Local Search
Google My Business Consolidates Food Ordering Fields on New Tab
A user on twitter pointed out the addition of a new Food Ordering tab in the Google My Business dashboard. For restaurant and food based businesses, allowing customers to place an order with ease has been top of mind for the last few years and demand for this only increased throughout the pandemic. Google My…
Read MoreNew Local Finder and Business Profile Test for Services Businesses
Google is testing a new style of result in the local pack for certain services categories. This appears to be related to the business profile changes test for services businesses that I posted about last month. In addition to the changes when looking at a specific listing, I am now seeing a different style at…
Read MoreGoogle Clarifies Phone Numbers Are Not Allowed in Google My Business Posts
Many of us in the local search industry know that including phone numbers in Google My Business posts often results in the post getting rejected. However, as of today, Google has finally added this to their guidelines. In the help article on Google Posts policies, Google has added the following: Phone stuffing To avoid the…
Read MoreBreaking free of your GMB “Independence” Ranking Issue
On September 10, 2020, I first noticed a technical issue where Google is placing Google My Business (GMB) listings in Kansas. Its now nearly April 1, and the issue has not been fixed on Google’s end, but there is a process for fixing the issue if you are affected. Seeing an issue where Google is…
Read MoreGoogle My Business Launches Tool to Manage Review Removal Requests
Google has just launched a new handy tool to help people keep track of reviews they have reported to Google for removal. If you visit this link it will bring you to a page where you can select your business and see a list of the reviews that you currently have reported and a list…
Read MoreManaging Insurance Information for Healthcare Providers on Google My Business
Google My Business has been increasing the number of healthcare-specific features available to medical businesses and practitioners. In addition to multiple virtual care and COVID-19 related fields, in 2020, Google search began displaying insurance information on Knowledge Panels. This feature is displayed on both search and maps, shows below the phone number on select listings, and…
Read More2021 Google My Business Insights Update
Updated on June 15, 2021 to include new Directions and Website Clicks breakdown Google announced some changes coming to GMB Insights in October 2020. According to this Google My Business help center article titled Changes to your Insights data: Business Profile Performance reporting is moving closer to your profile on Search and Maps. You’ll be…
Read MoreGoogle Updates The Options to Flag a Review
My colleague Zach Mallett just noticed that Google updated their options for flagging a review inside the Google My Business dashboard. This is what it looks like: What’s Changed? The descriptions below each option weren’t there before. This is new and extremely helpful as it makes it much easier for a business owner to see…
Read MoreGoogle Now Shows Older Posts in the Knowledge Panel
Brodie Clark pointed out yesterday that Google is now displaying Google Posts in the Knowledge panel even if they were posted over 7 days ago. Nice one for Local SEOs to be aware of. Now seeing standard Posts appears from months back by default. Would show for 7 days previously, then “expire” and become hidden…
Read MoreGoogle Testing New Tab in Google My Business Listings?
I recently noticed a new addition to a client’s Google My Business listing on mobile. The business owner, who uses the primary category “pet sitter,” had a tab appear, to the very far right, for a service that is not mentioned in Services or Products, nor connected with pet sitting itself. The new tab, called…
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