This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
Mike Blumenthal, 66 years old, which honestly surprises me, I thought he was in his young 50s. He lives in Allegany, which is located in rural Western, New York with his family. Mike to me has always been one of the most respected people in the SEO space, and a leader and innovative thinker in the local SEO niche. He resembles class, professionalism and wisdom but yet he gets his hands "dirty" every day in one of the more "spammy" places within Google.
Mike has helped not just local business succeed and thrive in Google and other local search engines but has also helped the search companies get better and providing local search results. He has pointed out many of the weaknesses in Google local results, Google Maps and other local providers like Yelp and others. The local search engines listen to this man, which is rare in our space.
Mike is super active publishing content across his own personal blog, industry web sites, at conferences and on social media. He has been selflessly sharing his knowledge with his peers and local businesses for years and years all with the end goal of helping others do better.
Sergey Alakov, a local star in his own right, nominated Mike and wrote:
Mike Blumenthal is the Godfather of local search. He has been shaping the way we think about local SEO for many years and is by far the biggest name in the local space (at least for me). Despite the fact the he has been doing it for over a decade now, he does not just stay active in the community and on his blog, he continues to teach the community things we didn't know / didn't realize before.Mike has also had a huge impact on my career. His constant search for new and exciting things in Local inspired me to start looking for new things as well. Without Mike's blog and his encouragement I might not have gotten as interested in Local SEO as I am now. Thank you Mike for everything you've done for the community!
Mike Blumenthal Bio: With unmatched industry expertise and knowledge, Mike is a co-founder and serves as GetFiveStar’s Chief Review Officer helping our customers get the most of the platform.
Widely cited as the foremost Local Search expert in North America and affectionately known among his colleagues as ‘Professor Maps’, Mike Blumenthal is the author of the industry’s most respected blog: Understanding Google Maps & Local Search.
Marketers, local business owners and companies in local search know that a visit to Blumenthal’s blog promises rich and unique insights into Local SEO news, tactics, and troubleshooting. Google, too, has been captivated by Blumenthal’s reportage and employees regularly drop by for equal doses of constructive criticism and encouragement. A major percentage of today’s high level Local SEOs point to Mike Blumenthal as teacher, mentor and friend.
In an effort to meet the growing need for business owner education, Blumenthal co-founded Local U – a conference series that brings industry experts to U.S. cities for instructive, rewarding local search marketing seminars. Blumenthal is also a frequent speaker on the SMX circuit and has accepted engagements at many other events including the recent SMX Advanced in Seattle and Avvocentric in Orlando.
In an effort to help small businesses better engage with the online review world, Mike co-founded GetFiveStars.com with Don Campbell & Thomas Hasch. Getfivestars.com is designed to let a small business or an agency working on their behalf easily implement a best practice customer feedback/review management process.
In addition to his work as blogger, speaker and Local Search consultant, Blumenthal has over 30 years of experience in the world of computers and the Internet, helping to run Blumenthals.com, a web hosting and design business.
A loving husband and father of two, he puts family life first and spare time is spent in the pursuit of his hobbies including nature photography and biking. Mike Blumenthal lives and works in Olean, NY and brings the highest possible level of professional skills, coupled with an honest and humorous approach to surmounting the many challenges of Local SEO, to his national consultancy practice.
Favorite thing about the SEM community? I can’t speak to the SEO community at large but I speak tot the Local SEO community. It continually amazes me and gives me joy that they readily shares information and are incredibly collegial.
One piece of advice to the SEOs out there? Wow... only one eh? That is hard...
Keep honing your craft by continually learning about things that serve the long terms interests of your clients.
Favorite things in general? Its a tie between sharing a great home cooked meal that we cooked as a family or going cross country skiing with my wife after a fresh snowfall.
A few years back, for my birthday, they bought me an apron and on it it said: Still cooking up great questions after all these years. I couldn’t be prouder of my children, not for the questions they ask but for the people that they have become.
What you want to be known for in the SEO space? Asking questions of myself, other SEOs and Google to help all of us better understand Local marketing, reviews and reputation
To learn more about Mike, check out GetFiveStars, LocalU and his personal blog.
This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
