Who and what are the best resources for Local Search?

[Garrett Sussman]

Hi Everyone!

I'm working on a blog post for Tuesday about Local Search Resources. We all know that with the frequent changes to Google, Directories, and Online Reviews sites, that it's difficult to keep your finger on the pulse of Local Search.

Basic Fundamental Blog posts can become outdated in months. So my first question is:

What's the best 'ultimate' guide to Local SEO that's the most up to date?

I believe LocalSearchForum and the Google My Business Community are a couple of the best resources for immediate answers, but my second question:

If you need a quick answer to a Local SEO question, who would you reach out to on Twitter to find a solution? (Which Local Search Experts are the best at answering questions from random twitter followers?)

I really appreciate the help everyone! I'm hoping to create a great resource for folks new to local search. Looking forward to hearing where everyone goes when they need answers!

 

[Colan Nielsen]

There are so many great resources, but I will give you the first one that came to mind.

Linda is always first in my mind.

Then I would go with Joy. Not only is Joy on the cutting edge in terms of the research she does and the discoveries she makes, she is also one of the most active local SEO's in all the various communities, sharing knowledge all day long.

I also consider myself and the team at Powered By Search (the agency I work for), to be at the top of the pile as well, especially in terms of knowledge and accessibility. Myself, Matthew Hunt, Dev Basu, and Dat To, all work at PbS and have been living and breathing local for many years.

There are a ton more, and they know who they are. But these are the ones that I think of first.

 

[Garrett Sussman]

Thank you Colan! This is a great start. There are so many people on this forum that immediately came to mind, and Linda does a fantastic job keeping us all updated on new information and insights.

Joy is wonderful as well. I loved that Benjamin came to the Forum the other day and had a questions about Practices vs. Individual Practitioners for review sites, and Joy jumps in with her excellent post from the day before! She's always on point.

I just stumbled onto your resources page for the first time and what great content! If it's okay with you, I'd love to link to your Local SEO checklist landing page. Great resource.

My list is growing! Very interested to see who everyone else depends on.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

I just stumbled onto your resources page for the first time and what great content! If it's okay with you, I'd love to link to your Local SEO checklist landing page. Great resource.

Of course

 

[mborgelt]

Andrew Shotland goes to the top of my list. There are a lot of "by the bookers" but I feel like he shoots it straight and is more results oriented. When starting in local search, looking for resources to learn from can land you in the weeds quickly and you start worrying about minutiae that hardly matter and miss the big picture. Shotland and his team do a great job of making the main things plain and separating the wheat from the chaff.

I think this forum is also a great resource. I often find myself searching here for problems I come up with and more often I find myself having solutions to problems I've never solved just by staying up on the posts.

Great question I feel like this sort of round-up is necessary to keep the community strong!

 

[JoyHawkins]

My list would include Darren Shaw, Mike Blumenthal, Mike Ramsey, and Phil Rozek. They're generally who I annoy on Twitter by tagging them in questions if I don't know the answer.

Conrad Saam & Casey Meraz also have a ton of insight on anything lawyer-related. That piece Conrad wrote recently debunking the TLD article was amazing.

For organic SEO stuff, I love everything Marie Haynes comes out with and Jennifer Slegg's stuff is also great.

For news, I would go with Search Engine Land & Barry Swartz.

I just found out David Mihm has these little microblogs that he's doing that are also fantastic: Sign Up for My Email Newsletter and of course the Whitespark Local Pulse

I wouldn't leave out Google themselves. They are posting more on social media to keep people up-to-date on stuff. Here is their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/googlemybusiness/

 

[Garrett Sussman]

Thank you for the reply M!

I agree, Shortland's content is fantastic. Andrew and Dan do a fantastic job on LocalSEOguide. I love the experiments and evidence backed articles that they post. Always pertinent and useful info.

 

[Garrett Sussman]

Amazing list Joy, Thank you!

I didn't realize Google was so active on Facebook. What a great additional resource. You've turned me on to a few experts I was not familiar with. Marie and Jennifer are great! I like how Jennifer really gets into the technical nitty gritty.

I also love RustyBrick's (Barry) twitter account. He's always has those timely updates.

And fwiw, I may have mentioned you a few times in the post already, Joy.

Cheers.