The Seattle-Search.com Blog

The Google Local Business Center has just added four new features for business owners who want to maintain a Google Local Business listing.

You can now:

* Add photos to your Google Maps listing (within the guidelines)
* Add custom attributes to your business listings
* Correct and adjust your Google map marker location, so if it is slightly off, you can move it to the right spot
* View statistics on how many people viewed and clicked on your local business listings

New custom attribute choices include information on price, specialty, free estimate provided, and areas served by default and you can also add your own, such as In Business Since.  The new photo options allows you present an image alongside your marker location on the map.

When Marchex acquired Openlist in May of 2006, it seemed like an ideal pairing that would give OpenList’s local guides and aggregated content a range of network resources and properties to work with. The combination of local and vertical makes for a great lead platform for advertisers (e.g., NY Hotels, SF Restaurants, etc.).

The result of the partnership has just debuted. ustling hotel and restaurant categories featuring summary reviews have been lanched across the Marchex network.

FrenchRestaurants.com on the Marchex network has been trasnformed with picks like L’orangerie (see the Open View summary down the page).

Prior to Open List integration, the Marchex URL network used to simply offer contextually relevant ads parked at a domain. But Open List search and content (plus maps) have turned them into real sites, which improves their monetization capability as well.

Search marketers in Portland are blazing a new trail in the search world! A special interest group known as the Search Engine Marketing Professionals of Portland (SEMpdx) has been born. The Search SIG has a mission to inform and educate area businesses on the benefits of SEM to bottom line revenue.

Member companies will meet regularly to discuss search engine marketing issues, trends and host educational events and programs. Will Seattle be next?

Ask.com’s search engine is sharpening its focus on local results in an attempt to make a bigger splash on the World Wide Web.The long-overshadowed company is hoping to finally outshine much-larger rivals Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. with a new service meant to become a one-stop destination for information about neighborhood events, movies, restaurants and other businesses. The service, dubbed “AskCity,” is scheduled to debut Monday. Read the rest of this entry »

As the Kelsey Group’s Interactive Local Media Conference kicked off today in Philadelphia, InfoSpace announced the availability of a 60-day free trial of their enhanced mobile local search product InfoSpace Find It! for mobile customers with select handsets.

The new InfoSpace Find It! combines eyes-free spoken directions and simple-to-use GPS functionality with the convenience of local search to quickly and easily locate the nearest businesses, people and events.

Using just a few clicks, InfoSpace Find It! can automatically pinpoint a user’s location and identify nearby movie theaters, choose a film, pick a show time, find a nearby ATM or restaurant and get directions—all via a mobile phone.

As a premium Java (J2ME) application, InfoSpace Find It! distills millions of listings into six categories tailored to the on-the-go user – Dine Out, Go Out, Shop, Travel, Health and Services. This mobile version also offers the same local search power and relevancy as the online product available, at www.infospacefindit.com. With this convergence from mobile to Web, InfoSpace Find It! users now have greater access to deeper listings and more information whether they’re online or on the go.