Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Entries Written By Mike Blumenthal
Google Confirms Coming Check-in Offers for Plus
Last week I reported out a discovered Google Places Help page (since taken down but visible here) that discussed using the Places Coupons as a Check-in Coupon for Google Plus. This afternoon the folks at VentureBeat received a confirmation from Google that check-in offers from Places will be coming to Google+ next week: “While prepping …
Google Places: Onsite “Review Stations” AOK with Google
Onsite “Review Stations” AOK with Google Several weeks ago, I attended a Google GetYourBusiness online seminar and I was surprised to hear the speaker strongly encouraging SMBS to install a computer at their places of business to use as a station where clients, immediately upon completing a transaction, could easily leave a review on their …
An Imagined Conversation with Google about Reviews, 29Prime & Sock Puppets
29Prime is easy to spot as a deceptive local seo company that preys on unsuspecting small business folks eager to “be on the first page of Google”. Like many low-life firms of their ilk, they have a number of “aliases” (aka 29Live, 29Maps, 29SEM, 29Search, Locallistings.com etc, etc.) they use to make tracking them a …
Google Plus to Gain Check-In Offers Via Places Offers?
While perusing the Google Places Offer Help files I found a page discussing Check-in Offers via Google+. It notes: If your customers have to visit your locations in order to do business with you, you can request that they check-in on Google+ in order to redeem your offers. They can choose to share the check-in publicly …
Google Places: Non-compliant Offers Being Rejected
Google has started rejecting Offers from Google Places for quality and policy violations. Business owners that have had Offers rejected will receive an email with a clear indication of which guideline was not satisfied. Offers that do not provide actual % discounts or dollar value off will be suspended. Google has upgraded their Google Help …
Google Maps Bubble Ads and The SMB State of Mind
Awareness of Google’s new, aggressive & annoying Bubble ads has been creeping into the SMBs field of vision since their introduction 10 days ago. Articles have been posted at a number of sites (here, here & here) questioning their purpose. On Saturday alone, there were 4 posts in the Places Forum from SMBs specifically about …
Google Integrating Author Information Results with Google Plus in main SERPS
I know that Google has been integrating author results in the main search for a while and late last month tweaked those results with the addition of circles . But Google is now linking the Author Information image in the main search directly with recent Google Plus posts in a results much like the Plus Places integration …
More Examples Of Plus Integrated Into Local Search Results
Several additional instances of Google Plus integration into local search results have been found by Renan Cesar, a Brazilian search marketer. It has also been brought to my attention by Sebastian Socha that examples are now visible in Germany. In both of these examples, the images, when clicked, go to an intermediate search result highlighting the appropriate Plus …
Is Google Starting to Integrate Google Plus Pages with Places Search Results?
The ever observant Plamen and his friend Stacy sent along a Places Search screenshot that clearly shows a Google Plus Page icon next to a Places search result: When you click on the icon it shows a Google Plus Page for a different Transmission service. It makes sense that Google would integrate Google Plus pages …
Rogue’s Gallery of Inappropriate Bubble Ads
This search for “Child Protection Services, NY” provides an obvious example of Google’s inability to target a specific ad against a specific place with their new Info Bubble Ads. It provides great fodder for my second installment of the Rogue’s Gallery of Inappropriate Bubble Ads… There is some irony that the Archdiocese of New York* …
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