Yelp sees huge decline in restaurant demand, offers $25MM relief package
Yelp is seeking to become a hub for "virtual local businesses" during the coronavirus outbreak.
Topic: Yelp
Nextdoor rolls out Groups and Help Map in response to coronavirus outbreak
The crisis may become a breakout moment for Nextdoor.
COVID-19 checklist for businesses: How to manage your online presence and keep customers updated in a time of crisis
Use your local business profiles, website and Schema markup to provide the latest information to those searching for your business.
SMX Overtime: Creating great content, FAQs and how to navigate approval limitations
Digital marketing strategist Ashley Segura answers questions from SMX West about how retailers and brands should be thinking about content and more.
Yelp to Congress: Don’t investigate Google without looking at search
The reviews site wants to stop Google's "self-preferencing" in the local SERP.
In feature battle with Google, Yelp improves restaurant waitlist functionality
Yelp is trying to stay one step ahead of Google with tools that benefit both consumers and business owners.
New local SERP live in Europe
Branded directory buttons are being displayed above the map.
Yelp launches ‘Showcase Ads’ and store visits attribution
The new products are intended for national and multi-location brands.
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."
Tripadvisor’s new ‘Review Hub’ lets restaurateurs manage reviews from multiple sources in one place
The subscription-based product can also be used to identify review trends across sites.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Do local citations matter anymore? Five local SEOs sound off
A range of opinions about how much attention to devote to citations.
New site Hotspot Law like ZocDoc for lawyers
The startup is entering a mature vertical but one "in need of an upgrade."