Montreal SEO - Local Search Engine Optimization

by Montreal's SEO specialist, Gabriel Goldenberg aka Bookworm-SEO.

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Thursday, July 05, 2007

Google Maps Ranking Factors

Google Maps' ranking factors and algorithm are being researched very thoroughly by local search expert Mike Blumenthal. Mike's got several posts about the algorithm's factors, including some noteworthy comparisons to Google's OneBox results.

For those of you who like more old-school type SEO, Mike Blumenthal has a great post concerning directories that Google cares about in regards to its Maps algorithm. The directory factor still carries weight apparently, though as in the general search algorithm, that weight has greatly decreased since its heyday.

Another very insightful post of his considers the difference between Google OneBox results and Google Maps results. It appears that the OneBox results are focused towards more established venues with enough reviews to have a star rating (the more stars the better, obviously).

The cutoff to have a star rating, from looking at Mike's data, seems to be roughly 10-15 reviews; any less and no stars will appear. This is likely to avoid skewing the data based on only a handful of reviews.

In any event, I encourage you all to subscribe to Mike's "Understanding Google Maps and Yahoo Local" RSS feed if you're interested in local search. His blog is a great resource both on optimizing for local search as well as for local search news.

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Related articles are archived in the topical categories Google, Google Maps, SEO research , SEO tips.

Here are a few:

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Labels: Google local, Google maps, SEO tips

Google Maps Ranking Factors posted by Bookworm SEO @ 2:16 AM

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5. SEO by the Sea by patent guru Bill Slawski

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Resources for SEO specialists:

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