Local Search is the Focus of the Latest Algorithm Changes

Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWire) -- 09/02/2014 --Google's latest significant update to its search algorithms went live in July of 2014, and many local businesses are seeing significant changes in their rankings. Though the change has been good for some sites, there are other companies that have been dismayed to find that they are no longer ranking well for their key terms of choice. Geotarget Local is ready to get to work on behalf of those who have been negatively impacted by the changes, or who want to seek to benefit from the update.

In the search engine optimization community, the latest changes are being referred to as the "Pigeon" update. While Google has not yet been as forthcoming about the nature of the changes as it had about some previous updates, they have said that they wanted to tie the generation of their local search results more closely together with the broader algorithms used by the site.

The results observed by individual companies has been mixed. According to Tim Walker, Geotarget Local's lead developer, "It's been clear for a long time that local seo is critical to the ability of small businesses to attract attention online. Google's focus on local search has made it a lot easier for community retail and service establishments to compete with national sites in their search rankings."

Walker's company believes that the latest algorithm changes could be a big opportunity for small businesses. He explains, "Every time Google issues a large update, it leaves some sites better off and others worse. More importantly, it creates a window of opportunity for sites to improve their performance. There will always be some people out there who are slow to react, and the ones who don't wait and start doing what they can to get the most out of the latest algorithm update can seize the advantage and attract a lot more traffic."

About Geotarget Local
Geotarget Local is a provider of search engine optimization services for companies of all sizes. They also offer free tools to perform SEO audits of sites so that anyone can get a sense of how well optimized their own content is. The company's SEO work emphasizes an organic approach that avoids doing anything purely for the sake of search engines; instead, they help you build a great site that works well for both the search companies and the visitors that companies are trying to attract.

Their auditing tool, as well as additional information about their services, is available through http://geotargetlocal.com