Happy 15th birthday to Google Maps, the company’s second most important product
Google updates the app that embodies its commitment to local search.
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Greg Sterling's latest articles
Justice Department homing in on Google Ad Manager in antitrust probe
The feds are interviewing publishers and ad-tech rivals about whether Google has too much control "over the monetization of digital content."
Apple’s big maps makeover now available across U.S., Europe coming soon
Apple Maps needs a 'breakout' feature. Could that be privacy?
With Jumpshot shuttered, where will SEOs get their ‘zero-click’ fix now?
Move is ominous for all companies "aggregating and anonymizing" user behavioral data for third party sale.
Botify partnership with Microsoft brings real-time content indexing to Bing
Immediate indexing and more control over content are the benefits for publishers and site owners.
What local SEOs should focus on in 2020
Four experts offer their top 3 recommendations for local search marketers.
Google removes ‘ads’ and ‘sponsored’ labels from flight search results
There will be no more referral fees from partners in flight search, as Google seeks to emphasize price and convenience in rankings.
CallRail adds call analytics integration with Google My Business
Call tracking makes more data available to marketers than GMB insights.
Google buys Pointy to bring SMB store inventory online
The company offers an elegant solution to the challenge of getting local merchant inventory into search results and ads.
Google’s ‘My Business Provider’ program replaces ‘Trusted Verifier’ for GMB outreach
But agencies, SEOs, and resellers are not eligible to become MBPs.
Yelp cracks down on ‘review rings’ as Google continues to see widespread mapspam
Will the problem of fake listings and reviews destroy trust in major platforms?
The big list of Google My Business changes, upgrades and tests in 2019
The key GMB updates of 2019 with local experts’ perspective on what's most significant.
Nine voice search stats to close out 2019
A look back at some of the year's key voice search and virtual assistant metrics.
French regulator fines Google $166 million for ‘brutal’ ad suspensions
Google says it was protecting the French public from deceptive websites.
Google highlights fact-checking while Bing SERP found to be disinformation hotbed
There's still a long way to go to fix the fake-news problem, but even further for Bing according to a new Stanford report.
Don’t know much about SEO: Survey finds business owners lack basic knowledge
A survey of almost 400 businesses uncovered uncertainty and confusion about the importance of SEO.
Google now showing ‘request quotes’ button above local pack on mobile
Large button appears above 3-pack, connected to GMB messaging.
Google brings ‘Interpreter Mode’ language translation to the Assistant on smartphones
The capability was introduced previously on Google Home and smart displays.
Conductor becomes an employee-owned firm after almost two years under WeWork
WeWork bought the SEO firm in 2018 for more than $120 million.
Consumers more invested in reviews, but also more skeptical of authenticity — survey
Users now consult multiple sites and expect reviews to be relatively fresh.
Google adding more news content to ‘top stories’ in search results
Users will now see multiple carousels of news stories.
LocalU acquired by Sterling Sky founder and SEL contributor Joy Hawkins
Hawkins says the Local Search Forum & the LocalU forum will merge.
TripAdvisor buys SinglePlatform to enhance services for restaurants
The acquisition is part of a strategic shift to deepen restaurant relationships and diversify revenues to better compete with Google.
Google co-founders step down, Sundar Pichai to lead both Google and Alphabet
Page and Brin will remain as board members.
Genius sues Google and LyricFind for more than $50 million in damages
The company alleges breach of contract, unfair competition and lost ad revenue.
More EU antitrust heat for Google (and Facebook) over data collection
In a separate matter, 41 shopping comparison sites want the European Commission to further penalize Google in shopping search.
Google Maps the dominant local search tool, followed by Facebook and Yelp
The average user is on a smartphone at home – and is most likely to visit a business the next day after a local search.
Nearly 60% prefer PC to smartphones for local search survey finds, but there’s a catch
There are material differences between user behaviors of different generations.
Google’s ‘Duplex on the web’ enables the Assistant to buy movie tickets for you
The move is part of a much larger strategy to host the transaction.
Google brings audio news aggregation to smart speakers, phones
The Google Assistant acts as a kind of algorithmic, news DJ.
Google Maps becomes more ‘social’ with Local Guides follow feature
Local Guides are part of the reason GMB and Maps are so successful.
WSJ report about Google search manipulation gets a lot wrong
The media narrative has turned against big tech, and this is an example.
Local business study finds 0% of site traffic coming from email, paid media
Are small businesses not using email or digital advertising? The 'Google Analytics for Local Businesses Study' looked at 11K local businesses.
Reviews platform GatherUp acquired by martech holding company ASG
Company run by local search veterans Mike Blumenthal and Aaron Weiche joins a larger portfolio of software companies.
CallJoy, Google’s virtual phone agent for SMBs, gets an upgrade
The service is Google's first real foray into SaaS for SMBs.
European antitrust chief says Google’s auction-based shopping remedy not working
Margrethe Vestager may require Google to make additional changes in the SERP.
Uber Eats readies ad sales for restaurants
Could it become a rival to Google and Yelp over time?
Senate bill seeks to compel tech giants to offer ‘unfiltered’ versions of their content
The 'Filter Bubble Transparency Act' would apply to websites and mobile apps.
Google ramps up investment in wearable technology, enters deal to buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion
Fitbit-successor wearables will be Assistant-centric devices, supported by BERT.
Study: Killing ‘review gating’ doesn’t hurt scores and grows overall volume
GatherUp's examination of internal data shows benefits of inclusive process.