Full shelter-in-place orders were in place all over the world for much of April 2020. Unsurprisingly, most local listing developments were in direct response to the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean these updates will cease to be relevant after COVID-19. Many of Google’s product releases are general “quality of life” improvements that could potentially have […]
Google is by far and away the most important marketing channel for brick-and-mortar businesses. In a lot of instances—even in the face of this pandemic—Google is most brands’ new homepage. It’s where your content, messaging, details, changes, products, and services are seen first. This is why it is important to make sure your presence is […]
There are huge changes in online search as COVID-19 continues to alter the daily habits of people all over the world. Stay-at-home guidelines and non-essential business closures have drastically changed the landscape of both local search and commerce in general. In times like these, there are obvious industry booms and busts. The healthcare industry (unfortunately) […]
A lot has happened in local search since we first described how to handle your Google listings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although none of these developments change the advice we gave just a couple of weeks ago, it’s time to stand back and take stock. Here are the most significant developments so far—the ones that […]
The sudden onset of COVID-19 is dominating headlines and impacting every aspect of life—and local listings are no exception during this very unusual time. You may have assumed that something as fundamental as your Google My Business (GMB) profile wouldn’t need to be altered, but the situation has already prompted Google to release a help […]
February was a tumultuous month for Google. Multiple updates, minor tweaks, and even a couple of glaring errors saw much change in the local search ecosystem this month—especially in Europe. Here’s everything you need to know. Google links to third-party rivals on European SERPs In a move that can only be detrimental to Google, branded […]
The holidays are behind us and it’s time to go over the search engine updates that snuck by while we were gorging on sweet treats. There were a few noticeable changes from both the tail end of 2019 and the first month of 2020, including Google kicking off the year with a core algorithm update […]
You won’t be surprised to learn that Google is essentially a monopoly in local search, controlling up to 95% of search traffic in certain verticals. That makes the search giant a critically important source of revenue for local businesses and enterprise brands with distributed local footprints. But local search is more than Google My Business […]
As far back as 2015, 97% of consumers were searching for local businesses online, with 93% of those searches triggering Google’s local 3-pack. It was obvious that local search was an enormous part of all online search—and in 2020, it’s easy to argue that all search is effectively local. After all, even when a query […]
Google’s “don’t be evil” motto is well known, but so is its tendency towards monopolistic practices. As the primary and ubiquitous source of business information, the search giant is fast becoming more authoritative than even a company’s own website, allowing it to gradually transform organic tactics into lucrative pay-to-win exercises. That’s why we regularly pivot […]