2 free tools for tracking your Google reviews
Monitoring reviews is a must for businesses with an online presence. Here are some tools to include in your local SEO toolkit.
Joy is the owner of the Local Search Forum, LocalU, and Sterling Sky, a Local SEO agency in Canada & the USA. She has been working in the industry since 2006 and enjoys speaking regularly at marketing conferences such as MozCon, LocalU, Pubcon, SearchLove, and State of Search. You can find her on Twitter or volunteering as a Product Expert on the Google My Business Forum.
Case study: Are indented search results on Google actually hurting your business?
Most businesses might think having two search results on Page 1 is a good thing. This is not always the case. Here's why.
1-star review attacks plague restaurants on Google
Google is aware of the issue and has advised business owners to flag the reviews or contact Google support to get them removed:
Apple Maps: What a maps web snapshot can do for your online content
Apple lets you create a static map image from a URL with chosen parameters and characteristics.
The ‘Vicinity Update’: Winners and losers from the November 2021 local update
This update seemed to be focused on changes around proximity and distance.
Case study: More content is not always better for ranking in Google
Content is king in SEO, but it's critical that it's the right type of content for your target audience and the SERP landscape for each client.
One-star ratings on Google are deemed not defamatory and why that’s a problem
It's crucial to have a solid review management strategy in place and for local SEOs to manage SMB expectations around review removal.
4 local review trends to watch in 2021
It’s important for businesses to not ignore the importance that reviews still have in local search results even as customer sentiment around reviews shifts.
How are local service ads impacting Google Ads accounts?
Make sure you are paying attention to the local service ads option with Google Ads, even if it is not yet available for your industry.
No, the Google My Business description does not impact ranking
After a lot of testing by many since the help center update, we can safely say the description has no impact in the 3-pack.
A wishlist of improvements for Google My Business in 2020
Joy Hawkins shares the top 5 features she’d like Google My Business to update or change this year.
Local SEOs still seeing volatility in ranking with Google’s latest algorithm update
The local search updates this month seem to be about relevance and how Google understands search terms for a business. But a lot of new spam is surfacing as well.
Businesses can now opt out of Google’s online food ordering
Here's how restaurants can opt out of "order online."
4 Things to know about Google posts in the 3-pack and local finder
We have not found content used in the Google Post has any impact on ranking so, focus on keywords you're already ranking for to boost CTR.
Google’s inconsistency with third-party reviews is a confusing user experience
Google would be better off removing “reviews from the web” because the lack of enforcement with their own guidelines makes it difficult to understand.
The majority of listings for car accident attorneys on Google are fake
Google’s ranking algorithm has a huge flaw in its local results that lead generating companies have been using for their own profit.
Google My Business messaging problems continue
When messaging is set up in the GMB app, it doesn't work for listings that belong to location groups in the dashboard.
6 things you need to know about Google’s change for service area businesses
Google's new service area business set up cleared addresses. If you're a service business, don’t try to add it back. Here's why.
Google My Business messaging via SMS to end, but where is the alternative?
The end of SMS messaging on the GMB dashboard will have a sizable – and negative – impact on marketing agencies and large enterprises. Here's why.
7 things you might not know about Google My Business categories
Google updates categories often – from name changes to new additions and sometimes a removal – so it's important to pay attention and adjust accordingly.
Google Posts decline in traffic leave many to wonder if strategy is worth the time
After Google Posts moved to the bottom of the Knowledge Panel in September, many are reevaluating the strategy as low-impact.
Massive fake review attack has big impact on small businesses
Business owners and Google product experts could not easily find all the businesses impacted during the recent attack because the profiles selected to hide their reviews.
Yelp vs Google: How they deal with fake reviews
I recently heard a story of a business that got caught with fake reviews on Yelp. They were also an advertiser spending thousands of dollars a month on ads. When they got caught, Yelp canceled their ad account and told them they would be demoting the listing’s ranking for 6 months. After that time, they […]
3 reasons why Google My Business search queries don’t match Search Console
If you work in local search, are you regularly checking the Search Query report in Google My Business Insights? Here's why you should be.
6 ways the August core algorithm update impacted local business
Was your site affected by the recent core algorithm update? Here's a look at the changes made to local and small business sites after the update.
5 local SEO myths and misconceptions that Will. Not. Die.
Like a bad penny, there are certain local SEO myths that keep turning up. Contributor Joy Hawkins lists a number of misconceptions and explains why things like bogus suite numbers will not work.
Do Google reviews impact local ranking?
Based on her research, contributor Joy Hawkins thinks reviews may play some part in how a local page ranks. Here is a case study that shows her findings.
How does Yelp’s review solicitation penalty work?
Contributor Joy Hawkins provides an overview of how Yelp's review solicitation penalty works and explains why you should not ask for reviews.
Better Business Bureau reviews are complex. Here’s what you need to know
Contributor Joy Hawkins hires a pool company and finds that the BBB's site isn't as simple as she previously believed.
Hooray! Google My Business descriptions are back
Contributor Joy Hawkins points out GMB has brought back the business description field and shares helpful tips on how a business owner can get the most marketing and sales mileage from it.
8 types of negative reviews Google will remove
Is someone getting back at your company by leaving negative reviews? Contributor Joy Hawkins shares types of reviews Google tends to remove and how to make them disappear.
Are Yelp ads worth paying for? How to figure it out
Contributor Joy Hawkins isn't sure Yelp ads are better in all cases and provides a detailed case study comparing the efficiency of Adwords over Yelp ads.
Google Questions and Answers: Everything you need to know
Looking to take advantage of this new Google My Business feature? Columnist Joy Hawkins explains how to get started with Google Q&A.
Negative reviews from ex-employees are finally against Google’s guidelines
Google recently updated its review policies to clarify that reviews left by former employees are considered to be in violation of its guidelines. Columnist Joy Hawkins explains that this was (unfortunately) necessary.
Law firms spamming Google My Business: Don’t trust your money or your life to them!
Many local businesses are guilty of violating Google My Business guidelines to game the system, and columnist Joy Hawkins has observed rampant problems within the law vertical.
Do Google Posts impact ranking? A case study
Columnist Joy Hawkins shares the results of a case study to see whether Google Posts can move the needle for local search rankings.
Markets with home service ads: Service-area businesses are coming back to the local results
There's good news and there's bad news in the local service-area business space. Contributor Joy Hawkins brings us up to date.
Are Home Service Ads the death of home-based businesses on Google?
Google is expanding their Home Service Ads across more and more cities in the US, and some home-based business owners are worried. Columnist Joy Hawkins explains how this move impacts these businesses and what they can do to combat a loss of local search visibility.
August 22, 2017: The day the ‘Hawk’ Google local algorithm update swooped in
Have you noticed a recent shift in Google's local search results? Columnist Joy Hawkins shares everything you need to know about the 'Hawk' update, which seems to have killed some of the changes we saw with Possum.
6 things you need to know about Google’s Q&A feature on Google Maps
Noticed the new "questions & answers" section in Google Maps app listings? Columnist Joy Hawkins shares her observations about this helpful new feature.