Local search accounts for a large portion of online queries and is growing rapidly. Google Places is now the dominant player in local search results and has made several changes that impact how local business listings are ranked, including pushing organic results below local listings. The top factors that determine local search rankings are business location, relevance to the search query, and prominence as determined by citations, reviews, and mentions on third party sites.

1. Local Search Lisa Myers CEO, Verve Search

2. 1 in 5 search queries have local intent..

3. 97% of consumers use the web to shop locally

4. Local is the fastest growing trend in search...

5. 20% of all the Google search queries are related to Local Search

8. DA FOLD!!!

9. Clucking Bell it’s pushed the organic below the fold!!!

17. citations { the most important and long withstanding ranking factor in local }

18. Consistency Keep your business name, address, telephone number the same to increase trust Major Datacentres Some “mentions” are worth more from some sites than others Local Directories Source local directories and make sure you are listed there Citation Competitor Analysis Go to their Places page, underneath the reviews click the link “more from around the web” this outlines their existing citations. Citations

19. reviews { getting your customers on side }

21. tracking { it ain’t easy }

25. new features { get that pad out }

28. facebook “going” places.....

30. tools...

32. Top 10 UK Citation Sites http://www.localdatacompany.com/ http://www.marketlocation.com/ http://search.infoserve.com/index.asp http://www.qype.co.uk/ http://www.yell.com http://www.brownbook.net/ http://www.thomsonlocal.com/ http://www.touchlocal.com/ http://www.ufindus.com/ http://www.smilelocal.com/

34. @LisaDMyers Thank You! Email: [email_address] Web: www.vervesearch.com www.seo-chicks.com