Mike Blumenthal

This week’s second Google Spam Hall of Shame award goes to not one deserving business but to a group, who have worked hard and persistently to achieve this honor (drum roll please….)- the personal injury lawyers of the City of Orlando. This achievement, of having every listing(ok two out of three1) in the 3 Pack and the …

This week’s Google Spam Hall of Shame nominee achieved a double double score in the race to be nominated and secure this week’s nod. The offender has 13 words (96 characters)1 in his business title and somewhere north of 20 fake reviews. I discovered the listing via my on-going review spam research and I loved his …

Sergey Alakov, Toronto SEO, shared a new mobile Knowledge Panel test that shows the use of tabs to hold the reviews and separate them from basic business information. Obviously Google does a ton (and a half) of these tests, most of which never go further. But Sergey pointed out several other interesting tests last week. This one, …

It’s spring time and there is mania in the air…or at least there is for me.  I have written/created a few more pieces for those of you that can’t get enough of local. Here is my other writing from around the web: LocalU: Podcast: Last Week in Local April 24th, 2017 Joy Hawkins joins me for a …

Joy Hawkins pointed out this obvious attempt at communicating via the Google listing when you are just getting too much walk in traffic and Google offers no real solution to run their business the way that they want. Although their messaging is such that it isn’t at all clear just when they do want your …

Two interesting developments in the Local Pack today. Joy Hawkins,  (via Dave DiGregorio) pointed out that “Best Keyword + City” searches now return 3-pack results with average ratings of 4+. Sergey Alakov pointed out on Twitter that the rating drop down now display increased granularity with 1/2 point differences now selectable. Why is this important? Google is …

Update: As of 2:40 EDT all of Michael Park’s reviews are taken down so you will have to take my word for their value. As you know I have been exploring a Google review spam network. Google took down everyone that I pointed out to them in the network but neglected to dig one iota …

Articles that I published or contributed to elsewhere around the local inter webs last week: Streetfight: Frustration With Digital Marketing Vendors Boils Over for One SMB. In my biweekly conversation with David Mihm, we discussed the how the hard sell in the local world was leading to bad outcomes for all of us. LocalU: Video Deep …

Google is now displaying a Product/Page Link in the Knowledge Panel and providing direct entry of the link via the Google My Business dashboard. Last week Google added the ability for individual restaurants to add their menu links to the GMB dashboard and have them show in their branded KP result. At the time it appeared to support service …

I don’t often express pride publicly but one thing I am very proud of is LocalU. Over the years this group of talented Local SEO’s has led the industry in educating and training small businesses and agencies in ethical, sustainable and leading edge Local SEO. One such effort is Joy Hawkin’s new training manual, The Expert’s Guide to …