Last Week in Local: Local Search, SEO & Marketing Update from LocalU

Mike’s Links

• thehustle.co - https://link.thehustle.co/view/5f3c2443c6344e7987022ea6h9fcv.f760/72bf8cbb
• Zero-Clicks Study - https://www.semrush.com/blog/zero-clicks-study/
• Webinar: Rankings Are Great, Conversions Are Greater. - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_69s-QR6bTG-VvrS6Wc7iDQ
• Google Maps has removed its COVID-19 layer - https://9to5google.com/2022/10/26/google-maps-covid-19-layer-2/
• GBP Suspension and Reinstatement Chaos - https://www.brightlocal.com/blog/google-business-profile-suspension-reinstatement-bug-chaos/
• Hacks to get back to the Old GBP Dashboard Mike Blumenthal on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1586754087080660992?s=12&t=NaNUY7w_DJFT7g65GfJdew

Carrie’s Links

• Map Pack and Other Search features Disappeared - Dr. Pete - https://twitter.com/dr_pete/status/1585011516985978880
• Funny SEO Horror Stories | Local Search Forum - https://localsearchforum.com/threads/funny-seo-horror-stories.59548/
• Does the Text of a Google Review Affect Map Pack Rankings? - Joy Hawkins - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/does-the-text-of-a-google-review-affect-map-pack-rankings/

Thanks to our LocalU Sponsors

• Zipsprout- https://zipsprout.com/
• Places Scout - https://placesscout.com/
• Whitespark - https://whitespark.ca/
• Sterling Sky - https://sterlingsky.ca/

Matt’s Links

• Recent Google review filtering and different ways to ask for reviews/different options when sending review requests via Joy Hawkins on Twitter - https://localsearchforum.com/threads/missing-reviews-reviews-disappearing.59057/
• GBP suspension bug should be resolved now - Via Joy Hawkins on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JoyanneHawkins/status/1583497806412910592
• LSAs in the local finder - via Barry Schwartz at SERoundtable.com - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-local-pack-tests-refine-query-location-search-box-33170.html
• Zocdoc showing on the SERPs via Colan Nielsen on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ColanNielsen/status/1582739806206894080

Carrie’s Links

• What are the Habits of Successful Local SEO Experts? - Colan Nielsen - SterlingSky - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/what-are-the-habits-of-successful-local-seo-experts/
• Suds & Search 135 | Brian Barwig, Local SEO Manager at Sterling Sky - SearchLab Digital - https://searchlabdigital.com/blog/suds-search-135-brian-barwig/

Thanks to our LocalU Sponsors

Zipsprout - https://zipsprout.com/

Places Scout - https://placesscout.com/

Whitespark - https://whitespark.ca/

Sterling Sky - https://sterlingsky.ca/

Join special guest Chris Ratchford and Carrie Hill as they discuss the news from local search in the last week.

Want to read more? Here are all the links!

Chris’ Links:

• What is Express Delivery on DoorDash? Is it Worth it? - Ridesharing Driver - https://www.ridesharingdriver.com/doordash-express-delivery/
• The FTC is readying its war on fake reviews - https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/policy/ftc-fake-reviews-rules
• TikTok vs. Amazon: Social video giant hiring in Seattle and L.A. to build e-commerce network – GeekWire - https://www.geekwire.com/2022/tiktok-vs-amazon-social-video-giant-hiring-in-seattle-and-l-a-to-build-e-commerce-network/
• Google rolling out site names and updated favicon logos in search results - https://searchengineland.com/google-rolling-out-site-names-and-updated-favicon-logos-in-search-results-388714

Carrie’s Links

• Edge of the web radio - episode 534 | Images and Local Search with Mike Blumenthal - https://edgeofthewebradio.com/seo-podcast/images-local-search-mike-blumenthal/
• Beginner's Guide to Google Business Profiles: What Are They, How To Use Them, and Why - Moz - Miriam Ellis - https://moz.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-google-business-profile

Hearing Aids Now Available OTC -  Prices set to plummet - Huffpost - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hearing-aid-prices-plummet-fda-over-the-counter-sales_n_634cbeace4b04cf8f379e438

Elizabeth’s Links:

• https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-clarifies-product-review-best-practices/467398/#close
  • Latest product review upate
  • Focusing on product review pages, not user generated reviews.
  • Focus on who is writing the reviews
• https://www.seroundtable.com/google-date-timestamps-accurate-in-search-results-34211.html
  • Been "working on this" since 2018. Less impactful in the Local SEO space, but for those working on news websites this is a huge pain point.
• https://twitter.com/lilyraynyc/status/1578508310097334276?s=20&t=evPdIWqBsInMnrKALOtlTg
  • Lily Ray retweeted Google Search Liaison about G's partnership with the UN to "ensure accurate information about climate change is prominently displayed on Google". Google claims third party partnerships can NOT affect rankings - but CAN "create new SERP features in addition to regular results"
  • Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/NRO/status/1578284682801717250?s=20&t=NxRMMM-74VtoN7_KZAQ98A

Carrie’s Links

• Google Announces 7 Local Search Updates - at least 2 of the 7 are focused on restaurants - which are notoriously under-marketed (unless they’re a chain w/ a marketing dept) - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-announces-7-local-search-updates/466500/#close
• How To Get Your Client Excited About Local Link-Building | Kick Point - https://kickpoint.ca/how-to-get-your-client-on-board-with-a-local-link-building-strategy/
• Localu.org/nov2 - get tickets
• New LocalU website - thank you so much Chris Ratchford!!

Erin’s Links:
Changing urls for SEO reasons may affect you negatively - John Mueller - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-url-change-seo-34163.html - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-url-change-seo-34163.html
Conductors 2023 SEO salary guide - https://downloads.digitalmarketingdepot.com/CON_2209_SalryGde23_landingpage_news.html - https://downloads.digitalmarketingdepot.com/CON_2209_SalryGde23_landingpage_news.html
GBP removes health & safety attributes - Barry Schwartz - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-drop-health-safety-attributes-34180.html - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-drop-health-safety-attributes-34180.html
Common mistakes even professional writers make - Ron Lieback - https://searchengineland.com/horrible-mistakes-professional-online-writers-make-388191 - 

Carrie’s Links
https://localsearchforum.com/threads/is-search-console-missing-clicks-from-the-3-pack-on-mobile.59445/ - 
https://localsearchforum.com/threads/uptick-in-suspensions-occurring-not-related-to-reinstatement-response-times.59421/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-highlights-online-discussions-forums-in-search-results/466392/
https://localu.org/nov2

Celina’s Links:

• Google releases September 2022 product reviews update - https://searchengineland.com/google-releases-september-2022-product-reviews-update-387293
• Why It's Getting Harder to Rank for Some Commercial Keywords (+ What You Can Do About It) - https://moz.com/blog/harder-to-rank-for-commercial-keywords
• Google On How To Simplify Hreflang Implementation - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-on-how-to-simplify-hreflang-implementation/466061/
• Google: Word Count Is Not A Sign Of Thin Or Unhelpful Content - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-word-count-34092.html
• A Marketer's Guide To TikTok Analytics - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/marketers-guide-tiktok-analytics/464180/
• Google Local Search Ranking Bug Fix Rolling Out - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-sab-search-ranking-bug-fix-rolling-out-34151.html

Carrie’s Links

• Google added new content to business guidelines today - via Stefan Somborac - https://twitter.com/StefanSomborac/status/1574460094598844444
• GBP Suspensions galore - https://localsearchforum.com/threads/uptick-in-suspensions-occurring-not-related-to-reinstatement-response-times.59421/
• September core update is complete as of 9/26 - https://developers.google.com/search/updates/ranking
• LocalU Advanced Tickets on Nov 2 - Speakers Announced - Agenda Coming Early Next Week! - https://localu.org/nov2
  • Speakers Announced:
    • Colan Nielsen @colannielsen
    • Elizabeth Rule @ownyourserp
    • Phil Rozek @philrozek
    • Brandon Schmidt @brandonschmidt
    • Amanda Jordan @amandatjordan
    • Ben Fisher @TheSocialDude
    • Crystal Horton @imcrystalhorton
    • + 2 Panels

LocalU Scholarship Application (apply for a scholarship through Sept 30) - https://localu.org/localu-scholarship-application/

Mike’s Links:

• Ford Just Made a Stunning Announcement. Here's What It Means for Customers — Inc. - https://apple.news/ArPcBDLVqSp6wFK7lKXorDw
• Google hits Astroturf trail & deceives SMB in search of support for their issued - Mike Blumenthal on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1569727101871218688?s=12&t=YV5mYYCY3AHV6U-CcgKqdA
• iOS 16 elevates search but still fails at local and internet search - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LctX3gbIxQc
• Comments on Adobe’s 2022 Emoji Usage Trends Survey - https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2022/09/comments-on-adobes-2022-emoji-usage-trends-survey.htm
• Ranking Drops for Local Service Business - https://localsearchforum.com/threads/ranking-drops-for-service-area-businesses.59362/page-2#posts

Carrie’s Links

• Search Console Adds Section for Merchant Listing & product listing markup - https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/09/merchant-listings?hl=en
• Mordy Oberstein on Diagnosing how/why pages were crawled not indexed - https://twitter.com/MordyOberstein/status/1569671231489597441 
  • Tl:dr - complicated “cute” article titles were a handicap to G understanding what the page/post was about.
  • Add more descriptive subheadings
• Carrie is doing SEO Chat - Thurs @ 1pm ET - Helpful Content - How do you know it's helpful? - https://twitter.com/search?q=%23seochat&src=typed_query&f=live
• LocalU Advanced Tickets on Nov 2 - Speakers Announced - Agenda Coming Early Next Week! - https://localu.org/nov2
  • Speakers Announced:
    • Colan Nielsen @colannielsen
    • Elizabeth Rule @ownyourserp
    • Phil Rozek @philrozek
    • Brandon Schmidt @brandonschmidt
    • Amanda Jordan @amandatjordan
    • Ben Fisher @TheSocialDude
    • Crystal Horton @imcrystalhorton
    • + 2 Panels
• LocalU Scholarship Application (apply for a scholarship through Sept 30) - https://localu.org/localu-scholarship-application/

Mike’s Links:

• FTC Announces Tentative Agenda for September 15 Open Commission Meeting - https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/09/ftc-announces-tentative-agenda-september-15-open-commission-meeting
• Covid-19 Illnesses Are Keeping at Least 500,000 Workers Out of U.S. Labor Force, Study Says — The Wall Street Journal - Google Search -  https://www.google.com/search?q=Covid-19+Illnesses+Are+Keeping+at+Least+500%2C000+Workers+Out+of+U.S.+Labor+Force%2C+Study+Says+%E2%80%94+The+Wall+Street+Journal&oq=Covid-19+Illnesses+Are+Keeping+at+Least+500%2C000+Workers+Out+of+U.S.+Labor+Force%2C+Study+Says+%E2%80%94+The+Wall+Street+Journal&aqs=chrome..69i57.366j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
• The impending demise of the local audiologists with the arrival of over the counter hearing aids - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TFYHb-Gs4Q
• SEO Services | Google Business Profile Management and Local SEO | Whitespark - https://whitespark.ca/seo-services/
• COVID-19 Google Maps updates - Google Maps Help - https://support.google.com/maps/answer/9795160
• Recession-Proof Your Brand with Local Marketing - https://www.nearmedia.co/recession-proof-your-brand-with-local-marketing/
• Google Maps Showing image in pin head - BrightLocal  on Twitter - https://twitter.com/brightlocal/status/1569307687434739712/photo/2

Carrie’s Links

• Prohibited and restricted content - Maps User Contributed Content Policy Help - https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=en&ref_topic=7422769 
• Service Area Businesses Losing Visibility - https://localsearchforum.com/threads/ranking-drops-for-service-area-businesses.59362/
• Helpful Content Update is over - https://developers.google.com/search/updates/ranking
• September Core Update rolling out starting this morning (9/12) - https://twitter.com/googlesearchc/status/1569346698769571841

Mike’s Links:

• Gigaverse - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?i=1000577438045
• A rural Minnesota self-serve grocery store could be a model for other food deserts - https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1111577588/a-rural-minnesota-self-serve-grocery-store-could-be-a-model-for-other-food-deser
• Amazon Warehousing & Distribution is the company's latest foray into logistics - https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-warehousing-distribution-is-coming-in-2023
• Small Business Summit - https://business.amazon.com/en/events/small-business-summit?ref=b2b_sow_lp_events_sbm22_smt_abtnav_822
• How to Write Meta Descriptions | Google Search Central  |  Documentation  |  Google Developers - https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/appearance/snippet
• New Product Guidelines for Local Businesses - Stefan Somborac on Twitter - https://twitter.com/stefansomborac/status/1564594145137725441?s=12&t=z1bep5MEleYWRyJhe-yhew
• Guidelines for representing your business on Google - Google Business Profile Help - https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en
• The helpful content update is going to cause so much confusion - https://www.mariehaynes.com/the-helpful-content-update-is-going-to-cause-so-much-confusion/
• Google testing Review Attribute Content - Colan Nielsen on Twitter - https://twitter.com/colannielsen/status/1563650137846603781
• PSA: Google Posts Rejections - Mike Blumenthal on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1564712176903938048
• Google’s Cloud Vision Nanny Bot - Mike Blumenthal on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1566036315531087874
• Google fixes from names on Messages - Colan Nielsen on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ColanNielsen/status/1565764152836104200?s=20&t=j4mChrxt9OBkghuW4w93vA

Carrie’s Links

• Wondering if your business is eligible for a Google Business Profile? - shared by Stefan Somborac on Twitter - https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/12473822
• https://localu.org/nov2   - tickets just $125, scholarships available

Mike’s Links:

• The Uber of ghost kitchens sucks, as Kalanick does it again - https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/23/23317897/ghost-kitchens-cloudkitchens-uber-travis-kalanick
• Exclusive: Yelp to flag listings for crisis pregnancy centers - https://www.axios.com/2022/08/23/yelp-crisis-pregnancy-centers-flag
• Google Search and Maps to label with justification  if facility provides abortions - https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/25/google-search-and-maps-will-now-clearly-label-if-a-healthcare-facility-provides-abortions/
• Google is testing ability to add captions to uploaded business photos (Twitter Mike B) - https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1562030528143958020
• Google LSA testing ability to exclude certain Zip codes (Twitter Ben Fisher) - https://twitter.com/TheSocialDude/status/1562832067066400769
• Google adds review alert on Nest Hub (Colan Nielsen on Twitter) - https://twitter.com/ColanNielsen/status/1562888799264202755
• Autism Therapy Startup Blames 'Unfortunate Bug’ For Misleading Reviews On Its Website - https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiejennings/2022/08/24/autism-therapy-startup-blames-unfortunate-bug-for-misleading-reviews-on-its-website/
• Google tests “Quick Read” annotation in SERPS -Brodie Clark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/brodieseo/status/1563817076082483201?s=12&t=vsILz5VRNYDCEra-Sfu4Qw

Carrie’s Links

• Mastering Local Holiday Marketing: Top Strategies for Seasonal Success in 2022 - RioSEO webinar with Elizabeth Rule, Claire Carlile, Ruben Yau, Justin Gianninoto - https://go.rioseo.com/local-holiday-marketing-on-demand-registration-2022.html
• Covid attributes have been removed from Google - Allie Margeson - Whitespark- https://twitter.com/SeoAllie/status/1563176432099962881
• Sponsorships available for LocalU Advanced Virtual - Nov 2 ,2022 https://localu.org/nov2