Search Whizzes Talk Local Seo Strategy: Adam Dorfman, Greg Gifford, Casey Meraz and Chris Silver Smith Live at #smx

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Do you have questions about local search optimization? The speakers of this SMX West 2016 panel titled "Local Search AMA: A Roundtable Q&A with Top Local Experts" have answers. Here is the range of savvy speakers: Greg Gifford, Director of Research and Social Media, DealerOn (@greggifford) Casey Meraz, Founder, Ethical SEO Consulting (@caseymeraz) Adam Dorfman, SVP – Products and Technology, SIM Partners (@phixed) Chris Silver Smith, Founder & CEO, Argent Media (@si1very) Local Search Experts Talk Local SEO at #SMX Search Engine Land and Marketing Land editor Matt McGee moderates. Scroll down for an expert answer to questions including: What works in local search and what doesn't today? Last month, Google stopped showing ads on the right side of the desktop SERP. What is the impact of such a change on your customers? What is the current balance between a focus on local listing optimization and traditional organic SEO to improve local rankings?

What are the factors that put you in the three-pack since it's such a tight space now? You want to rank in a certain town or city but you're not quite there. Are you completely unlucky? What recommendations do you have for listing a business on a new street? Is there a way to get rid of a Google listing for a closed business? There have been a number of changes over the past year – what works in local search and what doesn't today? Dorfman: When I think back to the last year, the biggest change I see is the signal of where you're looking and what you've been looking for in the past seems to be playing an increasingly important role. Citations fax list and organic SEO reviews and links are still very important, but a lot of that is overshadowed by where you search and businesses that are in the right place at the right time can have big payouts.

Gifford: Localization and personalization have changed dramatically – we really had to educate customers to stop following rankings. It's more important to focus on the metrics that show your success: organic traffic, impressions, etc. Focus on metrics like organic traffic that show how successful you are. – @greggifford Click to tweet Meraz: I focus a lot more on link building, building domain authority, etc. to move the needle to increase the exposure as much as possible. Smith: Google's moves towards identifying mobile as a ranking factor are very important. I also really appreciate the revelation in December that a Googler told us that accidentally validating that CTR can boost rankings – something I've suspected for a long time. The impression you make in search results is something you need to pay attention to. Pay attention to the structured data and photos that show up when people search for you. Something that affects search more than ever, like social activity. Improve your popularity in Google.