Links have always been a priority in search engine optimization. Search engines have long used link popularity as an indicator of a site’s “importance,” and this in turn affects site’s performance in search engines. Until recently, many different schemes existed that allowed a website owner to garner dozens, or even hundreds of links, simply by using specialized tools, reciprocal programs, and like. Then came Google “update” of November, 2003.

In that now legendary update, Google penalized tens of thousands of websites by dropping their placement in index or eliminating them entirely. While Google isn’t talking about what happened, it is very likely that “undeserved” links, or links that do not have anything to do with quality content, played a role in this episode. Most website owners now seem to agree that while links are as important as ever, they have to be added old-fashioned way – they have to be earned.

The general consensus at convention held that local search (a term that actually covers more than just search engines) is big prize for companies seeking a portion of dollars that are increasingly expected to be spent by both national and local advertisers aiming at local markets.

The reason that companies large and small are salivating at prospect of these local online ad dollars is that consumers are increasingly using Internet to search for local goods and services. In that sense, consumers are leading charge in this new direction – search engine and directory companies are trying to catch up with what is already an established trend. One often quoted statistic, courtesty of Yahoo (who, with their amazing database resources ought to know) is that at least 30% of all searches in a given month are for local goods and services. What’s more, trend is increasing. It’s easy to understand why consumers are searching this way – Internet as a medium is inherently more capable of serving up extensive, and often interactive data in response to a query than any other media.