As you may know, Google has had a major algorithm update for local search and some of you may have seen huge changes in your rankings.

We are not going into the details of the Pigeon update because there is plenty of information on the web already.

The purpose of this post is to let you know that we have taken the last two weeks to study the effects of the update and give you our recommendations on how to adapt your SEO campaigns accordingly.

Add a Local Buzz service to your existing SEO campaign.

Local buzz is a great solution to expanding your local presence in general using local directories and ensuring those local directories are approved/verified. Clients are then encouraged to ask customers to leave reviews on line for them.

A strong SEO presence via the website is suggested

Google is continuing to put the emphasis on the SEO aspects of your site i.e. content, link building/distribution, etc.

Add a PPC campaign

Pay Per Click will help to capture that traffic that was lost due to the local pack not being shown by Google, especially if you want to continue to rank for certain key phrases.

Google+ Business Page

Now, another big factor with local is ensuring that you have an active Google+ business page. Ensuring that the business page is well populated with content and the images, videos, etc. are of great quality is a must. Google categories are still a huge factor which is already considered in our services.

Local Area Code

We encourage our clients to use their local area code instead of a call tracking number outside of their area for local optimization.