With the advent of the Local 10-pack in January 2008, as well as Google's recent ZIP code targeting innovation, I felt it was time to undertake a similar enterprise specific to Local Search. It seems like Local has been rumored to be "the next big thing" in Search as many times as Cubs fans have said "this is the year" for their team, but both of these recent innovations suggest 2008 finally could be the year where the prediction, at least for Local, comes true.
I invited 20 experts active in the Local Search Marketing community to participate in this study, with the goal of identifying the factors that would be most helpful for ranking well in the Google and Yahoo Local Search algorithms, as well as techniques to be avoided.
