Top Google contributor and owner of Sterling Sky, Joy Hawkins, joins the EDGE this week. Joy has been a renowned SEO speaker and influencer since 2006 and has been growing a top local SEO agency since 2017. How does local SEO differ from traditional SEO? Listen in as Joy shares her industry experience and delivers tactical strategies for executing premier-level local SEO. Google has been growing a much deeper focus on niche markets and authenticity factors. Learn how to leverage this shift to niche-level queries for your clients. Get ahead of the algorithm as we uncover the best local SEO strategies you should be following this week on the EDGE of the Web! Give our new sponsor a try! Riverside.fm has a special deal for our listeners!  Use our link and the code "Edgeoftheweb" for a 15% discount of their podcast recording service! Key Segments: [00:03:57] Introducing Joy Hawkins [00:05:40] Joy’s Backstory in the Industry [00:06:53] Taking the Role of an Educator in the Space  [00:08:15] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:09:29] SEO vs. Local SEO  [00:13:24] Valuable Tactics in Local SEO [00:18:13] EDGE of the Web Sponsor Riverside.fm [00:20:18] Why User-Generated Content is Such a Major Factor in Today’s SEO [00:24:27] How Do We Know That Citation Platforms Aren’t Being Indexed on Google?   [00:25:59] Entering Into Niche Markets  [00:31:57] EDGE of the Web Sponsor Wix [00:33:08] Why do Operating Hours Affect Rankings?  [00:37:37] Local SEO Recommendations For a Small Budget Thanks to Our Sponsors! Site Strategics: http://edgeofthewebradio.com/site   Wix: http://edgeofthewebradio.com/wix Riverside: https://edgeofthewebradio.com/riverside Follow Our Guest Twitter:https://twitter.com/JoyanneHawkins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyhawkins/?originalSubdomain=ca