Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Category Archive For "Google+ Local"
Picking A Google Review URL
I have just published an article on the GetFiveStars* blog titled: Google Reviews – One URL To Rule Them All where you can read some ideas on picking a single Google URL for an SMB review program: With the recent divorce of Google Plus and Google My Business, they have once again thrown a Google monkey wrench into the …
Google Nukes the Local Pin for One Boxes?
Today, Google is not showing the local pin next to the web result for searches that return One Boxes. whether brand or key word based. The Knowledge Panel is still returned for the search. The pins were visible yesterday in the main search results but gone today and apparently not visible across the US. I …
Google Testing New HSA Ad Style in San Francisco Area
Joe Goldstein, who describes himself as a full time caffeine junkie. part time SEO specialist & pretty legit, recently shared with me a new Google HSA ad layout that takes up less room and allows more of the participants to be seen. Like the previous test, it seems to be only presenting in the San …
Google Removes the Location Setting?
Update: Chris Desrochers created an elegant and simple solution via an applet using Darren’s noted parameter. It makes the doing the search relatively painless. Download here. Off and on for the past two months, the search location setting as been disappearing for many folks only to come back again. Today Johnny Niumata noted it’s once again missing. …
Google Hotel Knowledge Panel Now Showing TrustYou Review Summaries
The Google Hotel Knowledge Panel is now showing TrustYou review summaries (h/t TC Tim Capper of Online Ownership). I am not sure when this started appearing but the summaries show granular detail about rooms, location and facilities and replace the Google review snippets that were shown previously. There is some irony that Google is sourcing …
Google Local and the Continuing Lack of Clear Google Messaging
Martin Brossman, observing the recent pivot of G+, recently noted that he: .. so much wish[es] Google would have communicated this in clearer ways to small businesses. The businesses I meet are more confused than ever with the Get on the Map program, that then changed everything. Not communicating the changes in a way that makes …
Google Plus Upgrade FAQ for the SMB
Google has finally made some forward facing statements about the new Google+ and how it relates to local. Essentially it doesn’t. And they have no plans to add features back that would make it more local friendly. They noted: The following features are no longer supported for Local pages – Reviews, categories, directions, stars, photo …
The New Google Plus – All About Collections Not About Business
Google Plus has released their new responsive, mobile first design. It indicates a very clear direction for the product with its focus on collections, communities, content and curation. What it doesn’t focus on is of more interest to me. It doesn’t focus on businesses, their description, reviews, videos or business photos. In fact the complete …
Facebook and Reviews; It’s Time for the Big Boy Pants
Facebook, over the past 18 months, has slowly been pushing into the local space. One of those efforts has been in the review space and they have managed to become one of the leading general review sites because of user familiarity and Facebook’s periodic promotions of their review capacity. That’s the good news. The bad …
Google Partnering with HomeAdvisor to Add Services Booking to Local
CNBC is reporting that “as of today, homeowners searching for contractors on Google will be shown results that are “HomeAdvisor screened and approved” and come with profiles, price estimates and the ability to “book now” or schedule an appointment to compare estimates for work”. This appears to be a new ad format although as of …
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