2012 Local Search Ranking Factors

David Mihm’s 2012 Local Search Ranking Factors are out, and what a good time to get an expert view of all things local search.

As Mihm says in his article, it’s been a bit of a shakeup year, particularly with the recent roll-out of Google+ Local. Many things have changed, but the philosophy of local search marketing has remained markedly consistent, particularly as compared to other digital marketing channels.

What has changed, however, primarily comes from what’s called the Google Venice update. In short, Venice changed the local search engine results page (SERP) from a map and 7-pack oriented layout (with integrated listings) to one focused on local standard organic results. This had the (rightly intended) consequence of placing a greater importance on the domain authority of a website. The search ranking factors study also includes some interesting social factors, including a page’s Google +1 and Facebook Like count.

Take aways? Re-assess your local search marketing priority list, making traditional SEO a bigger part of your local effort.

8 Suggestions for a Winning Web Site Design

For today’s small and mid-sized organizations, a Web site is a definite must-have in your marketing mix. With nearly three-quarters of the U.S. population having access to the Internet, chances are your customers – and your competitors – are among those users.

You may be one of the “little guys” looking to level the playing field. Or, maybe you provide a service that prospective customers want to research before making a purchase decision. Perhaps you find yourself repeatedly answering the same questions. In all cases, a well-designed Web site can help to solve a number of your business challenges.

QR Codes Marry Print and Mobile Marketing Communications

A recent study by InfoTrends, a worldwide market research and strategic consulting company, found that 64.7 percent of marketers have some familiarity with mobile barcode technology known as a QR (Quick Response) code.

Simply put, a QR code is barcode that encodes data. It is read by a smartphone much like a scanner reads the pricing information on a barcode at a grocery store checkout. When scanned, a QR code most commonly takes you to a website that has been optimized for mobile devices. But within the data, a QR code can contain other information including a phone number, calendar event, contact information (vCard), SMS (text) message, or geo-location (mapping) information.

To “read” a QR code, you need to have a smartphone with a camera that connects to the Internet and a QR code reader on your phone. Some of the newer smartphones have a built-in QR code reader. If not, you have to download a reader to your phone. A few popular ones are Neoreader, QuickMark and OptiScan. There are many others and most are free.

From business cards to invitations to posters and print ads, QR codes help make any printed piece more interactive – and can provide valuable information about a product or service. QR codes often link to websites. However, many marketers make the mistake of driving customers to a home page – or worse yet, a home page of a website that is not optimized for mobile devices.