evans ink

Over on Greg Sterling’s blog, industry vet Marty Himmelstein provides a nicely articulated perspective on the implications of the lack of effective business content in Local Search.  Even more interesting is the comment conversation that the blog post triggers.  A worthwhile read, all the way through the comments.  The role and merits of SEO are challenged and defended by some of the more astute local SEO practitioners.

An excerpt of my comments are copied below, to hopefully whet your appetite.  Join the conversation on Greg’s site, it’s a quality debate.

…In particular, I think you capture the essence of why web search is struggling with relevance models for local content, and why user-based content forms the most practical proxy for link logic in Local.

I would add that, IMHO, the task of Local Search, particularly for service based businesses, is to winnow down to a short list. I believe it is fundamentally impractical to collect sufficient decision-making content to go from a short-list to a definitive selection. To me, this is where a new generation of conversational and contextual technologies kick in. The consumer wil invariably – as you point out – do their ultimate selection on a range of personal factors. Scheduling convenience and negotiated pricing may be capable of being automated, but not by “the masses” for a very long time. Consumers may also be aided by video tools, in assessing whether they want a specific service person into their house, but again, this is an exception not the rule.

The final mile of Local Search, where a short list converts into a selection/transaction remains one of the most interesting unsolved problems.

Finally, I’d add that one other dimension of local search – wherein consumers purchase patterns are driven by special offers – is another fascinating unsolved piece of the puzzle.  Google’s current lame foray into coupon aggregation and display is not even close to addressing the opportunity….