Mihmorandum

Handcrafted Local Search Commentary since 2006

david mihm david mihm

Rankings On Google+ Local: Some Observations

Naturally, after a big interface update like the Places-Plus “merge” that just happened, the first question on everyone’s minds–from business owners to marketers–is “OK, so how do I rank in this thing?”

Read More
david mihm david mihm

Yelp Vs Google In Congress

Yelp and David Mihm, Inc. both want the same thing–more competition in Local Search. But I was disappointed to see the specific arguments against Google Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman used in his testimony.

Read More
david mihm david mihm

Google Wonders…

“…is this place still here?” The company’s underlying mindset is to crowdsource without cost as much as it possibly can.

Read More
david mihm david mihm

Google Brings Portland HotPot Campaign to a Rolling Boil

For someone in Local Search, it’s been thrilling to see this kind of major traditional advertising campaign, and I’ve felt that Google’s placements have been impossible to miss. They did their homework on where to show the ads, and used headlines that resonate with Portlanders in both tone and content.

Read More
david mihm david mihm

A New Kind Of Local Search Result: The “O-Pack”?

Google decided to roll out its new user interface (first reported by Mike Blumenthal on July 5th) for local search results yesterday. It is a tectonic shift, both algorithmically and visually, that has left a number of publishers, and certainly spammy lead generators, catatonic today. I actually don’t think this new UI is any worse for IYPs than the 7-pack was.

Read More
david mihm david mihm

Thoughts On Business Titles

With so many of Google’s organic guidelines, it seems like intent is key to determining what is and is not spam. Yet in Local, the line is a little blurrier. It seems to me that Google could solve this problem quite easily, however, by removing the ranking weight given to geographic keywords in the business title.

Read More
david mihm david mihm

Google’s New Local UI Proving Conspiracy Theorists Right

how many clicks are going to go to that #1 organic listing? I know mine didn’t the first time I saw this result. Google knows users don’t want to sort through Google’s search results only to be directed five OTHER companies’ OWN Local search results.

Read More
david mihm david mihm

What a Google-Yelp Deal Would Mean

Initially my thought was that any deal that made this ecosystem a little simpler would be a good thing from the perspective of the SMB. But, many of my clients already want to put all of their eggs in the Google basket, and that is just not a healthy business model.  How much further would a Gelp (Yoogle?) partnership skew that kind of thinking?

Read More