One year ago I published a list of the best local SEO and local SEM articles of 2011. Ever since, one of my dreams has been to turn this into a regular practice. And here we are – in the beginning of 2013, and I managed to compile a list of the best local-search-related pieces of the past year. The list consists of approximately 200 articles divided into 8 categories (clicking on the category name will take you to the corresponding part of the list):
General Local-Search-Related
Onsite Local SEO
Offsite Local SEO
Google Places and Google+ Local
Local Citations and Citation Building
Reviews and Reputation Management for Local Search
Non-Google Local Search (Bing, Yelp, Apple, Nokia, Yahoo)
Mobile-Local
I also included a list of some of the articles I published this year that you might find read-worthy:
This article library holds a ton of wealthy information shared by the most renowned specialists in the industry, including Mike Blumenthal, David Mihm, Phil Rozek, Chris Smith, Miriam Ellis, Andrew Shotland, and many others. Happy reading!
Local Search Ranking Factors, Volume 5 (David Mihm, Own Blog)
10 Commandments of Local Search & the LSO Prophets (Cody Baird, Milkmen)
Your Local SEO Checklist for 2012! (Miriam Ellis, Search Engine Guide)
Big List of Local SEO’s To Follow On Google+ Some Thoughts (Mike Ramsey, Nifty Marketing)
Interview with Local Marketing Experts Jake Puhl & Adam Zilko (Eric Covino, SEO Book)
Best Local Search Tools – 2012 (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Local Ranking Factors – Google Places Optimization (Bizible)
The Venice Shift from Local Pack to Blended Results (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Finders Are Now Seekers: How Local Has Changed the Game (Gregg Stewart, Clickz)
Local Search “Pros” Breaking the Hippocratic Oath (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Local SEO Tips from Darren Shaw of Whitespark (Eric Covino, SEO Book)
Essential Local Search Resources (Bryan Phelps, Whitespark)
Invisible Businesses In Google’s Local Search – The Problem No One Sees (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
The SMB Guide To Changing Business Names & SEO (Andrew Shotland, Search Engine Land)
The Long Tail of Local Search (Damian Rollison, Street Fight)
Deep Data and the Semantics of Local (Damian Rollison, Street Fight)
Who should care about Geo-Rankings and why? (Matt Roberts, Koozai)
How Can Local Search Better Serve Service-Oriented Businesses? (Damian Rollison, Street Fight)
Local Search Insights: What Are Consumers in Your Local Area Searching For? (Miranda Miller, Search Engine Watch)
50 Local SEO Lessons from 50 Clients (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
How Long Does Local-Search Visibility Take? (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Relocation, Relocation, Relocation – A “New” Local Ranking Tactic? (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
The Rudiments Of Local SEO (Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo Blog)
Memo to Google: Solve the Local Data Problem With Local Data (Damian Rollison, Street Fight)
Google Local: Train Wreck at the Junction (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
What Matt Cutts Says about Local Search (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
The Local Search Ecosystem in Canada (David Mihm, Own Blog)
Laying the Groundwork for a Local SEO Campaign (Eric Covino, SEO Book)
Local SEO as a Gateway Service (Eric Covino, SEO Book)
2013′s Top Local Search Ranking Factor: Honesty (Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo Blog)
Local Search Dream Team – Tips, Tools & Predictions (Bryan Phelps, SEO.com)
The Venice Shift from Local Pack to Blended Results (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
The Zen Of Local SEO (Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo Blog)
Insiders Guide To Selecting The Right Local SEO Tools (Myles Anderson, Search Engine Land)
Local SEO “Substitutions” (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Matchmaking Advice for Local SEOs and Business Owners (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
How Google May Identify Implicitly Local Queries (Bill Slawski, SEO by the Sea)
How Business Names Might be Used by Google in Local Search Ranking Signals (Bill Slawski, SEO by the Sea)
Understand and Rock the Google Venice Update (Mike Ramsey, SEOmoz)
Local SEO: How Geotargeting Keywords Brought 333% More Revenue (Adam Sutton, Marketing Sherpa)
The Local Search Plus Box (Nyagoslav Zhekov, Search Engine People)
Site audit: How can a local limousine service get found in dozens of cities? How can it stand out in the crowd? (Kathy Long, Own Blog)
The Hideous Site: An Allegory For Oddities In Local Search Results (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
The Anatomy of an Optimal Local Landing Page (Mike Ramsey, Nifty Marketing)
The Ugly State of Google SERPs: Rich Snippet Abuse (Mike Wilton, Search News Central)
How to Create Local Content for Multiple Cities (Matt McGee, Small Business SEM)
5 Local Blogging Ideas to Supercharge Your Local Marketing (Jessy Troy, Search Engine People)
13 Semantic Markup Tips For 2013: A Local SEO Checklist (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
Can Blogging Be Your Secret Weapon For Local SEO? (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
Using the Home Page to Improve Local Search Rankings (Chris Smith, Web Marketing Today)
Why Local Blogging Works (Matt McGee, Small Business SEM)
What Makes for a Good Author Photo in the Local Results? (Part 1) (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
What Makes for a Good Author Photo in the Local Results? (Part 2) (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
How to Use Driving Directions in Local Search SEO for Google Places (Ted Ives, Coconut Headphones)
Are Check-Ins A Local Ranking Factor? (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
5 Local Linkbuilding Ideas For The Post-Penguin/Panda Era (Andrew Shotland, Search Engine Land)
Culture Building: 8 Local Link Building Tactics Beyond Business Listings (Scott Dodge, Whitespark)
The Complete Guide to Link Building with Local Events (Kane Jamison, SEOmoz)
Link Building for Local Search (Julie Joyce, Search Engine Watch)
The PlaceRank Secret Behind Google’s Local Search Rankings (Chris Smith, Web Marketing Today)
5 Link Building Tactics to Improve Your Local Ranking (Matt Green, SEOmoz)
SEO: 7 Ways To Optimize For Local Rankings Via Images (Chris Smith, Web Marketing Today)
Google Places and Google+ Local
A Brief History of Google Places (David Mihm, Own Blog)
Best Google Places Troubleshooting Posts (2011 – Early 2012) (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Interview With Google Places Help Forum Top Contributors: Blumenthal And Zhekov (Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo Blog)
How to Pimp Your Google Places Listing (Phil Rozek, Whitespark Blog)
My Illustrated Plea To The Google Places Help Forum Team (Miriam Ellis, SEO Igloo Blog)
13 Best-Practices for Picking Google Places Business Categories (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Why You May Need To Hide Your Google Places Address ASAP (Miriam Ellis, SEOmoz)
The Face of Google Places (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
5 Things You Should Not Do on Google Places (Nyagoslav Zhekov, Search Engine People)
The Google Places Purgatory and How to Get Out of It (Matthew Hunt, Small Business Online Coach)
Milestones in a Google Places Campaign That’s Working (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
12-Week Action Plan for Google Places Visibility (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
The Worst Kept “Secret” in Local Search: My Thoughts on the Impending Plus-Places Merge (David Mihm, Own Blog)
Google Places Description and More Details Section – Some News and Pro Opinions from the Field (Linda Buquet, Catalyst eMarketing)
Rankings on Google+ Local: Some Observations (David Mihm, Own Blog)
Google + Local: Q’s and some A’s (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Google+ Local – What Wasn’t in the Announcement Was More Important Than What Was (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Helping Or Hurting: The Debate Over Google+ Local (Jordan Kasteler, Search Engine Land)
Overcoming New Google Places Duplicate Listing Problems for Dentists, Doctors, Attorneys (Linda Buquet, Catalyst eMarketing)
Syncing Your Google Plus and +Local Pages: Plusses and Minuses (David Mihm, Own Blog)
The Suite Life of Google Plus Local Address Issues (Joseph Henson, Search Influence)
Why You May Need To Hide Your Google Places Address ASAP (Miriam Ellis, SEOmoz)
Google Tackles Geographic (Map) Spam for Businesses (Bill Slawski, SEO by the Sea)
Google Places Troubleshooting: Best Practice for Dealing with a Merged Listing (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Many Google Places Searches Are Showing an Increased Radius For Search Results (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Is Google’s New Requirement to Hide a Home Business Appropriate? (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Google Places Pages Are No More – But What has Changed? (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
What Should Your Business Listing Categories Be in MapMaker (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
MapMaker Bots and What They Do (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
5 Google Places Tests I’d Love to See (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Local Citations and Citation Building
How to Squeeze Maximum Google Places Love from GetListed.org Scans (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
The Local Search Ecosystem in 2012 (David Mihm, Own Blog)
6 Tools SMBs Can Use to Update Digital Directory Listings (Stephanie Miles, Street Fight)
Citation Consistency: The Key to Local Search Rankings (Chris Suppa, Thunder SEO)
The Best Citation Sources by U.S. City (David Mihm & Darren Shaw, GetListed)
Best “Events” Sites for Local Search Citations, Links, and Visibility (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Local Citations: Another Signal Being Devalued by Google? (Mike Wilton, Search News Central)
Follow-up Study: The Best Citation Sources by Category (David Mihm & Darren Shaw, GetListed)
Can You Rank Well in Local Google without Revealing Your Street Address Anywhere? (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Will Citations Stop Being Effective for Local Optimization in the Future? (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
5 Ridiculously Sneaky Citations Most Small Business Never Think to Get! (Matthew Hunt, Small Business Online Coach)
Infographic: Citations – Time To Live (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
The Role of Directories in the New Local Ecosystem (Damian Rollison, Street Fight)
Local Search: Understanding ‘Citations’ to Improve Rankings (Chris Smith, Web Marketing Today)
My Thoughts on Where Yext Fits Into a Local Search Marketing Plan (David Mihm, Own Blog)
SBSM Mailbag: Does Google Normalize NAP Data? (Name, Address, Phone) (Matt McGee, Small Business SEM)
Catching Up with your Local Competitors & Automating Citation Discovery (John-Henry Scherck, Seer Interactive)
Yext & Local SEO (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Can a Citation Campaign Cause a Drop in Google Local Rankings? (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Local Citations / Business Directories for Specific Ethnicities and Identities (US) (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Reviews and Reputation Management for Local Search
Cold Hard Numbers on How Third-Party Reviews Help Google Places Rankings (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
21 Ways to Get Customer Reviews: the Ultimate List (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Local Consumer Review Survey 2012 – Part 2 (Myles Anderson, Search Engine Land)
What Should You Tell A Client When Google Loses Their Reviews – A 4 Part Plan (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Google Places Reviews – Critically Broken or Chronically Ignored? (Linda Buquet, Catalyst eMarketing)
Cheat Codes for Google+Local Customer Reviews (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Google on Reviews: Asking for them is OK, Soliciting them is BAD (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Asking for Reviews (Post Google Apocalypse) (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
FAQ about Local-Business Reviews (on Google+Local and Third-Party Sites) (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
9 Questions To Assess Your Review Management Stress Levels (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Have You Been The Target Of A Google Places Hit Job? (Andrew Shotland, Search Engine Land)
The Local Business Reviews Ecosystem (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
Non-Google Local Search (Bing, Yelp, Apple, Nokia, Yahoo)
Yellow Pages Sites Beat Google In Local Data Accuracy Test (Greg Sterling, Search Engine Land)
5 “Local” Search Engines You Should Be Targeting (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
Bing Ties Yellow Pages Sites For Most Accurate Local Data (Greg Sterling, Search Engine Land)
IYP Ranking Factors: Getting Visible in Local-Biz Directories (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
10 Basic Bing Local Optimization Tips (Chris Smith, Search Engine Land)
Unofficial Apple Maps Frequently Asked Questions by Businesses (Andrew Shotland, Apple Maps Marketing)
How to Find Local Business Customers in Twitter (Kathy Long, Own Blog)
Yelp Ranking Factors (Phil Rozek, Local Visibility System)
6 Things to Know About the Yelp-Bing Local Data Partnership (Matt McGee, Small Business SEM)
Local SEO Blocking and Tackling for Siri & Apple Maps (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
Is Google’s Australian Data Partner Spamming Places for $11 a Listing? (Mike Blumenthal, Own Blog)
The Rise Of Local Mobile Pay-Per-Call – 3 Tips For SMBs (Bill Dinan, Search Engine Land)
Why It’s Time For Local SMBs To Get On Board With Mobile (Stephanie Hobbs, Search Engine Land)
Interview with Dan Austin, a Google Maps Spam Fighter
Thoughts on Bizible’s Local Ranking Factors
Changes in Local Search – Implications on Local SEO
The Real Meaning of the Google Places Statuses
8 Ways to Recognize Fake Google Reviews
Local Citation Building Study Part 1: Niche-Relevant Local Citation Sources
Google Plus Local Rankings – What Changed and What Will Change
Local Citation Building Study Part 2: What the Pros Think
Local Citation Building Study Part 3: Plenitude of the Business Data
Google+ Local vs. Map Maker. Is Your Business Eligible?
Google with the Most Accurate Business Database in the UK
The Two Types of Local Search and How Local SEO Should Reflect Them
Local Citation Sources for Australia, Germany, and New Zealand
Why Yext Might Not Be the Best Fit for Your Business
Overcoming Google Local Listing Mergers with Additional Citations
How to Remove Duplicate Listings from Different Business Directories
Learning Local SEO from the Ones That Do It Best
How Google Might Be Determining If A Local Citation Is Spammy or Not