PubCon Interview
Vanessa Zamora of PubCon interviewed Brian Combs on optimization for Google Local last month in Las Vegas, NV.
WebProNews Interview
During PubCon in Las Vegas last month, Brian Combs was interviewed by WebProNews. They discussed the importance of one’s business being listed within Google Maps, and steps one needs to take to have that listing found by prospective customers.
Phone Numbers Missing from Google Local Listings
The blogosphere and twittersphere are abuzz this morning with discussion of missing phone numbers from the listings within Google Local.
Previously, there would have been phone numbers next to the Google Map listings.
There are many theories as to what has happened, including:
- They’re cleaning up the interface.
- It’s in anticipation of a new call-tracking offering from Google.
- Desire to push more traffic into clicks rather than calls.
- Bugs within the Google Local Business Center.
- Google has a lack of confidence in the accuracy of the phone numbers in their system.
A more nefarious idea comes to my mind. Take a look at a result from the paid local listings Google is testing in San Diego and San Francisco:
The paid listings have a phone number, and the free listings do not. Google wouldn’t be trying to bias the traffic to the paid listings, would they?
I think what bothers me the most is that I’ve already finished up my presentation for PubCon next week, and now I have to redo all the screenshots.
Update: Google has confirmed that it was a bug, and the phone numbers are back.
Brian Combs at PubCon Vegas 2009
Brian Combs, principal of ionadas local, will be speaking at PubCon Vegas again this year, with a pair of sessions on the first day, November 10, 2009:
Interactive Site Reviews: Focus on Organic
11:30am-12:45pm
Live critiques of attendee websites, with actionable advice on how to improve the sites’ search engine optimization.
How Do You Optimize For Universal and Personal Search?
2:55pm-4:10pm
Brian’s third time on a PubCon Universal and Personal Searc panel, he will be speaking on how the search engines blend local results with the traditional SERPs.
