Mike Blumenthal

Barry Schwartz noted (via Ryan Schilling at leadhub.net) a Google 3 Pack experiment that removed the Google Plus links. For that same search I am seeing a different, new mobile 3 pack like display test (using Firefox) on the desktop. Interestingly the mobile like three pack comes  with links to the new Local Finder that rolled …

Jeff Overmyer of MerchantCentric, who noticed the missing Yelp reviews at Yahoo, dug deeper and (gasp) actually got a response from Yahoo on Reddit: “Thanks for pointing this out! I work for Yahoo, and I’ve reported this to our Yahoo Local team*. They’ll be taking a look at this for sure. Yahoo Local doesn’t use the …

It appears that Yahoo is no longer serving up Yelp reviews. Drop maps, change their name and poof. Your old Yahoo reviews are back.

Just received this late Friday night email. Must be they are trying to avoid the news cycle. One has to wonder who writes this s%^t? Even brighter future? Sharp focus? Yes, right after minimum wage goes to $25/hr, all wars end and nuclear arms are mothballed. Dear Yahoo Small Business Customer,Two very exciting, very important …

I am not sure that I would suggest that you copy this fellow’s methodology. One has to wonder how the White House factors into this deal as well. But it does impress on me the value of pure citations. No links just lots & lots of press and TON of reviews. It’s amazing the speed with …

Google announced in the forums that they are looking for small businesses to give them feedback. This is your chance for a free lunch and the opportunity to influence product direction, Here is the  invite: Are you a small or medium business (SMB) owner based in the Bay area? If so, would you be interested …

Google’s test of the their new Home Service Ads generated a fair bit of conversation yesterday on Twitter. The ads started appearing more widely throughout the day allowing folks to dig in and get a better look. Documents worth reading: HSA Additional Terms for Providers  Home service ads Policies Locksmith & Licensing – The test …

Updated 8:15 PM with images and details captured by Glenn Gabe of of G-Squared Interactive. Dr. Pete Meyers of Moz posted this screen shot of a sponsored Snak Pak test displayed for the search “plumbers” in San Francisco. It was captured on a desktop search last night. Reports of Google getting into home services first surfaced this …

Google just announced a new feature on mobile browsers, a chart showing the hours that a given business is popular. From their post: Do you ever find yourself trying to avoid long lines or wondering when is the best time to go grocery shopping, pick up coffee or hit the gym (hint: avoid Monday after …

Google is apparently removing My Business accounts for TOS violations and sending along notices to owners and managers. It is not clear to me the specifics of that triggered this action although clearly this has happened to more than a few accounts as there is at least one other report in the forum.   This message confirms …