Local U Advanced March 5th, 2016 - in Historic Williamsburg, VA - Limited to 80 Attendees

Time Topic Presenters 8:00 - 8:30 Registration & Check-in 8:30 - 8:40 Kickoff and Conference Introduction Aaron Weiche
GetFiveStars A few very brief housekeeping items before we dive headfirst into a full day of Local Search presentations and discussions! LOCAL SEARCH FUNDAMENTALS 8:40 - 9:10 Local Search in 2016 and Beyond David Mihm
Moz Local Grounded in the Local Search Ranking Factors survey, David shares his process for analyzing a business's local digital presence -- with an eye towards those factors that he thinks will portend long-term success in the search results of the future. 9:10 - 9:55 Inspired Local Linkbuilding Tactics Mary Bowling
Ignitor Digital

Mike Ramsey
Nifty Marketing

Will Scott
Search Influence

Mike Blumenthal
GetFiveStars In today's algorithmic world, links still seem to carry the day, particularly in competitive markets. But how do you build locally-relevant links that will build value for your business beyond just a (con)temporary bump in rankings? Four Local U faculty members share the top long-term local linkbuilding tactics they've seen success with in this rapid-fire session. 9:55 - 10:20 Reviews In Your Rearview Mirror Aaron Weiche
GetFiveStars A look at customer feedback, online reviews and how to maximize the aquisition and power of customer generated content. 10:20 - 10:35 BREAK DEEP TACTICAL DIVES 10:35 - 11:00 Troubleshooting Google My Business Problems Joy Hawkins
Imprezzio Marketing Joy will go over the steps she takes to troubleshoot GMB issues along with what you can do to fix them. She’ll cover things like how to discover & report duplicate listings, how to fix address issues via Google MapMaker, and which fields in the Google My Business dashboard might impact your ranking.
11:00 - 11:30 Inside the Professor's Laboratory: Relevance, Category & The One Box Mike Blumenthal
GetFiveStars Google uses a number of signals to determine relevance, including reviews. Mike shares his research on how reviews can impact the Local One Box, and which results show up for local searches. 11:30 - 12:00 Competing And Winning in A Pay-to-Play World Will Scott
Search Influence It's been said time and again that there's no such thing as a free lunch. We'll dive deep into how to effectively take advantage of paid platforms for social engagement, content disovery and lead-generation for local businesses. Lines will be crossed, blurred and erased as we look at how to get your content where it belongs: in the hands of ready buyers who need it. 12:00 - 1:00 LUNCH: BIRDS OF A FEATHER ROUNDTABLES We'll have lunch together and you'll have the ability to self-select among tables hosted by Local U faculty to help you troubleshoot and get advice on your most pressing local search issues. THE FUTURE OF LOCAL MARKETING 1:00 - 1:30 Apps On Tap Joel Headley
Google

Aaron Weiche
GetFiveStars The gap between mobile search and mobile apps continues to close, as Google has stated "sometimes the best answer is on a website, and sometimes it's in an app." This session will look at the possible future of search on mobile as knowledge cards, deep linking within apps, and Google Now evolve. 1:30 - 2:00 Local SEO Different - Understanding Apple's Growing Search Engine Andrew Shotland
Apple Maps Marketing Lots of people are under the impression that Apple Maps suck. What they don't realize is that more than 60 million people/month in the U.S. use them regularly to find local services. Now Apple has launched its own search engine on iOS9. This session will explore what this means for local businesses and how you can take advantage of this new opportunity to Local SEO different.
2:00 - 2:20 Real and Remarkable Customer Engagement David Mihm
Moz Local In a world of increasingly personalized search results, engagement metrics are likely to play a key role in cross-platform visibility, not to mention conversion. David gets your creative (and tactical) juices flowing with some of his favorite examples of customer engagement from Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Email. 2:20 - 2:45 Reporting and KPI's That Keep People Happy Mike Ramsey
Nifty Marketing As an employee or contractor you provide a service, and the product of that service is the report you generate. Mike will show you what to do to keep clients and bosses happy and focused on the right things. 2:45 - 3:00 BREAK INTIMATE BREAKOUTS Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 GMB Problem Solving Mary Bowling + Joy Hawkins Google Analytics & Attribution Ed Reese Optimizing Your Agency Processes
Mike Ramsey GMB Problem Solving Mary Bowling + Joy Hawkins Google Analytics & Attribution Ed Reese Killer Paid Local Campaigns
Will Scott GMB Problem Solving Mary Bowling + Joy Hawkins Google Analytics & Attribution Ed Reese Navigation & Geo- Issue Resolution
Mike Blumenthal 4:15 - 4:30 SHARING INSIGHTS We'll wind down the day with two highly interactive and informal sessions. 4:30 - 5:00 Enterprise Challenges and Solutions

Florent Abaziou
Marriott
Harris Schachter, Capital One

Andrew Shotland, Local SEO Guide

Mary Bowling
Ignitor Digital

Successfully marketing dozens, hundreds or thousands of locations online is really tough. Join us for a frank discussion with insiders at national brands on how they're working to meet the challenges of enterprise local search. Ask your own questions about wins and failures, tools and tactics and the methods they've uncovered for gaining buy in and cooperation within their organizations. 5:00 - 5:30 Open Q&A / Live Site Clinics All Speakers Our speakers from the entire day summarize the key points of their presentations and leave you with their step-by-step process for a holistic local search campaign. This time slot will also feature tons of Q&A.