Local Search – 2008 Winner

Let’s skip the corny, canned jokes and the awkward moments at the podium and just open the envelope, shall we? Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 2008 SEMMY Award in the Local Search category is … drum-roll, please …

Anatomy & Optimization Of A Local Business Profile
Chris Silver Smith, Search Engine Land | 12/17/07

Congratulations to our winner! Here’s a choice bit from the winning post:

Rating values have become one of the most important factors for achieving rankings in various local search engines, so you shouldn’t ignore them. Ask your particularly pleased customers to rate your business online in each of the major directories and local search engines. Some rating services allow you to respond to specific complaints or negative statements—do so. If you suspect that a competitor has falsely stacked the deck against you, complain to the company hosting the reviews and request that they look into it.

Runners-Up

The top two runners-up in public voting were:

1. Local Search Interviews, Information, and Resources
   Michael Gray, Graywolf | 2/5/07
2. When Might Google Show Local Search Information in Web Search Results?
   Bill Slawski, SEO by the Sea | 8/12/07

The winner and runners-up are welcome to grab the appropriate badge — we have a badge for both winners and runners-up.

How the Voting Ended

Here’s a look at how each finalist fared in the public voting:

Thanks to all who voted, and congrats again to the winner, runners-up, finalists, and all nominees. We look forward to reading your acceptance speech soon!