Mike Blumenthal

Senator Blumenthal (no relationship) interviewed Professor Tim Wu, who last year came out against Google’s Local Universal results as opposed to an alternative result, and Prefessor Meamed as to whether consumers have been harmed by Google’s behaviors, particularly in local. To paraphrase Prof Wu starting at 01:59 in the video: There was not strong evidence …

Join Mary Bowling and myself at Local U for our weekly Deep Dive as we look at some of the issues around spamming Google Maps from the agency and business point view.

Last week when I was discussing the new Google approach to immersive mobile search I noted that if Google didn’t get you on the click they got you on the clock. This definitely falls under “the click” category. Google, in what is clearly a test*, is offering movie purchases up with a bold, call to …

It appears (h/t Conrad O’Connell via David Mihm) ) that Google now allows reviews to be left with just a Google account and is no longer requiring the use of a Google Plus. This appears to be true across all browsers on both mobile and desktop. Read the whole store at GetFiveStars.

Google My Business updated their help file page: “Improve your local ranking on Google” Page.  And surprisingly, after a slow start, actually added some real ranking information (this does not appear to be a April 1 Joke): Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business from across the web (like links, articles, and …

On mobile, Google has been slowly moving towards “immersive search” as the local search experience. Google’s goal is to allow the user to get all of the information that they need via Google, never having to leave for another site. We saw this very dramatically last week with the introduction of Google Destinations. We see …

Several weeks ago Mary and I had a discussion at the Deep Dive at Local U about whether Google was using review sentiment in ranking. While I noted that the new patents for entity rank seemed to indicate that professional reviews might influence rank, that I had not seen any indication that sentiment as expressed within …

I have been enjoying my work at GetFiveStars. What is most enjoyable is the constant effort to upgrade our feedback and review platform to better serve businesses. The most recent effort on that front has been our new integration with QuickBooks Online via Zapier. Imagine all of the power of GetFiveStars happening automagically from within …

Last week I noted that Google updated its mobile branded search results with the addition of the “People Also Search For” option showing in the search results as opposed to being buried in a Knowledge Panel. It appears that the update has also expanded the concept by adding additional nuance and detail to those suggested alternative results. Now, …

Google Home Services Ads were first tested in July, 2015. In August of that year they went public as part and parcel of Google Adwords Express. We have also seen it tested both without and with the 3 pack.  And as of yesterday we saw that Google was promoting the product’s use strictly by phone. When …