Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Entries Written By Mike Blumenthal
Review Management: 7 Tips on Avoiding Bad Reviews
In my presentation at Getlisted’s Local University seminars for SMBs, I note that there are three simple elements to a review management plan: Provide Great customer service Ask for reviews Avoid Negative reviews It used to be said that an unhappy customer would tell 10 people. Today an unhappy customer can influence hundreds if not …
Hotel Booking Ads Test Continues – a 2 Bit Hooker?
My grandfather was born and bred on the lower East Side of New York City in the early 1900s. He moved to upstate NY after WWII to join my father in business.The subtleties of gentile conversation that was the norm in rural NYS were largely lost on my grandfather. He was a large, loving, lovable …
Hit by Competitor Spam Reviews: The Plot Thickens
I seem to be mired in competitor spam reviews these days. The second bad review in as many weeks showed up this weekend on Barbara Oliver & Co. Jewelry’s Place Page. At first glance it appeared legit. The complaint, that it is pretentious to require appointments, is untrue and probably comes from a misreading of Barbara’s …
Places By Design – What does the new Places page say about Google’s intentions?
Much has been written about what Google left out in the Places upgrade and much speculation has been offered as to the reasons for the change. The specualtion have often made the assumption that the new design was a reactive response on the part of Google. After looking at a large number of pages, I …
Hit by Competitor Spam Review – How to Respond?
On July 22, my client Barbara Oliver & Co. Jewelry’s Google Place page was hit with what appears to be a competitor spam review. The review is rather bizarre with racial innuendo and unfounded accusations. It would appear that the reviewer had not ever visited the store. The timing of the spam review is interesting. There have …
Google Places Guideline Updates
There have been two updates to the Places Quality Guidelines over the past two weeks. On July 21st, with the rollout of the new Places Page look, Google added this paragraph (bold added by me): You cannot create Places listings for stores which you do not own, but which stock your products. Instead, consider asking …
Do Bugs Precede Places Updates?
Historically it has been true that major updates to Google Places have been preceeded by more annoying and obvious bugs than normal being highlighted in the forums and elsewhere. In the case of the recent update that occurred on July 21st, there were a number of these bugs noted in the forums starting in early …
Local Adwords Ads Dominate the Hotel SERPS – The new normal? Or a Test?
This morning I spoke of the Google Hotel experiment that made search results into interactive local content. It is not clear if this is the new normal or a test but on this search for bed and breakfast St. Augustine and every hotel search, Adwords with Location Extensions and Adwords Express are now showing as interactive local content on …
Google Hotel Finder Experiment – A Peak at the Future of Local Search as Interactive Content
Last week amidst the noise of changes in the Place’s layout, Google noted that they would be “Integrating some of the great information that’s been buried on Place pages into your web search experience across all Google platforms“. While Google doesn’t talk much about their thinking or the future, when they do, I have learned that you …
WebmasterRadio.FM SEO 101 Radio Interview
I recently had that pleasure of being interviewed by John Carcutt and Ross Dun on Webmasterradio.fm’s SEO 101 show, a show that gives out helpful information for the beginners without overwhelming them with technical details. The conversation covered a wide range of topics around Google Places. For those of you that would rather listen than …
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