Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Entries Written By Mike Blumenthal
Has Google Maps Fixed the OneBox Problem?
Since August, there had been numerous complaints in the forums (here, here, here, here) and in this blog that Google was increasingly presenting the Authoritative OneBox on more general searches that should really be showing the Lucky 7 Pack. In late September there was an active post in the forum that seemed to coalesce a …
Local Search: News of the Weird
I love the intersection of Map and life and sometimes the things that I read provide a new angle that just wasn’t obvious before. This recent post in the Google Maps forums raises all sorts of questions. It falls into the category of “no wonder they are getting a divorce”: Date: October 31, 2009 4:17:25 …
Google Maps and PO Boxes – When can they be used?
Updated 11/05/09- Authoritative word on PO Boxes from Joel Headley of Google: PO Boxes have proven unverifiable and are called out as such. We’re working on providing the right solution for businesses that need to hide a home address, however. The poor man’s virtual office, the PO Box, has been singled out in the new …
Federal Bust of Dependable Locksmith in Florida Strikes at Heart of National Locksmith Scams
Update 3:30 11/05/09: Glenn Younger of Grah Safe & Lock, forwarded me this piece from the RiverFrontTimes that details the scam and the charges. It’s a great read. A snippet: The complaint alleges that telephone dispatchers for Dependable Locks were instructed by managers to quote a price of $54 for a car lockout, while the …
Local Universal Results Now Showing without Phone Number
Update: 2:00 p.m. 11/05/09: They’re up, they’re down, they’re up again. Phone numbers have returned. Please temporarily store your tin hats. The local world is buzzing this morning as it appears that Google has removed or perhaps lost the phone numbers from the Local Universal Results. Matt McGee noticed them missing from the Lucky-7 Pack …
New Google Maps Business Listing Guidelines – What’s Changed
Google has changed much more than the order of the guidelines with this update. The guidelines are more rigorous and specific than they have been in the past. I have noted in italics those sections which are completely new. Previous Listing Guidelines – Ordered to Match new Guidelines New Business Listing Guidelines & Order Ownership …
Google Maps Updates Business Listing Guidelines
Barry at SEORoundtable has just reported that Google Maps has just updated the Business Listing Guidelines. Here are the new Guidelines: Business Listing Quality Guidelines Local Business Center Guidelines Business Listings in Local Business Center must have correct information about physical, local businesses, as they appear in the real world. Google reserves the right to …
Google Maps Learns About E-Mail – Is this a Trend?
Google Maps has never been very good about feedback. If a business had a problem in the past, posting in the forums was always a crap shoot as to whether they would get an answer and even determining if a listing was in Maps was sometimes problematic. But Google of late has surprised me with …
Google Maps Update: See your Listing in Maps (Or not) & What to do about it.
Lisa Barone in reporting that Google Maps now provides a direct link To “Find Yourself” noted that it is not exactly clear what is going on with the missing listings. In the past many reported cases in the forums of missing listings were in fact due to falling rank or a business not knowing how …
Market Responds to Google Maps Navigation – Google Offers app for iPhone
Today’s announcement by Google of their Google Maps Navigation GPS app for phones running Android 2.0 has caused a significant decline in the stocks of Garmin and TomTom: In related news, according to AppleInsider, Google has said it would also like to support the iPhone with Maps Navigation if Apple approved the app: “Apple is …
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