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?
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Here’s some data to help you understand how to rank better with your brand name
When people search your brand name, you want them to see content that you have some control over.
How verticalization and zero-click will impact local search in 2020
In the coming year it will be interesting to see how Google balances the priority of verticalization against the growing popularity of Google Maps as the first choice among searchers.
SEO year in review 2019: Zero-click searches, BERT, local spam and more
What’s past is prologue. Here’s our recap of the stories that will shape search for years to come.
Google now showing ‘request quotes’ button above local pack on mobile
Large button appears above 3-pack, connected to GMB messaging.
Consumers more invested in reviews, but also more skeptical of authenticity — survey
Users now consult multiple sites and expect reviews to be relatively fresh.
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 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 Maps becomes more ‘social’ with Local Guides follow feature
Local Guides are part of the reason GMB and Maps are so successful.
Rand Fishkin on optimizing for and against Google
The search veteran discussed how Google is entering new markets and what brands can do to insulate themselves.
Uber Eats readies ad sales for restaurants
Could it become a rival to Google and Yelp over time?
Study: Killing ‘review gating’ doesn’t hurt scores and grows overall volume
GatherUp's examination of internal data shows benefits of inclusive process.
Survey: 97% of online adults transact with businesses they find on Yelp
The survey of more than 6,000 adults is a follow up a study conducted by Nielsen in 2016.
The future of search begins with a ‘V’
Voice and visual search will ultimately become significant drivers of query volume beside text input.
Restaurant app Tobiko goes old school by shunning user reviews
The app represents a return to the simplicity of expert reviews.
Google showing mobile ‘search by photos’ option in selected local verticals
The new element appears to not have a fixed position but resides below the local pack, sometimes right below.
Nextdoor’s ‘Local Deals’ ads let SMBs target specific neighborhoods
Appearing in multiple places, it's both a paid search and display ad in one.
Revenge of the small business website
VC investments in Wordpress' parent and Duda, plus a new Yahoo website offering, show that SMB sites are still big business.
Nextdoor in new deals with directories to monetize local search
Nextdoor is trying to ramp up revenue growth as it heads toward a likely IPO.
TripAdvisor says it blocked or removed nearly 1.5 million fake reviews in 2018
Most of the fake reviews that are submitted (91%) are "biased positive reviews."
Yelp introduces ‘Connect’ and new Waitlist features for restaurants
Connect is a publishing tool not unlike Google Posts, but with differences.
Search used when brands are unknown, but it’s direct navigation for existing customers
A new survey from Yext explores what content sources are more trusted and what's at stake in not paying enough attention to third party platforms.
Google verticals, machine learning and no-click searches expected to have the biggest impacts on SEO
Survey also finds that SEOs think government investigations are least likely to impact the industry.
Google now showing competitor ads on local business profiles
The unit is from Local Campaigns and businesses cannot pay to remove them.
The importance of an effective review management workflow
Brands are at the mercy of third-party review management sites so it’s important to monitor and manage this process as best you can.
Yelp adds new personalization features in bid to regain local momentum from Google
The new capabilities are the beginning of 'major product changes' according to the company.
FTC smacks down anti-review ‘non-disparagement clauses’ in form contracts
Make sure your contracts don't have terms that violate the CRFA.
Review counts matter more to local business revenue than star ratings, according to study
Womply also found businesses claiming their listings on multiple sites generated 58% more revenue than the average.
New research shows strong link between Google My Business photo quantity and search performance
Here's what analyzing 580,853 images across 15,191 Google My Business listings taught us about how GMB images could be impacting user behavior.
Do local citations matter anymore? Five local SEOs sound off
A range of opinions about how much attention to devote to citations.
5 tactics that encourage customer reviews
Make sure your business pages are claimed and ready for reviews – then be ready with a strategy to respond to them.
New site Hotspot Law like ZocDoc for lawyers
The startup is entering a mature vertical but one "in need of an upgrade."
Emoji SEO presents opportunities for video
Emoji search hasn’t quite caught on, but emojis still pose some interesting opportunities for your organic visibility.
What two big studies tell us about the state of local marketing
New research from SOCi and FreshChalk point toward best practices and reveal how most local marketers are failing to execute.
Yelp offering more paid profile upgrades for business owners
These new subscription products are part of broader push by the company to enable more business profile customization and generate new revenues.
Millions of fake Google Maps listings hurt real business and consumers
Google says it is working on it, but is still positioned to profit as local businesses claw back visibility with paid ads.
Understanding the role of branded and unbranded search in the customer journey
Understanding how to rank for both branded and unbranded terms in organic search is critical for marketers looking to build domain authority and capture share of search online. After all, over 3.5 billion searches are conducted each day on Google alone. When we talk about branded versus unbranded search, it isn’t an either/or proposition. Both […]
Google search update aims to show more diverse results from different domain names
Another Google search update has rolled out this week, this one deals with domain diversity in the search results.