Google Un-verifying GMB Listings

October 11, 2015June 4, 2015 by Brian

UPDATE: Since I posted this morning, Professor Maps got an update from Google with a copy of the warning email they send and SEL did a nice write up about the issue as well.

For those of you who work in Google My Business accounts often, this may be news. I was working in a GMB Bulk Feed account yesterday and noticed several of the thousands of listings in the account had a notice of “Disconnected“. The notice said, “This location can’t be connected to Google right now. If this problem continues for more than two days, try deleting the location and adding it again or contact support.”

Top 35 Local SEO Leaders to Follow

July 25, 2016June 2, 2015 by Brian

Updated: July 22, 2016

Digital marketing, specifically Local SEO, is extremely challenging and only getting more so with the addition of new Google algorithms, Mobile updates, Phantom Updates and the removal of Local Packs. How do you keep up with all of the changes and fluctuations in the local area?

When Google declared that content was king, the digital space exploded into a mess of content and most of it is crap. The challenge is navigating through the garbage and finding real information – gems of content you cant go without, nuggets you want to share which benefit your clients and then ultimately, your bottom line.

Below is a list of my 35 Go-To Peeps when it comes to Local SEO. These are, in my opinion, the top Local SEO people/companies which continually produce relevant, timely and high quality information. These are the people I turn to when I want no-nonsense, breaking information.

The Difference Between Local, Organic and Universal Search

January 29, 2019April 27, 2015 by Brian

The Search Engine Result Page (SERP) didn’t always look like this.

It used to look much, much different.

A Small Business Guide to Citations

October 11, 2015February 23, 2015 by Brian

For businesses who want to rank in the Local landscape, there are many different aspects small business owners need to understand in order to be found online. There is an overwhelming amount of information to digest, no shortage of SEO experts to tell you what you need to be doing and minimal amount of time to do any of it.

Small business owners in particular should have a strong, responsive website, with unique, neighborhood relevant content, a social media presence and an ongoing digital strategy. This can be a tall task for any business owner, let alone those who do not fully understand Local SEO.

Every small business owner has done this at least once since their business has been open. They go to Google, type in their information and scan the Page 1 SERP. It’s natural. Business owners want to know how they show up in Google. What’s also natural is having the business website show up first (hopefully). What shows up next though? Facebook? Yelp? Something else? Whatever the results are, hopefully it is their own business.

Why Google My Business is Critical for Local Success

January 16, 2020January 5, 2015 by Brian

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business launched to most businesses in June of 2014 and signified a major investment from Google in local business. Google, always looking toward future, appears to be solidifying local business as their foundation for the future. Many businesses were able to use Google My Business (GMB) immediately upon release, while other, larger, branded companies had to wait several months for the rollout.

Originally known as Google Places, Google My Business is designed to help local businesses seize control of their digital marketing presence. This powerful tool allows businesses to manage general business information, Google Reviews, Google Plus, Adwords and Analytics in one easy to use home. It also provides a way to manage the local digital landscape from Google Search, Google Maps and Google Plus on one dashboard.

Google Pigeon Theory

November 11, 2014November 10, 2014 by Brian

I’ve had this theory for a little while now and I’m going to finally let it out of the box. Inspired by a great read on Andrew Shotland’s blog, he spits a few theories of his own. Andrew has been most vocal about how crappy the Pigeon algortithm has been and that G needs to clean it up. One of his theories on why the SERP’s are so bad is the “the combination of overweighting of Google’s brand algorithm and the narrowing of the radius for many local queries could have pushed some of these big brands out of the local packs”.

Pigeon Algorithm Analysis

October 11, 2015September 3, 2014 by Brian

Its been a few weeks since my last post on Pigeon, though I want to give an update on some items of interest I’ve been seeing with the update.

Ive been researching Pigeon since the day it was announced in an attempt to figure out just what is going on with the awful results being displayed. Here’s a quick rundown of what we know so far: