The fact that Google is integrating the Local results with organic search results has thrown a wrench in many search marketer’s plans. But this is probably a good move by Google. The fact that they’re giving the local search results more prominence means that only websites / companies that truly operate in the region will have an easier time getting to the top of the search results. And because of this, search optimization professionals and business owners alike aren’t able to neglect the Local Optimization process any longer.
Local optimization is concerned with two types of optimization: local search engine traffic & local non-search engine traffic.
Local optimization is similar to SEO because it’s also unpaid – most of the time. That’s why it’s also called “Local SEO”. However, it’s usually distinguished from organic results because of different ranking factors compared to SEO.
Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local remain critical places for search visibility.
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