I think Facebook’s entry into the Local game is a watershed moment for our little corner of the world. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see how the other major players respond. The battle for Local domination is officially afoot…here’s how I’m currently handicapping the players, based on a set of six criteria. I’ll do my best to revisit this map in a year or so, but for now, here’s how I’d break down the world of Local Search. Time for someone to roll the dice…

My thoughts on what the latest changes to Local results in Google Universal search mean for both SMB’s and IYP’s.

Earlier this morning, I published the results of the 2010 Local Search Ranking Factors survey. I actually added 20 questions to this year’s survey to try to assess some of the new considerations in Local Search–a daunting 30% increase in the workload for our panelists. We had 34 experts take part, including a handful of gurus from Canada and Europe and one from Australia. Their insights are truly remarkable, and although it’s a lengthy piece, I’d recommend getting into the full depth of the responses as soon as you have time.

An update on the conferences I’ll be speaking at/attending this Spring: GetListed.org Local University, SMX West, SearchFest, Local Search Summit, DFWSEM, and SMX Advanced.

Back in 2008, when Pat Sexton and I were brainstorming the ideas that would eventually turn into GetListed.org, one of our very first long-term goals was to put together a low-cost seminar series that would introduce business owners to the world of online marketing. It pleases us greatly to announce a major step towards that goal: the very first GetListed.org Local University event in Spokane, WA on February 4th.

In a long-overdue and pretty long-winded piece, I take a look at the controversy that swirled around Yelp last Spring and some of the company’s moves to react to it. I also go through my concerns for the site’s continued growth, both among users and advertisers, and take one final look back at the Google acquisition that almost-was.

Greg Sterling relayed a TechCrunch story late last night on Search Engine Land saying that Google is in “advanced acquisition negotiations” to buy Yelp. From Google’s point of view, it’s an anti-competitive buy. From Yelp’s point of view, I think it’s smart to sell while the company is still on the rise.

Kelsey’s Interactive Local Media show was truly one of the best industry conferences I’ve attended.  The focus was very different from the typical SEO show, with only one or two tactical marketing panels but a lot of insight into how the major players approach the ideas of local search and marketing to small businesses. The [...]

I am at The Kelsey Group’s Interactive Local Media conference in Los Angeles this week, though–speaking on a panel with Andrew Shotland later today. For those not in attendance, the official hashtag to follow on twitter is #ILM09, and I’ll be posting tidbits from the conference sometime Friday afternoon or over the weekend.

As those of you who follow me way too closely on Twitter probably know, I was at my 10-year high school reunion all of last week.  So, sorry the posting has been a little light.
I’ve also been hard at work on SEVERAL presentations for the upcoming month, and looking forward to all the upcoming conferences [...]