Comments on: Local Business Center upgrade now allows Plus Box control

By: Google PlusBox - Will Life Imitate Art(?)? » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:44:35 +0000

[...] April 1, I wrote a post: Local Business Center upgrade now allows Plus Box control that noted that Google was now allowing business owners to more directly control the use of the [...]

By: Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search » Google Plus Box - for real | Developing Knowledge about Local Search

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:01:18 +0000

[...] week I wrote an April 1st post about an upgrade to the Local Business Center that apparently a lot of people wanted to be real. I [...]

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:07:13 +0000

Hey Melissa

Sorry for the letdown. You weren’t the only one. Apparently I snookered the folks at SEL as well.

I’ve been following the groups and there have been an awful lot of plus box problems that would be corrected if Google could only get the LBC to correctly feed the data over.

In December 2006, Matt Cutts did say that it would. Was he misinformed?

Seems unlikely. So the real question at hand is why has the most reliable source for local data, the verified LBC listing, not yet been integrated into the PlusBox in the main serps?

Are there bigger architectural issues? Is it just something that will get fixed eventually?

It doesn’t seem very productive for Google to have to make hand exceptions for a bunch of bee buzzing small business folks thats for sure.

Mike

By: mellissa

mellissa — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:01:23 +0000

Ah Man – Ya Got Me!!!! I was so stoked… then only left with disappointment

I’ll admit, I’m one of the “75 outstanding requests received in the last 45 days”… Thanks for the jokes.

By: martijn

martijn — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:09:15 +0000

can’t be that huge for their BigTable to handle tho :p

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:24:56 +0000

Just like that update not propagating over the pond in a timely fashion but 16 months. The system issues must be huge.

By: martijn

martijn — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:58:38 +0000

some things never run by the clock mike

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:54:13 +0000

Yikes. I have been on the road all day and I didn’t realize that SEL had picked it up. Well Google will see it for sure now. Hopefully Jen will get those medical records squared away now (although probably not mine (: )

What’s the penalty for too good of an April Fool’s yarn in the Search World? I guess I should enjoy it while I can, I probably won’t get the chance twice.

What is interesting to me is that Matt Cutts did say in Dec 06 that the Plus Box would in fact get its info from the Local Business Center. It is also the case that that the complaints are rising in the groups and that if you can’t catch Google’s eye to fix the problem then it is very difficult for a webmaster to take care of on their own.

Maybe this announcement will show up some day soon.

Mike

By: Chuck

Chuck — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:37:47 +0000

Mike it was a good joke. Search Engine Land has picked up your post. I think they think your post is real.

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:43:33 +0000

Ah, yes,,,it was my wishful thinking rather than any reality….lots of facts above but not the ones that I was hoping for. The article should be titled: Local Business Center upgrade should allow Plus Box control.

An no Jen, as far as I know, has not yet gone in search of the missing business records.

Mike