How to run a local GEO baseline audit
Find out whether AI recommends your business, gets your information right, or favors competitors before investing more in local SEO.
Topic: Data Integrity
How to eliminate the skepticism tax in marketing data
Branded search can overstate marketing impact, revealing larger issues with attribution, AI outputs, and data confidence.
AI is working. Your data is what’s broken.
Everyone is rushing to apply AI, but foundational identity gaps, fraud and bad inputs are only being amplified, not solved, by models.
Google Ads status dashboard flags Ad Manager reporting issue
Advertisers may see reporting discrepancies in Google Ad Manager, affecting how they track performance and optimize campaigns.
The Data Doppelgänger problem
AI agents, shared signals and fragmented identities are distorting marketing intelligence. Most brands do not know who is really acting.
Google Ads Manager data issue under investigation
Google is investigating a data discrepancy in Ad Manager reports and Data Transfer files from May 2, potentially impacting report accuracy for that period.
What to do when Google changes your GBP information
Learn how to effectively manage and protect your Google Business Profile from unexpected updates by Google.
Google investigating Ad Manager Reach report error
Although you may still have access to Google Ad Manager, you may find you can't access the most recent data.
Mastering content quality: The ultimate guide
Go beyond the basics of content quality. Explore the keys to creating content that stands out, connects, and builds trust.
Google Ads reporting issues with APIs and Ads Scripts
The reporting issue was between April 25th 2:32 PM PT and April 26th 12:24 PM PT.
Google Discover performance reports data issue
You may see a significant decline in your Google Discover traffic in Google Search Console, this may be a reporting bug.
Image search click data dropped by Google Search Console
Between November 14 and 19th, Google said it lost image click data in the Search Console performance reports.
Google Ads store visits, store sales reporting data partially corrected
Google says it is making progress, but there are still days for which reporting is inaccurate.
Why Google shutting down Map Maker should terrify SMBs
Contributor Joy Hawkins warns about the likely unintended consequences of Google's impending shutdown of Map Maker, calling for the search giant to create more transparency.
Google Analytics Data Skewed Because Of Instant Previews
There are confirmed reports that Google Instant Previews may be skewing your web analytics data. It appears that in some cases Google will conduct an on-demand fetch of your page to dynamically create an Instant Preview. The on-demand fetch happens when a searcher places his mouse over the search result on Google and the image […]
Search Engine Metrics Are Horrible (And Why That’s Okay)
The condition of standard SEO metrics search engines provide the web community (if the term “metric” can even be used here) is pretty deplorable right now. Back in February, I wrote: “…the convention of using indexed page counts and backlinks to benchmark and report on site performance is facing a similar demise [to ranking reports].” […]
Time To End The Bull Search Engine Share Figures?
Yahoo’s up again in comScore’s latest search rankings. Reason? It seems largely due to non-search “slideshow” activity. Solution? Time to end the bullshit way search share figures are calculated. Chance of success? Probably nil, but it’s worth hoping for. Today’s figures, for share of searches in the US handled by the major search engines, show […]
The Problem Of Inconsistent SMB Contact Details – Part I
Have you ever thought twice about how to find the correct contact details for a local business – i.e., their name, address, phone number? The answer should be so simple: just Google it. Well, the reality is not that simple. In fact, few questions in the local online search world are as complicated as this […]
Is It Time To Send Google Maps Back To The Drawing Board?
Google Maps and its Local Business Center continue to be the ugly warts on Google’s otherwise smooth surface. But rather than the long-running problems with mapspam and hijacked listings, the latest sore spot appears to be an internal problem with Google’s apparently unsophisticated (or perhaps over-complicated?) database systems. Mike Blumenthal points out today that Google […]
Google Local Business Hijacking: Microsoft Acquires Yahoo, Becomes Escort Service
Mike Blumenthal has been diligently covering how local listings can be hijacked in Google Maps. He’s also been frustrated that Google doesn’t seem to be fixing the local hijacking problem. So, to illustrate the problem, he’s posted how he took over Microsoft’s business listing — turning it into Microsoft Escort Service — and how those […]
FeedBurner Numbers Spike — Blame FeedBlitz!
Nice — I picked up 5,000 new feed subscribers today, while Barry Schwartz saw Search Engine Roundtable grow 35,000. Overnight! Obviously, the FeedBurner numbers we and others get have gone wonky. To blame? FeedBlitz seems to be putting out bad stats. Consider the comparison above. The left side shows reported subscribers from various feed reading […]