Yahoo! Local has added a new feature. Neighbors allows Yahoo! Local users to connect with other people in their neighborhoods to discuss issues of local importance.

The great thing about this addition is that none of the other Yahoo! Local services are degraded by its addition. You can use Neighbors to connect with people in your area who care about the same local issue and through those connections, develop relationships deeper and attract more business. It’s called indirect marketing.

Whether you list your business in a specific category through Yahoo! Local or list in the CityGuide, Yahoo! Local makes it easier for local businesses to find clients and the addition of Neighbors is just one more way to connect with potential customers and build local relationships.

If you have a local business and you want to advertise online, there are two essential resources that you should be familiar with. You will have to list your business with Google Local and Yahoo! Local. These are starting places, however.

Other essential local advertising resources include CitySearch, and other local advertising directories. You should check to see if your local community has a directory. If not, then list your business with Google Local and Yahoo! Local. You can also advertise in niche directories are specific to your business. Why would you do this?

You would advertise your local business in niche industry directories because related, noncompetitive businesses can lead you to customer relationships through their list of networks and contacts. That’s a very valuable way to make connections for your own business. Don’t leave it out.

If you use Google Maps, and if you are a local business serving local clientele then you should, then you’ll love the new features that have been incorporated into their interface. According to a report from Marketing Pilgrim, Google Maps has incorporated the following new features:

• MyLocation for Mobile Phones
• Collaborative Maps
• KML Import
• Streetview in Balloons

I give two of these services a 5 on user benefit and one a 3. KML Import is not as important as the others, but I guess I can nudge it out a 1 or a 2.

The MyLocation feature is based on cell phone triangulation, allowing users to locate themselves on a map. If you get lost or turned around easily then this will be a great feature. If your business is hard to find then your customers will love this feature. You can see a video on how this feature can be used at Google Maps.

The Collaborative Maps feature is the one I really like and the one that I think has the best business application. You can create new maps with the help of your business associates, partners, and employees. All you do is send an e-mail to the people you want to invite to join you in the creation of a new Map. You can even make your Maps public so that anyone can make changes and additions. Great feature for your website that will allow your customers to join in on the Maps creation feature for your neighborhood. This will serve as some great local link bait!

The Yellow Pages Association has released a new edition of the Local Search Guide.

The Guide strives to keep people informed of the changes in local search. Changes in local search are so rapid that every day you can log on to the World Wide Web and see something a little different than you did the day before. The players could be different and the strategies could be different as well. That’s why it’s important to stay on top of what is happening so that you can be effective in advertising your local business to the right market. That’s why I recommend the Local Search Guide.

The Guide is sponsored by some of my favorite organizations, including Superpages, comScore, The Kelsey Group, and SEMPO. Here’s what you get when you pay attention to the Guide:

• Profiles of Internet Yellow Pages
• Search Engine Profiles and Support Advice
• Great Search Tools
• Mobile Marketing Tools
• Information on Vertical Directories
• A Useful Glossary
• Insightful Columns and Viewpoints From Industry Leaders
• Other Great Resources

When it comes to definitive information about local search, there’s no resource like the Local Search Guide.

Today, the Google Webmaster Central Blog featured Matt Cutts giving a presentation via YouTube video on how a company can influence the snippet that appears on Google SERPs for their listing. It’s a useful video that offers some great insights into the description meta tag and its importance. Matt also discusses how a snippet can be formed from the content on your website. This has some excellent application for local businesses, which I’ll cover briefly after you’ve watched the video:

• Write a killer meta description tag
• Include your address on every page of your website
• Try to think about the content on your site and what would make a good snippet, then write each sentence as if it could be that snippet
• List your site on DMOZ
• Only include the most important information about your company on each web page