My personal feeling is that it has lost shelf space to things like ‘social marketing,’ which are not nearly as immediate and are much more expensive. So how do we approach local search?

1. Get a comprehensive feed for your brand listing all properties that includes the following information:
   • Physical Address
   • Phone Number
   • Official Property Name
   • Property Page URL
   • Property ID
   • Amenities (if available)
   • Rate Per Night (if available)
2. Submit to your feed to the engines at least once a week, and definitely submit it immediately if there are major changes in the property list. Also be sure to contact your engine rep to see if there is any way they can help accelerate changes and fixes.
3. Utilize a third party aggregator to disseminate your feed throughout other web properties. There are hundreds of outlets for local listings to be shown aside from just the big 3 search engines. There are companies out there who will submit your feed in any and all formats those outlets require for a nominal fee and even report back on traffic and other metrics. Well worth the investment.
4. Monitor on an ongoing monthly basis.

Now all of the above sounds complex, but it’s really not. The result? A much more comprehensive approach to local search that doesn’t break the bank and allows for much greater coverage across many smaller local outlets.