Local SearchEngine OptimizationGoogle Places and Microformats

Google Places

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Google Places Reviews

• insiderpages.com• citysearch.com• local.yahoo.com• yelp.com• hotelguides.com• hotelscombined.com• travelocity.com• orbitz.com

• zagat.com• hotels.com• hotelguide.net• priceline.com•mytravelguide.com• apartmentratings.com•milwaukee.citysearch.com

Google Places Review Aggregation

Microformats

Microformats

Microformats are:

• a way of thinking about data

• design principles for formats

• adapted to current behaviors and usage patterns

• highly correlated with semantic XHTML

• open data format standards that individuals and organizations employ for

better-structured blogging and web content publishing

Microformats are not:

• a new language

• infinitely extensible and open-ended

• an attempt to get everyone to change their behavior and rewrite their tools

• a panacea for all taxonomies, ontologies, and other such abstractions

• controlled by any individual or organization

Reference: http://microformats.org/wiki/microformats

Microformats - hCard

hCard: • an open format for representing people, companies, organizations, and places

• one of several open microformats standards suitable for embedding in websites

Sample Code:

<div class="vcard">

<a class="fn org url" href="http://www.commerce.net/">CommerceNet</a>

<div class="adr">

<span class="type">Work</span>:

<div class="street-address">169 University Avenue</div>

<span class="locality">Palo Alto</span>,

<abbr class="region" title="California">CA</abbr>&nbsp;&nbsp;

<span class="postal-code">94301</span>

<div class="country-name">USA</div>

</div>

<div class="tel">

<span class="type">Work</span> +1-650-289-4040

</div>

<div class="tel">

<span class="type">Fax</span> +1-650-289-4041

</div>

<div>Email:

<span class="email">info@commerce.net</span>

</div>

</div>

Microformats - Rich Snippets

Rich Snippets for Local Search:

• improve the presentation of your pages in search results

• help users find your website when it references a local place

• describe a business or organization mentioned on your page

• recognize references to specific places

• helps Google “surface” your site in local search results

Reference: http://maps.google.com/help/maps/richsnippetslocal/