Impact of bad responses in Google Reviews
Received a bad Google review? How you reply matters! Find out how a poor response can negatively impact your business and how to respond effectively.
Topic: Whitespark
Why Google Business Profile address changes can disrupt local rankings
Changing an address doesn’t always change where Google thinks a business is located. Here’s what to check before updating your GBP.
Healthcare reviews: How to stay compliant and win in local SEO
Learn how to create a sustainable review engine in healthcare, from reducing friction to handling responses without exposing patient data.
Google AI Overviews: What are they and how are they triggered?
Learn what Google AI Overviews are, how they work, and what triggers them — plus how they impact your website traffic and SEO.
5-step Google Business Profile audit to improve local rankings
Learn where competitors are outperforming you — from review recency to category selection — and how to close the gap.
Google Business Profile tests AI-generated replies to reviews
GBP feature lets businesses generate suggested replies to customer reviews. You can review, edit, and manually submit replies using AI.
How AI is impacting local search and what tools to use to get ahead
Understand AI’s role in local SEO: See how AI is changing local results, user behavior, and optimization strategies — and explore the top tools to use now.
Local SEO sprints: A 90-day plan for service businesses in 2026
From GBP fundamentals to reviews and service pages, this framework helps you turn local visibility into consistent calls and booked jobs.
The proximity paradox: Beating local SEO’s distance bias
Struggling to rank beyond your map radius? Learn advanced local SEO tactics—entity building, review semantics, and localized content that beat proximity bias.
Google reviews & SEO: Advanced strategies that scale
Google Reviews impact local rankings, trust, and CTR. Learn advanced tactics to earn, manage, and leverage reviews for enterprise SEO success.
What is the Google Local Pack? How to rank in the 3-pack
Learn what the Google Local Pack is, why it matters for local SEO, and proven tactics to rank your business in the 3-Pack and boost local search visibility.
Local keyword research: Boost local SEO with the right terms
Discover how to uncover high-impact local keywords that drive foot traffic, leads, and visibility. Dominate local search with smarter SEO targeting.
Multi-location SEO: Boost local visibility for each location
Learn how to optimize your website for multiple business locations. Discover strategies for local landing pages, Google Business Profiles, and location-based SEO.
Local SEO audit guide: How to improve local rankings
Run a successful local SEO audit with this step-by-step guide. Uncover issues, optimize your local presence, and boost visibility in local search and Google Maps results.
How to set up and optimize your Google Business Profile
Learn how to create and optimize your Google Business Profile to boost visibility, attract local customers, and improve your online presence.
How Google Business Profile pre-defined services can impact local SEO
Looking to boost your local SEO rankings? Consider adding pre-defined services to your Google Business Profile listing. Learn more here.
Google’s local rebrand prompts SMB support amid antitrust lawsuits, says local SEO expert
If you work with SMBs and they received the notification, there's a chance they may be worried about how laws and resulting changes will affect their businesses.
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.
Google My Business and reviews gain in 2020 Local Ranking Factors survey
But rankings and conversions aren't always the same thing.
The average GMB profile has 73 reviews, 45 photos, 5 Posts and a star rating of 4.08
The findings come from an analysis of 2.4 million local listings in over 30 business categories.
Google now enables GMB profile edits from Search and Maps [updated]
The company is seeking more SMB engagement by making updates easier and more accessible.
Google offering ‘upgraded’ GMB profile with Google Guaranteed badge for $50 per month
Google tested the idea of subscription-based services for GMB in April 2019.
Google local ranking changes in early May? Thank a bug
Google confirmed fluctuations seen in local rankings was a bug and says it fixed the issue.
SMX Overtime: When to use the Q&A in Google My Business and how to keep it fresh
SEO expert Niki Mosier of Two Octobers shares insights about managing Q&A and when it makes sense to add a service menu.
Which local citation sources matter now?
An informal poll of local SEOs yields some answers -- and disagreements -- about spending time on citations.
Do local citations matter anymore? Five local SEOs sound off
A range of opinions about how much attention to devote to citations.
Local SEO
Contributed by Mike Hayes, Founder of Darby Hayes Consulting If you run a local business, there is a good chance you’ve heard of SEO (and likely been pitched SEO services by numerous email and telemarketers). However, there is a lot of misinformation around the web, and what this guide hopes to do is set the […]
SearchCap: Managing multiple GMB listings, malicious content take down & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How to manage multiple GMB listings for service area businesses Aug 24, 2018 by Brian Smith Contributor Brian Smith offers insights on how service area businesses can use GMB’s bulk syndication […]
SearchCap: SMX East benefits, US wireless carrier report, Bing Webmaster Tools & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Local inventory-based SEO strategy juiced rankings and sales for US wireless carrier Aug 23, 2018 by Greg Sterling Carrier saw an average ranking position of 1.9 for product queries and 5x […]
Ask an SMXpert – Significant changes to local search
Looking for a way to maximize local ads or geotargeting? SMXperts Dana DiTomaso, David Mihm and Andy Taylor share valuable tips and advanced tactics to help you succeed in local search.
SearchCap: LiveRamp targets Bing Ads, Amazon Marketing Services & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: The basics of working with Amazon Marketing Services Jun 15, 2018 by Daniel Gilbert Contributor Daniel Gilbert shares his insights on Amazon Marketing Services and how they stack up (or don’t) […]
SearchCap: Canada censors Google, Voice search SEO & more on the EU antitrust
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Canada’s Supreme Court orders Google to de-index site globally, opening door to censorshipJun 28, 2017 by Greg Sterling Decision is dangerous to free speech and the free flow of online information. […]
SearchCap: Bing updates copyright removals, Google smart display ads & SEO beginners
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing updates its DMCA take-downs and copyright removal processApr 21, 2017 by Barry Schwartz Bing Webmaster Tools gains a content removal section for viewing and appealing DMCA take-downs. 5 must-dos for […]
Moving Your Office Without Losing Rankings: The Local Business Owner’s Guide
Is your business moving to a new location? If so, check out columnist Joy Hawkins' guide to ensuring a smooth transition in Google.
Local Search Ranking Factors 2015
The 2015 Local Search Ranking Factors report is out, and it’s a must-read for anyone in the local SEO arena. As you may know, the survey polls roughly 40 leading local SEO practitioners on what they believe to be the variables most responsible for driving rankings in Google local search results. David Mihm began the […]
SearchCap: Google Gets More Time To Respond To EU, 6 Local SEO Stats & PPC Ad Tips
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google Maps Plus Codes Now Searchable, Making Hard-To-Find Places Easier To Locate Google’s Open Location Codes can now be searched on both Google and Google Maps. Is Google Experimenting With Bringing […]
SearchCap: Google Translate App, Google News Crawler Update & GooglePlex Visitor Center
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Opens A Visitor Center Here are pictures of Google’s temporary tour center, the permanent one is coming in the summer of 2015. Google News Now Will Crawl & Index Images […]
SearchCap: Google Wins In Germany, Google Knowledge Vault & Bing Ads Close Variants
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads Launches Close Variants Test In US Earlier this month, Google made waves when it announced it is removing the option to turn off close variants targeting, making true exact […]
A Review Handout Alternative: Try P&P To Get More Local Reviews
Everyone knows how important reviews are — they factor in to the local algorithm and they play a huge part in click-throughs and building trust. Good reviews can make you, and bad reviews can break you… so businesses do everything they can to get positive reviews. Since Google doesn’t allow on-site reviews, we have to […]
SearchCap: Google PayDay Loan 3.0, Bing Ads URL Tagging & World Cup Fever
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Launching Payday Loan Algorithm 3.0 Targeting Spammy Queries This Week Google’s head of web spam, Matt Cutts, announced at SMX Advanced tonight that the third version of PayDay Loan algorithm […]