Local Search
Major Updates to Google Knowledge Panels for Colleges & Universities
In October 2021, I wrote an article for Local University on the two types of panels appearing for colleges & universities on Google. In this article, I detailed the difference between Main Entity Panels – which are a unique type of panel connected to Google’s Knowledge Graph – and the Expanded GMB Panel – which…
Read MoreManage COVID-19 Testing Information on Your Google Business Profile
In December 2021, Google rolled out the ability for healthcare businesses to set and manage COVID-19 testing attributes directly. Prior to this update, there were 2 primary methods to add COVID-19 testing information to your Google Business Profile. Initially, Google began sourcing this data from a number of healthcare organizations and government agencies so businesses…
Read MoreGoogle Business Profiles Bugs and Fixes – December 2021
Google Business Profiles (GBP) are meant to help businesses make money and gain exposure. When GBP breaks, it can have costly effects on businesses. 5 major issues are plaguing GPB at the moment. You will either need to wait for Google the fix the issue while you slowly go out of business or take matters…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Panels: Knowledge Panels and Google My Business for Colleges & Universities
A branded search for colleges and universities on Google can bring up two unique types of panels. In this article, we will look at these panels, their unique features, and why Google chooses one over the other. Type 1: Main Entity Panel The first type of panel is what I am calling the Main Entity…
Read MoreMore Tracking for Google My Business Posts
On July 8th 2021 Ben Fisher noticed that there was a strange line added to a GMB message his business Steady Demand had received when he viewed it on a desktop: The ‘Message’ button has been on posts (when viewed on a mobile) for a while now, with the testing starting in September of 2020.…
Read MoreICYMI Google Launches Small Business Advisors Beta
Google has launched a new service for small businesses. The official name is Small Business Advisors. It is currently available in the US only. This was officially launched last November and Google is now starting to ramp it up. Here’s how Google describes the new service.Discover the different ways an Advisor can help you. We…
Read MoreGoogle My Business (GMB) Deprecates ShortNames
In June of 2021, Google updated its help document to say “Important: You can no longer create or edit short names. Short names and URLs that already exist will still work.”A Google My Business (GMB) short name is a feature that helps a business to easily drive users to a GMB Profile or help solicit…
Read MoreGoogle Won’t Remove Negative Reviews That are Constantly Updated
There are lots of frustrating scenarios that I read regularly where small businesses are plagued by negative reviews on Google. This one that I helped on the Google Business Profile forum caught my attention because I was really surprised that Google wouldn’t remove it. This business owner has had a customer update his negative review…
Read MoreHow to Unfilter your Missing Google Reviews
The Google My Business (GMB) Community Forum is seeing an increase in threads about missing or filtered reviews in the past few weeks. We see a lot of posts from reviewers or businesses about Google removing reviews for quality issues. Google will filter out reviews for using questionable words or for using too many special…
Read MoreDo Google My Business (GMB) Posts Help or (in this case) Hurt Rankings?
We all love GMB Posts, they are a great tool for converting users from a GMB Profile. I started hearing a few months ago about merchants having some issues with ranking right after a post was published. At first, I thought it was someone paying too close attention to ranking fluctuations, then after the report…
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