Structured Business Data

What are some options for local search?

[ortelius]

I just read Justin Sanger's two articles on the important role of structured business data and local search. I agree with much of what he says. What are some options today in the local space? Certainly Yahoo Local and Google Local are up and running, and MSN Local just arrived. These are free to the business owner, to list their data, often extensive data. But what are the other options? The last time I used Verizon Super Pages (about 6 months ago) the interface was terrible. There was a fee to pay. And I had a hard time seeing any results. What do people recommend, what additional engines, and what criticisms do they have of these local search properties?
Ortelius

[Chicago]

Ok...... I guess I will jump in.

>>But what are the other options?

There are the majors, as you are explaining, then there are dozens of minor sources to propogate business data.

One should begin to think about the propogation of business information as they currently do link development, wherein rich text and context is best practice.

Find Geo based, Vertical based, and Geo-Vertical based business aggregation authorities.

Cover all local search providers. Study Google Local's Reference Sites within local result sets. Also look at result sets for your serps (which iyp category ranks/ which authority list is ranked high). Look for those who rank and the backlinks of those who rank. Identify the Geo-business reference, Vertical-business reference, and Geo-Vertical reference sources that may display your business data.

Look at the social networking utilities. What information to they have on your business? Cover all the IYPs. All data providers. All directory sources. And SERP authorities.

Business information submission can come in different forms, from flat contact info to rich business descriptions. Utilize it all, inexpensively.

[bakedjake]

Justin Sanger

Don't listen to that guy! ;-)

[edited by: bakedjake at 7:53 pm (utc) on July 25, 2005]

[ortelius]

Chicago:

Thanks for the leads. A lot of good ideas there.

Ort.