Local U Advanced March 7-8, 2014

The top experts in Local Search under one roof with one goal... sharing everything.

Whether you run an agency that serves brick-and-mortar businesses, work in-house for a large brand or Internet Yellow Pages publisher, or are trying to find the hottest opportunity in the bloodiest of all bleeding edges in search marketing, you won’t want to miss Local U Advanced.

Friday evening is our opportunity to get to know each other. It'll be a casual, relaxed get-together with finger foods, beverages and all the local conversations that you can imagine!

On Saturday, the sessions will be action-packed, presented at an advanced level and feature ALL of the most up-to-date information about what’s working and what’s not in Local Search Engine Optimization.

At our afternoon roundtables, there will be plenty of knowledge sharing all-around – not just from the panelists but between the attendees as well. Join your Local Search peers in an intimate environment and take your business (or your clients’ businesses) to the next level.

Don’t miss this exclusive event. Local U Advanced will take place Saturday, March 8 at the Philadelphia - Valley Forge DoubleTree by Hilton just outside of Philadelphia. We are offering a special group rate of $129 for your hotel stay.

Hotel Reservations need to be made directly with the DoubleTree (1-800-TRY-VFPA / 1-800-879-8372) using our Group name, Mid Atlantic Innkeepers .

Featuring a keynote by

Wil Reynolds
SEER Interactive

Event sponsored by:

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Agenda

Time Topic Presenters Fri 7:00
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9:00 pm MEET & GREET - A Do Not Miss Event with food, beverage and lots of great conversation! Sat 8:00
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8:25 am Registration & Check-in

8:30-8:35

Kickoff and Conference Introduction David Mihm
Moz 8:30
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9:15 Keynote: RCS for Local Business

Wil Reynolds
SEER Interactive

Real companies rarely build their business on shortcuts and tricks, yet SEO has often been able to win so often with shortcuts and tricks. Post-Panda and post-Penguin, that's no longer possible. Learn some of the most effective strategies for driving local customers and fans digitally with Real Company Stuff from internationally-renowned marketer Wil Reynolds of SEER Interactive. 9:15
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9:50 30 Link & Content Ideas for Local Search Success Mike Ramsey and Mary Bowling work together to take you through 30 content and link ideas for local businesses in this fast-paced session. 9:50
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10:20 Blending Local with Social Will Scott
Search Influence Consumers are spending more time on social networks and are more likely to choose a small business that's visible on social networks. Search engines are also considering social signals as part of their general ranking algorithms. All of this means that local businesses need to include social media in their online marketing strategy. We'll share strategies and tactics that make social media work with local marketing. 10:20
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10:30 BREAK 10:30
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11:00 Keynote: Google+ Local
Google+Local Representative Derek Wetzel Join us for this open conversation with one of the leaders of Google +Local's support team about the latest product releases and technical opportunities in the Local Search arena at Google. 11:00
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11:25 Categories, Driving Directions & Entities - New Patents & their Impact on local search Mike Blumenthal
blumenthals.com Google doesn't stand still. Mike Blumenthal reviews Google's new patents for what they say about ranking, relevance and context and how they can impact your local strategy. 11:25
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12:00 Holistic Competitive Research David Mihm
Moz With Google obfuscating more and more data, it's getting harder for marketers to research links, citations, reviews, and social media interactions that will lead to higher rankings. David will take you through his process for identifying top competitors in a given market, and how to leverage THEIR tactics to your own advantage. 12:00
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12:30 Multi-location Local Search Ammo Ed Reese
Sixth Man Marketing
and
Mary Bowling
Ignitor Digital Let's face it. It's tough managing and marketing multiple locations. A lot of that pain comes from the difficulty of getting buy in from everyone for your multi-location marketing plan. This session will give the ammunition you need to influence your corporate office AND those at the local level to help you execute your strategy. 12:30-
12:45 Morning Q&A All
Speakers Get answers to your questions from the morning sessions. 12:45
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1:45 LUNCH Birds of a Feather Roundtables Take a deeper dive on the topics YOU really want to learn about. Choose THREE of four round-robin roundtables to learn from speakers and your peers during these intimate discussions. Or, take your own specific optimization efforts to the next level with limited-participation lab sessions on Analytics, Client Audits, and Review Strategy. 1:45
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2:30 Lab Session I:
Local Analytics Led by:
Ed Reese Troubleshooting Google+ Local Led by:
Googler Derek Wetzel +
Mary Bowling 2:30
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3:15 Lab Session II:
Quick Client Audits to Avoid Problems At Google Led by:
Mike Blumenthal Optimizing the Agency Process Led by:
Mike Ramsey +
Ed Reese 3:15
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4:00 Lab Session III:
Review Strategy Led by:
Mike Ramsey Citation & Directory Analysis Led by:
David Mihm
Darren Shaw (Lab Sessions are offered only during their scheduled time(s); other four sessions are round-robin) Social and Local Led by:
Will Scott 4:00
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4:15 BREAK 4:15
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4:45 Top Five Mobile Tactics to Implement Now Aaron Weiche
Spyder Trap Search traffic from mobile devices continues to boom. We'll look at tactics you should be implementing to ensure you are visible in mobile search results and offering the best mobile experience to land new customers. 4:45-
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