Richard’s Blog

30-second summary: The need to become a public persona in order to be a successful business owner is overratedContrary to popular belief, it is possible to create an anonymous digital entity while using a majority of efficient marketing strategiesThe problem arises when you already have your personal data published and want to delete it –Continue reading "How to safeguard your privacy while building your digital business"

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential tool for local businesses and the marketers working with them. SEO is key to establishing and boosting the online presence of a business, which will naturally lead to greater interest and potentially more sales, too.The simple truth is, if you want your business to be discovered byContinue reading "New Academy Course: A Beginner’s Guide to Local SEO"

We recently sponsored and attended the 2022 Women in Tech SEO Fest, a full-day conference with speakers from all corners of the SEO industry. The session covered four important topics: analyze, advance, innovate, and empower. Every session gave attendees a huge amount of information and inspiration to support their work in SEO. Not to mentionContinue reading "How We Can Support Women in SEO: Advice for Women, from Women"

Ask any local SEO or marketer what their biggest challenge is, and the chances are they’re going to say it’s a ‘lack of time’.From ranking changes and review scores to Google My Business performance and citation quality, there are just so many metrics to keep on top of.That’s time-consuming enough for a single location, butContinue reading "Introducing Locations Overview: Your New Homepage for Monitoring Local SEO Performance"

How often have you visited a restaurant without checking the reviews first?Given that the food industry is so saturated, you can’t expect enough people to show up to your restaurant if you’re not adequately visible online.There are many ways to enhance your restaurant’s discoverability, from having a responsive and appealing website to reviews and socialContinue reading "Restaurant SEO: Attract More Customers with Better Search Visibility"

Many local businesses have noticed huge fluctuations in their local search rankings over the last few weeks, with Google now confirming an important update to the local algorithm. Rolling out between November 30th and December 8th, this update has been named ‘Vicinity’ by Sterling Sky. This is the largest change to the local algorithm since PossumContinue reading "Google Confirms Biggest Local Search Algorithm Update in Five Years"

Google has been testing a new layout for the Local Pack interface over the last few months, and has now announced that the change will be permanent. The Local Pack is a prominent section of the local search results. It features the top three businesses for a local query, as well as a map pinpointing theContinue reading "Google Confirms Local Pack Redesign"

As some of you may have noticed over the last few months, BrightLocal has undergone some visual upgrades (including the color scheme update that went live in our toolset today). These surface changes are more than just about looking good—they are the result of a year-long project looking into how we could improve our brandContinue reading "Building the BrightLocal Brand: The Color Scheme Update"

This September, iPhone users around the world were treated to the arrival of iOS 15.This much-anticipated update delivered on a number of promises from Apple, such as:Security enhancementsBug fixesChanges to the interfaceNew features and functionsImprovements to native appsWhen it comes to app improvements, Apple Maps users have not been left behind by iOS 15. ThereContinue reading "Apple Maps iOS 15 Update: What Should Local Marketers Be Paying Attention To?"

This September, iPhone users around the world were treated to the arrival of iOS 15.This much-anticipated update delivered on a number of promises from Apple, such as:Security enhancementsBug fixesChanges to the interfaceNew features and functionsImprovements to native appsWhen it comes to app improvements, Apple Maps users have not been left behind by iOS 15. ThereContinue reading "Apple Maps iOS 15 Update: What Should Local Marketers Be Paying Attention To?"