Welcome to Tampa Bay Local Guide! Here’s the drill: my name is Chris and I’m a web developer with a focus on local search and SEO. I’ve had my own business since 2011 and I currently work for a corporation with a huge online shopping presence. A month or so ago I received an email from Google saying that I’ve been tagged as a “Google Local Guide” and that I was already a “Local Guide – Level 3” based on the reviews and pictures that I had already shared online over the years.
What first followed was a month of intermittent reviewing and sharing of pictures to get me to Level 4; next was this website. I’ve found my passion for food, local businesses, web development and SEO have all come together into this perfect storm to get me excited about websites again!
So what’s the plan? I’m going to review things. This is something I naturally do with my friends anyway! I’ve lived in Tampa my entire life and I have an opinion or a story, that I’m excited to share, on just about any place that I drive by in town. Just ask anyone who’s ridden in a car with me! However, some places deserve more attention than others – there’s quite a difference between a random gas station and Bern’s Steak House! Here are the types of reviews I’ll be doing.
Short Reviews
One paragraph reviews of places like the aforementioned gas station. Google Maps has been encouraging me to rate and review EVERYWHERE that I’ve ever been and I have little reviews on way too many places. I’m not Google, but I am a bit of a completist. I’m not going to be able to “catch them all” but I’ll put some work towards it!
Detailed Reviews
When I write a review of Bern’s I’ll definitely have a lot to say about them, so I’ll go on at length. I’ll be playing around with review styles a bit until I settle on something I like.
Review The Search
This one came to me in the shower this morning and I’m super excited about it! I’ll do a Google Search for say, “Cuban Food Tampa”, then do detailed reviews of each! This one scratches multiple itches for me and I can’t wait to get started on them!
I plan on writing my first “Review the Search” blog this weekend – stay tuned!
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