media Citysearch .......................... 101

Figure 75 ‐ Claiming Your Listing with Insider Pages ......................................... 102

Figure 76 ‐ Citations on a Google Places Business Listing .................................. 106

Figure 77 ‐ Better Business Bureau Citations ..................................................... 108

Figure 78 – Loveland Colorado Chamber of Commerce Business Directory ..... 109

Figure 79 ‐ Tucson Arizona Visitors Guide ......................................................... 110

Figure 80 ‐ Lawyer.com Vertical Industry Directory .......................................... 111

Figure 81 ‐ Citation Research on Google ........................................................... 112

Figure 82 – Customer Reviews on a Google Places Listing ................................ 116

Figure 83 ‐ Percentage of Yelp Reviews by Rating ............................................. 121

Figure 84 ‐ Yelp Example of a Good Reply to a Negative Customer Review ..... 125

Figure 85 – Example of a Web Page Linking to Major Review Sites .................. 128

Figure 86 ‐ Link to Reviews Page on Home Page of Web Site ........................... 128

Figure 87 ‐ Back of Business Card Soliciting Reviews ......................................... 129

Figure 88 ‐ Web Search Results Are Different from Local Business Results ...... 132

Figure 89 ‐ Highlands School Home Page .......................................................... 133



Figure 90 ‐ Programming Code behind the Highland School Home Page ......... 134

Figure 91 ‐ Public versus Private Registration on GoDaddy ............................... 137

Figure 92 ‐ Example of a Good 404 Page ........................................................... 139

Figure 93 – Link from Google Places to Location‐Specific Page on Web Site .... 142

Figure 94 – Extra Space Location‐Specific Page ................................................. 143

Figure 95 ‐ Search Engine Sitemap Validated by Google Webmaster Tools ...... 148

Figure 96 ‐ Check Inbound Links on Open Site Explorer .................................... 150

Figure 97 ‐ Compare Two Sites on Open Site Explorer ...................................... 151

Figure 98 ‐ Denver Self Storage Web Site .......................................................... 154

Figure 99 ‐ Local Search Optimization Process .................................................. 155

Figure 100 ‐ Marchex Reputation Management Dashboard ............................. 158

Figure 101 ‐ Creating a Google Account ............................................................ 162

Figure 102 ‐ Google Analytics ............................................................................ 163

Figure 103 ‐ Google Webmaster Tools .............................................................. 164

Figure 104 ‐ Creating a Windows Live ID ........................................................... 165

Figure 105 ‐ Your Own E‐mail Address for Windows Live ID ............................. 165

Figure 106 ‐ Creating a Yahoo Account .............................................................. 166

Figure 107 ‐ GetListed.org .................................................................................. 167

Figure 108 ‐ Open Site Explorer by SEOMoz ...................................................... 168



Index301 Redirects. See Redirects

404 Pages, 139

Acxiom, 92, 94

Adobe Flash, 140

Angie's List, 97

Anti‐SLAPP Laws, 124, 126

AT&T. See Yellowpages

Backlinks, 149

Best of the Web, 97

Better Business Bureau (BBB), 107

Bing. See Microsoft Bing

Black Hat, 29

Blacklisting. See Suspended Account

Blumenthal, Mike, 48, 169

Business Descriptions, 46

Business Name, 42, 63, 81

Categories, 46, 65, 81

Chambers of Commerce, 108

Chatmeter, 157

Citations, 28, 76, 104

CityGrid Media, 102, 119

Citysearch, 101, 118

Claiming, 25, 32

Cloaking, 135

Crawling, 147

Custom Attributes, 53

Customer Reviews, 28, 32, 115

Fake Reviews, 125

How to Respond, 120

Negative Reviews, 122

Positive Reviews, 122

Soliciting Reviews, 127

Data Providers, 25, 89

DexKnows, 97, 120

Domains, 135

Domain Registrars, 136

Private Registration, 136

Email Addresses, 44, 63, 81

Facebook, 54, 81, 152, 157

Federal Trade Commission, 126

Flash. See Adobe Flash

Foursquare, 159

Frames, 140

FTC. See Federal Trade Commission

GetListed.org, 30, 158, 166, 170

Google, 10, 31

7‐Pack Search Results Page, 36

Blended Search Results, 35, 132

Google Account, 161

Google Analytics, 162

Google Maps, 144

Google Places, 34

Webmaster Tools, 148, 163

Gowalla, 159

Groupon, 159

H1 Tag, 144

Hijacking, 26

Hours of Operation, 50, 65, 85

HTML Code, 133, 139

Hyper‐Local Web Sites, 106

iFrames, 140

Industry Directories, 110

InfoUSA, 92, 93

Insider Pages, 102



Internet Yellow Pages, 25

IYP. See Internet Yellow Pages

Javascript, 138, 140, 141

Judy's Book, 97

Kudzu, 119

Large Organizations, 22

Links, Inbound. See Backlinks

LivingSocial, 159

Local Business Results, 13

Local Search, 10

Local Search Optimization, 21

Localeze, 91

Map Locations, Fixing, 46

Maps, 17

Marchex, 157

MerchantCircle, 97, 119

Meta Tags, 145

Microdata. See Microtags

Microsoft, 10

Bing Local, 72

Bing Webmaster Tools, 148

Microsoft Bing, 10, 31

Microsoft Windows Live ID, 165

Microtags, 145

Mihm, David, 30, 166, 169, 171

Multimedia, 32

Multiple Locations, 22, 141

MyRepMan, 158

NAP (Name, Address, Phone), 41

Nofollow Tags, 153

Off‐Site Businesses, 22

Open Site Explorer. See SEOMoz

Organic Search Results. See Web Search Results

Page Title, 143

Paid Listings, 69, 112

Paid Results. See Search Engine Advertising

Payment Methods, 50, 65

Payment Types, 85

Permalink, 143

Permalinks, 138

Phone Numbers, 44, 63, 81

Toll‐Free, 44, 63, 81

Tracking, 63, 81

Photos, 52, 84, See Multimedia

Professional Listings, 23

RDFa. See Microtags

Real Estate, 23

Redirects, 138, 141, 153

Reputation Management, 157

Reviews. See Customer Reviews, See Customer Reviews

Rich Snippets. See Microtags

Search Engine Advertising, 13

Search Engine Optimization. See Local Search Optimization

Search Engine Results Page, 13

Search Engine Sitemaps, 147

SEO. See Local Search Optimization

SEOMoz, 167

Open Site Explorer, 149, 168

SEOMoz Toolbar, 168

SERP. See Search Engine Results Page

Service Areas, 50

Sexton, Patrick, 30, 166

Sitemaps. See Search Engine Sitemaps



Specialized Services, 23

Sponsored Results. See Search Engine Advertising

Street Address, 43, 81

Normalization, 43

Style Sheets, 140

SuperMedia. See Superpages

Superpages, 100

Suspended Account, 29

Toll‐Free Phone Numbers, 144

Twitter, 54, 81, 152, 157

UGC. See User Generated Content

Universal Business Listing, 24, 92

Uptime, 138

User Generated Content, 25

vCards. See Microtags

Videos, 53, See Multimedia

Web Search Results, 13

Web Site Addresses, 45, 63, 81

Web Site Hosting, 137

Web Site Navigation

Breadcrumb, 144

Web Site Optimization, 29

White Hat, 29

Windows Live ID. See Microsoft Windows Live ID

XML, 147

Yahoo, 10, 31, 118

Account, 166

Yahoo Local, 57

Yellow Book, 97

Yellowpages, 98

Yelp, 99, 118, 120

Yext, 157

YouTube, 53, 54, 152, 161

YP.com. See Yellowpages

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