Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Entries Written By Mike Blumenthal
Google Places Quality Guideline Minor Update
With the ending of Google’s real estate listing service in Maps, it was necessary for Google to update the Google Places Quality Guidelines to reflect the fact that the service was no longer available as a listing option: Previous Guidelines New Quality Guidelines Ineligible Business Models: Only businesses that make in-person contact with customers qualify …
Where Is A Business Address That is Hidden Not Really Hidden? Google Places
Last March, Google introduced the ability to hide the address for at home and service businesses that do not want clients driving to their locations. At the time, the feature, while useful, also managed to hide your business listing deep in the index. With the rollout of Places Search in October, the feature became more …
Local Search Tools For the SMB and Professional
I have been using two “new” local search tools of late and have been impressed with both of them. The Local Search Toolkit from seOverflow has recently been released from beta and upgraded to work with the many changes that occurred recently in Google Places. The tool provides competitive information for a range of information …
Google Places Tidbits
This in from frequent contributor Plamen. Google has shifted their current “Offers” down on the Places Page to the bottom of the Page. Plamen speculates its perhaps to make room for paid offers higher up the page. Google has in the past noted that they are continually testing page content and moving down and out …
Carter Maslan Responds To Rich Snippet FAQ Language Change
I sent the following email to Carter Maslan, Product Management Director, Local Search at Google for clarification: You have been quoted as saying at Kelsey: “Merchants should be publishing their own reviews and that Google would find them.” Today I reread the new Rich Snippet FAQ and it says (which is a change from October): …
Google’s Rich Snippets For Local FAQ Update
Google at some point over the past four months has changed the Rich Snippets for Local FAQ. These changes to their Help Files are not transparent in the least (boo to Google!). Google provides no RSS feeds, no history of changes and no date that a given change was published. For a company that proclaims …
Google Places: Testimonials as Reviews Now Viewed As Spam?
In early October, 2010, shortly after Google announced support for Rich Snippets in Local, Google Rich Snippet FAQ noted the following: How will Google treat businesses posting testimonials with review mark up on their own site? Will these be treated as a review by the Place Page? Testimonials will be treated as business reviews on …
Google Places Hotel Booking Feature To Be Available to All …. Someday
In November of 2010, Google integrated a hotel booking feature into the Place Page of most hotels. This is a feature that Google started testing in March of 2010. The feature is currently only available to a limited number of partners but Google noted today (after several months of inquiries) in the Help Forums that …
Basic Places Practices: How do you claim an owner-verified listing?
The following question was recently asked at Quora and others might benefit from my answer there: Current listing was verified by another SEO company. My client would like to get control back from them but has not been able to. Trying to figure out how to access his current Google places listing. It is possible to …
Google Pushing HotPot to the Big Leagues
Google announced last night that Hotpot friend recommendations are now showing on the main Google search results in the 7-pack. They are also showing in the local organic blended results and branded searches. Google is working on social tools on a number of fronts more or less successfully. You can never count them out though …
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