Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n While some of these adjustments were slow, gradual, and barely noticeable at the time, others were sudden and drastic, forcing businesses to rethink their basic SEO strategies and reevaluate how to optimize their online visibility.<\/p>\n Sometimes, the best way to prepare for the future is to look back at how far local search has come since its humble beginnings. Since business owners should always be on the lookout for changes in the SEO landscape, let\u2019s review how SEO has evolved in the past 10 years.<\/p>\n Local SEO gained prominence in 2009 when Google introduced Place Pages for Google Maps. In 2010, Google integrated local search results with organic search results, shaking up the entire local search industry. Around the same time, other search engines also began showing location search results within their maps.<\/p>\n There were additional warning signs that businesses needed to start taking local search more seriously – when Google moved from phone verification to postcard verification for business listings in 2010.<\/p>\n The way Google displays local search results has also evolved. For instance, Google switched from the local carousel to the local pack in 2014 (although the carousel is still used to display certain non-local results, like movie cast members). Today\u2019s local pack is even more compact than the original. Now, only three local businesses are displayed in Google\u2019s highly coveted local 3-pack, which displays the highest ranking Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) at the top of the search results page.<\/p>\n If we look back even further \u2013 to the days when AOL was the most prominent search engine on the market \u2013 we can compare Google\u2019s series of local search updates to AOL\u2019s failure to evolve with the times. In hindsight, it\u2019s clear to see that Google\u2019s willingness to innovate is the key to its continued success.<\/p>\n The desire to write content that customers want to read<\/a> contributed to the popularity of content marketing. Today, content marketing can be an integral aspect of a business\u2019 SEO strategy, especially in the context of creating high-quality content that increases brand awareness – which can improve a business\u2019 reputation, visibility, and bottom line.<\/p>\n Remember, in 2007 social media wasn\u2019t the widespread phenomenon it is today. Social media and search were considered completely unrelated and Google was not yet indexing content on Facebook or Twitter.<\/p>\n Now, local SEO is fully linked to social media. Search engines are paying attention to how brands interact with their fans online. A business\u2019 social profile is also a great place to ask for consumer reviews that can boost visibility, score extra backlinks by sharing quality content, and another place to list accurate NAP data (name, address, phone number).<\/p>\n When SEO was a new concept, link building was all about numbers. The more backlinks a business could score, the higher its website ranked in search results. Google didn\u2019t discriminate between high- and low-quality sources, which allowed unscrupulous marketers to get away with all kinds of black hat tactics that would never work today.<\/p>\n Modern link building is more concerned with quality than quantity. Collecting a smaller number of high-quality, relevant links will serve a business much better than a high number of links from irrelevant or untrustworthy websites.<\/p>\n Can you believe the first-generation iPhone was introduced\u00a010 years ago? In 2007, only early adopters were accessing the internet from their phones. A decade later and everyone and their grandmother turns to their trusty smartphone when they need to look something up.<\/p>\n Today, mobile searches outnumber desktop searches. Google is even transitioning to a new mobile-first index. Businesses need their websites to be mobile-friendly, quick to load, and optimized for local search (since many consumers search for nearby stores while on-the-go).<\/p>\n7 Ways Local SEO Has Evolved<\/h2>\n
1. Local Search Changed the Way Businesses Think About SEO<\/h3>\n
2. Google\u2019s Local Pack Shrunk (and Edged Out AOL as Search Engine of Choice)<\/h3>\n
3. Content Marketing Gained Popularity<\/h3>\n
4. Social Media Marketing Was Born<\/h3>\n
5. Standards for Link Building Got Higher<\/h3>\n
6. Mobile Changed How Local Shoppers Search<\/h3>\n
7. Machine Learning Made Local Search More Targeted<\/h3>\n
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