Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Category Archive For "Google Places (Maps & Local)"
Canadian Categories from the New Dashboard Now Added to Google Category Tool
With the help of Darren Shaw of Whitespark, we have recently added the list of Canadian categories from the new Google Places for Business Dashboard to our searchable Google Places Category Tool. The new Places for Business Dashboard is country specific and the categories that one sees are IP & country specific. Thus I need …
Google Maps for iPhone & Android Include “Enhanced Navigation”
I noticed the fact that the new mobile Maps apps for Droid and iPhone included “Enhanced navigation” out of the corner of my eye but it became apparent this morning as I started playing with the new iPhone App exactly what it meant. On the Lat-Long Blog Google noted: Enhanced navigation: In addition to current traffic …
Is Google Debranding Local?
Local, like many developments at Google, has always been many things; a brand (G+Local, Places), a product (Places Search, the +Local App) and an internal & external API service (local data in Now, Earth or 3rd party products). And as David Mihm has pointed out, Google’s branding of local has always been muddled and caused …
Google Category Tool Updated To Include new Places for Business Dashboard Categories
We have upgraded the Google Places for Business Category tool and added our categories from the recently released, new Google Places for Business Dashboard. The new list is designated as Google English (US) (PfB) to distinguish it from the list for the old and still predominant dashboard. Note that the new categories themselves DO NOT have …
Google Local: Are Mobile Signals Actively used in Ranking Local Results?
David Mihm just did a great Whiteboard Friday on the evolution of the local ranking algo. In the article he speculated about the future of local signals: And just to speculate a little bit, because I love to speculate, going forward I also think we’re going to see Google potentially integrating some offline information into …
Categories in the new Places for Business Dashboard
One of the big changes in the rollout of the new Places for Business Dashboard is a change with categories. Categories have long been a key factor in Google’s determination of relevance of a listing. Google has added some additional categories, changed how categories are handled as well how many categories a business is allowed …
Google rolling out update to Google Places for Business
Starting today at ~1 pm PST, Google Local is rolling out an upgraded interface for Places for Business that will replace the current dashboard*. The rollout is staged and will be initially made available to a small number of US businesses and businesses newly claimed via the G+ Local page. Over the near future the …
Google Local Announces New Local Product and Promises Better Communications
The newly appointed head of Google Local Product Manager Brian Fitzpatrick today announced the rollout of a completely revamped local product to replace the Places dashboard. As written about in the Wall Street Journal in June, 2012 the product is called “The Business Builder”. With the rollout of the Business Builder Google Local is announcing …
Google’s Local Primary Data Suppliers Around the World
Google’s Local Search sits at the center of an ecosystem of local web sites and data providers and they use this ecosystem to assemble their business listing data. This is true in the US and the basic structure and process is replicated on a local in every other country in the world using different local …
Google Local: Rel = Publisher Or Rel=Author? You Should Do Both
There were a number of questions after I reported that a new Google+ Local claim of a business in Plus (not the Dasbboard) generated instructions to add the rel=publisher rich snippet to your website. Many asked whether rel=publisher should replace the rel=author snippet. The answer is that you should do both. Daniel Berman explained it …
© Copyright 2024 - MIKE BLUMENTHAL, ALL RIGHT RESERVED.