Local search optimization is emerging as the competitive edge that separates the winners from the losers in the high-stakes game of automotive Internet marketing. Ranking high in Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Maps is becoming increasingly important. Recent statistics released by Google indicate that of the 20 billion searches conducted on a monthly basis, three billion contain geo-targeted terms – that’s 20% of all searches! This confirms that local search optimization should be a crucial part of any SEO campaign. From an optimization standpoint, local search ranking algorithms are quite different than traditional ranking algorithms. For instance, with Google’s PageRank algorithm off-page factors such as the quantity and quality of inbound links play a major role; however, with local search, this factor is not weighted so heavily. In this talk, local search optimization factors and strategies are discussed to make sure your dealership ranks high in Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and Bing Maps.

Outline: What action items will they take back to the dealerships?:
1. Discuss local search ranking factors for Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Maps
2. Go into detail regarding factors than negatively impact local search rankings
3. Go into detail regarding factors that improve local search rankings
4. Discuss a step-by-step strategy for dealerships that they can implement to improve their local search rankings

Pierre M. Fiorini is a managing partner co-founder, and director of software engineering at C&F Search Marketing. He has over 20 years’ experience in Internet related technologies such as SEO, PPC, social media, and computer networking. He has been a research faculty member at the University of Southern Maine and has over 40 journal and conference publications related to computer science and Internet marketing. Dr. Fiorini holds the Ph.D. in computer science & engineering from the University of Connecticut. He is also a member of the ACM, IEEE, and the AMA.