For those of you who are new SBSM readers & subscribers, here’s a list of noteworthy posts you probably missed from one year ago. I try to put together a post like this each month to introduce new readers to old content that might be worth reading. Locksmith Spam on Bing? You Bet How I’d Launch a New Small…

If you’re reading this while at the GetListed Local University seminar, a big welcome to you. Thanks for visiting SmallBusinessSEM.com. In my presentation, I mention a couple dozen web sites, articles, and other links that you may not have had time to jot down while I was speaking. If that’s the case, here are all the references I made…

This is pretty cool, not to mention very clever. Hopefully I’ll explain it all well enough that it makes sense. Ready? 360SEE is an art/furniture gallery in Chicago. The owner’s dog, Homer, hangs out in the front window, plainly visible to passersby walking outside. Homer is little and pretty cute, and people tend to stop and shoot a picture…

There are countless ways for a small business to use Twitter, and the trick is usually figuring which way works best for your small business and your intended audience. What works for Company A might not be so good for Company B, and vice versa. There aren’t many rules, but there are guidelines. And pretty high on my list…

GetListed Local University hits Minneapolis/St. Paul next week, and there’s still time to register with the early-bird discount. More on that below. First, a little background on GLU Twin-Cities. The workshop happens next Thursday, May 13th in Edina, MN, with two identical half-day seminars planned to teach small businesses how to increase visibility and do better business via local…

Here’s my roundup of the best search/marketing posts I found and read during April. If you’re new to this blog, this is a monthly feature that began way back in 2007. You can find earlier “Best Of”s for each month in the Link Roundups category archive. I never include my own posts in these end-of-month recaps. Local Search Mike…

Internet Retailer has an interesting article that offers a case study of sorts about how online retailer evogear.com convinced customers to write more reviews. While the article talks about product reviews, I think there are still some truths in it for small businesses who want more company/business reviews. As the article explains, evo’s problem was that a lot of…

For decades, small businesses have been naming themselves “A1 This” or “AAA That” because yellow pages and similar directories listed businesses alphabetically. They optimized their company name for the primary marketing vehicle of their time; they wanted to show up first in those listings. The online equivalent, to a large degree, is choosing domain names. And SBSM reader Laura…

The gang at Search and Social have launched what I think will be annual awards for the best blogs/sites in the online marketing industry. And I’m quite honored to be one of a handful of nominees in the Best Local Search Blog category. Frankly, if I were you, I’d vote for Mike Blumenthal’s blog — no one devotes more…

Google’s Local Business Center is undergoing a round of changes tonight, including a name change. Forget the “Local Business Center” name; it’s now called Google Places and can be accessed at google.com/places . (Actually, the old URLs you’ve used before will still work.) But that’s just the most basic of all the changes Google has just announced. Here’s a…