Mike Blumenthal

Update: Great tip from Joy Hawkins to get a sense of the changes: In fact, if you search Google.ca for anything you’ll see the results that USED to show in the US yesterday (old algorithm I’m guessing) Last night just before going to bed reports (h/t to Brian Mayo) started drifting in about missing 7 packs in the real …

On December 31st, 2009 my headline was: GOOGLE TO SEO’S, DESIGNERS & ADVERTISING AGENTS: YOU ARE OFF THE MAP! Well as of last night, after almost 5 years, you (as well as web designers, advertising agencies and marketing firms) are back in the Local results in most markets (thanks to Max Minzer for the tip). …

In case you are living under an SEO rock or this is the only blog you are reading, John Mueller announced the end of author photos: We’ve been doing lots of work to clean up the visual design of our search results, in particular creating a better mobile experience and a more consistent design across …

Phil Rosek pointed out that Google is now promoting, worldwide, My Business to SMBs from the front page of search on both desktop AND mobile devices with a slick campaign to get more locations signed up for….not for Plus page… … but for My Business benefits: Being found in search Connecting and communicating with customers Ease of …

The last leg of the cross platform rollout of My Business is complete- Google announced that Apple just made the iPhone My Business app available in the App Store. With this release Google now gives the SMB the ability to access My Business from the desktop, Android or iPhone. The  iOS app (available hereL http://goo.gl/Df7kxX) and the Android app …

Google announced today that they are entering the domain registration space with a limited test of the product.  Here is the full announcement from the Google + Your Business page: It’s 2014 and it seems obvious, but across laptops, tablets and mobile devices, a website is one of the first places people go to find information …

The recent rollout of Google My Business provides an interesting view port into the future of Plus. It is the first public major rollout in Local since Larry Page took the helm and since the introduction of Google Plus three years ago.  We can see in this product the widespread use of Plus features but …

Kerry Fager pointed out a recent post by Alex Cordes where he noted that the Local Carousel was showing for searches on professionals when you clicked through to the “People Also Searched For” results at the bottom of any given Knowledge Panel. It appears that this expanded display of the carousel is happening on almost …

Google has started sending out very customized emails in an effort to attract businesses to their new My Business Page. It will be interesting to see how much and how lavishly Google promotes My Business. It really is the first time in a number of years that they have a place to send an SMB …