Back from afternoon tea. Oh my god, strawberry yogurt shots!!! 17 chocolate eclairs not too bad either.

Barry, you’re a genius.

1. UNIVERSAL SEARCH

Speaker = Des O’Dell, from Bruce Clay Australia

• 86% of all search queries had a universal element (in a recent test).
• 39% of links relate to universal search.
• If you’re not optimising, you’re missing out big time.
• Universal = local search maps, images, news, video.
• Showing a screen shot for “cameras”, with lots of real estate taken up with universal.
• Google has said they will do even more universal going forward.
• Landing page with a video (engagement object) will rank higher.
• More charts on how common universal search is in current search results.
• Universal optimisation is especially important for competitive phrases.
• If you want to rank for a video, use the word video in your text (as well as the the keyword). Good tip.

2. LOCAL SEARCH

Speaker =Monte Huebsch

• About 62% of time local maps come up, so optimising for your local business is really valuable.
• YOU MUST CLAIM YOUR GOOGLE MAP LISTING!
• Since April 2009, Google has been sourcing local data from Yellow Pages.
• Google renamed Local Business Centre to Google Places yesterday.
• Great local SEO resource
• Completeness of information is a very important ranking factor.

Let’s connect on Twitter.

By Philip Shaw