Mike Blumenthal

Google has announced the release of V 4.0 of the Google My Business API. While there are a number of new  features, the most notable is the ability for 3rd Party platforms to now post Google Posts on for the businesses using the platform. The API currently supports posting for any business with fewer than 10 …

It’s been a blast building GetFiveStars. One of the things that I love the most is the support I get for projects like this new ebook. As you probably know while I think its important to “optimize your review process” I think it’s even more important for you to “optimize your business”. Every process, not …

Bedlam Coffee hit the news with a media frenzy over the owner ejecting Christian activists from his coffee shop. (To preview their Q & A on the desktop use this URL:  https://goo.gl/dkwi6h). With this event we have learned three things about Google Q & A: 1- It’s a $h!tstorm when a business gets into the …

From a management point of view, one of the more annoying attributes of the new Google Questions & Answers product is that it is only live on Android via Google Maps and  in mobile browsers on iOS and Android. There is a are several hacks to allow you to see and respond to this feature …

Earlier this week, Jack Thumser of August Ash in Bloomington, emailed me about an significant uptick in Google Maps Insight’s views in a number of his Google  local listings. Michael Wallace of TallWave noted the same issue on Twitter today. Jack’s result were across Office furniture stores, grocery stores, a grocery delivery service and a sheet …

Here are some of my other writings, videos etc around the web: Something Amazing Happened On The Way To A Google Review – Google’s Question and Answers is a scary thing but when you have a great business and are asking your customers from reviews, good things can happen. Video: Last Week in Local September …

Local U Advanced is my favorite conference of the year. Not that I speak, or even that I contribute to the organization but because it’s a time and place where folks that are really interested in Local SEO and Local Marketing get together. And not just get together in a spirit of collegiality and sharing. …

Google provided me a comprehensive list of cities and the categories that are currently under the Home Service Ads & Advanced Verification banners in those cities. This program is hard enough to keep track of with it’s many changes and the recent increase in rollout that I thought the list would help you understand more about …

The ability post video to a business listing or place listing was mentioned last week and appears to be released. H/T to Phillip Barnhart, Director of Marketing at Nehmedia in Austin, for pointing it out. For now the video can only be uploaded by Local Guides using Android Maps but the videos will be visible from …

Here are other articles that I wrote this week that might be of interest: Google As the New Home Page – One Big Tactical Guide – This one had to percolate a long time and while I was writing Google kept changing the rules. Take a look and let me know what you think. Video …