Interesting Google Places and Local Search Articles (22-29 May)

I proceed gathering all the interesting articles from the past week, related to local search, Google Places and the social-local. You can see the previous editions here:

Articles 15 – 21 May
Articles 7 – 14 May
Articles 1 – 7 May
Articles 23 – 30 April

I’d say the most interesting even of the past week was the discovery that the businesses which used rich snippets for their testimonials are now rewarded, as they get reviews on their Place pages directly from their own websites. Furthermore, a new feature of Google Places was discovered (by me) – “Featured review”. I wrote 2 articles on what it is and how it could be used. Linda Buquet also picked the topic and wrote a 2-piece post on the same feature. There were also numerous great articles on Yelp and Google Places reviews.

Google Places and Local SEO:

hReview Testimonials from SMB Sites Starting to Show in Places
Using hReview on Your Website
Google: 40% of Mobile Searches Local
Yelp’s Community Strategy and Google
How Yelp Crushed Citysearch & Yahoo Local … & Why Google Is Stealing Yelp’s Playbook
Study: Yelp has More Productive, Less Extreme Reviewers
The Growth of Reviews In Google Places (aka Hotpot)
Check-ins and rating places get easier with Google Maps 5.5 for Android
Google Places Mobile: Is a Broad Rollout of Check-In Offers Imminent?
10 Unorthodox Ideas For Local Citations & Links
Locksmith Spam Listing Issue
Google Places Big New FEATURED Reviews – Make that Place Page Stand Out from the Pack
Google Places BIG New FEATURED Reviews – How To – Part 2
Online Reputation Management: 10 Fighting Tips!

Social-Local for SMBs:

Have Deals ‘Jumped the Shark’? Unlikely
Survey: 44% Buy Daily Deals at Least Monthly
14% Of Groupon/LivingSocial Subscribers Respond To Push Notifications
Location-Based Marketing: The Convergence of Social and Mobile
For Small-Business Marketers, Are Fewer Channels Better?
Everyone Should Hire ‘Social Media Experts’
Friend Recommendations Drive Local Business Visits
Discover more places you’ll like based on people who’re like you

Have a nice weekend reading!