My Favorite Recent Local SEO Posts from 2009

Here are my choices for 8 of the best local search engine optimization posts for 2009. What do you think? Do these local sem posts cut the mustard?

Framework for Local Search by David Mihmorandum

Local Search Ranking Factors 2009 by Andrew Shotland

Aleyda Solis has a fabulous post which is phenomenal in its coverage of local seo ranking factors and small business marketing.

How to Do Local SEO for Your Website in Five Minutes or So by Tad Chef on Andrew Shotland’s Local SEO blog has great tips for web video.

Matt McGee’s post about Launching a New Small Business Website on an affordable budget of $3000 is quite good. (I think he should have added some wise caveats about pay per click marketing and management, but otherwise a fantastic article on small business marketing and social media strategy) Lisa Barone has similar, but not as specific advise at Outspoken Media.

61 Pre-SEO Campaign Questions is pretty extensive (I think I would cull it down, but is helpful for those thinking about the pros and cons of outsourcing SEO work)

This post by Bill Slawski at SEO by the Sea about small business marketing is entertaining as he wraps it around his passion for blues music.

I would also check out Matt McGee’s favorite search engine optimization blog posts of April 2009, which includes Blumentals explanation of tracking results for local SEO campaigns with Google analytics.

As an Oldie but Goodie Bonus: My earlier comprehensive post aboutlocal seo tips and tactics is quite extensive and a virtual checklist of web citations to pursue.
Do you have a favorite local SEO, big brand SEO, or social media optimization post from 2009?

If you would like to contact Creative Fusion Media, contact us at (615) 974-9662 or via email.

Event Coverage is the New Black | DC Tech Events.com Covers Washington DC Social Media

DC Tech Events and the Washington DC Social Media Scene:

A friend of mine Ross Karchner built DC Tech Events up over the last 18 to 24 months and aggregated all the tech event related information for the greater Virginia (I think he may just cover Arlington, VA and Alexandria, VA on occassion) and Washington DC area.

I think Ross provided a real service to people in the Washington DC social media, start up, and web design community. It also made his website a real hub in the Washington technology and startup networking scene. Here are the visitor analytics for DC Tech Events on Compete, which doesn’t include all the info people read in their RSS reader. Ross has even developed another resource to supplement and enhance DC Tech Events by creating a calendar on Google.

I think the only way he could have made this better is to provide a stream of photos from tech events or by asking people to tag their photos with “DCTechevent”. Congrats to Ross on putting together a great website thats a real resource to the Washington DC community. I see it playing the same role in Washington DC that the Digital Nashville events board does locally here in Nashville. (although they also have DC Technology)

What DC Tech Events Means To You and Your Social Media Strategy:

How can your company cover networking events and seminars, perhaps including virtual events on your company blog? Why not launch a small independent blog to experiment for 3 to 6 months to see if it gets traction?

FYI: Black as in fashion, not as in Black Hat.

SEO for Attorneys, Law Firms, and Lawyers | Attorney and Lawyer SEO

SEO for Attorneys, Law Firms, and Lawyer | Attorney, Lawyer, and Law Firm SEO and Marketing

At Creative Fusion we provide search engine optimization for lawyers.

For starters, what is search engine optimization?
Well search engine optimization is simply the strategic creation of content to help websites increase or rather optimize their search engine rankings.

What can search engine optimization do for my law firm?
Search engine optimization can massively increase the number of customers you have visiting your website and have calling for your legal services.

Some reflective questions for strategic legal marketing:

• Where do you practice?

• What types of law do you practice?

• Who are you partners?

• What types of legal issues are you passionate about?

• Do you have a law blog or BLAWG?

Choosing the right SEO for Marketing Your Law Firm
Why should you work with me for marketing your law firm? Well, I have experience working with other law firms with their search engine optimization and marketing efforts. I understand the language of lawyers. I understand legalese and most legal jargon. I’ve spent more time on Lexis-Nexis reading legal argument on critical legal issues from the Violence Against Women Act and Title 7 employment law to the International legal nuances of the International Criminal Court and the Chemical Test Ban Treaty. I can translate the language of Google into a language you can understand and easily leverage in your business practice.

Affordable Web Marketing and SEO for Lawyers and Attorneys:
Why don’t you give us a call at (615) 974-9662 and see what we can do for you.

Attorney and Legal Resources

• National Association for Legal Career Professionals
• American Bar Association

Search Engine Optimization for Local Business

Search Engine Roundtable has a great article:

Tracking manual link building efforts – use a unique word while conducting manual link building and track progress through engines.

- Google local ranking tips – in order of importance
1. Registration with Google Local
2. Perceived closeness to center of city
3. Number of local reviews
4. “Local” link popularity
5. Local phone number
6. Participation in the online menu services – Zagat, menupix, menupages, allmenus
7. Quality of local reviews
8. city name inclusion in anchor text
9. Local non-Google directory listings. Gayot, Zagat, citysearch, lilaguide, superpages, Yelp
10. Keyword in the business name
11. Domain authority
12. Address inclusion on webpages

Sugar Rae’s SEO for small business guidelines are fantastic as well. You might also check out 24 places to list your small business.

Creative Fusion Media provides social media consulting services and ethical and affordable search engine optimization solutions to innovative companies and forward thinking non-profits. Nathan Ketsdever is the chief internet marketing and online pr strategist at Creative Fusion, which is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Link building for Local Search Engine Optimization

Local Small Business Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Strategy:

One of the great advantages of search engine optimization for small business is that it allows local niche businesses to market to their target audience very easily and at a low cost. In addition, they get to market to them at a time when they are searching for product information, reviews, or perhaps someone to buy from. SEOmoz has a great explanation of linkbuilding for local seo. Here is a list of 16 questions to ask yourself or your client that help shape your online strategy:

Professional

What regulatory bodies monitor your industry?

What business groups do you belong to?

Who refers business to you?

Who do you refer business to?

Do you know your regular clients or customers?

Who provides complementary services to you?

Who are the key manufacturers that you deal with?

Who are your key suppliers?

Do you know any contemporaries that you don’t compete with because they are in a different geographical location?

Personal

Do any of your relatives and friends run businesses?

What professional groups do you belong to?

What local businesses do you have more than casual acquaintances with?

Are there any websites that you visit frequently as a contributor?

Are there any hobbies or activities that you excel in or are known for?

Do you belong to any community projects or do any charity work?

Do you have a web profile anywhere?

Nathan Ketsdever is a Nashville New Media Marketing and Business Blog Consultant