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

Mike’s Links:

• How Google and Amazon bankrolled a 'grassroots' activist group of small business owners to lobby against Big Tech oversight - https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/how-google-and-amazon-bankrolled-a-grassroots-activist-group-of-small-business-owners-to-lobby-against-big-tech-oversight.html
• Leaked: New Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban Words Like “Union,” “Restrooms,” “Pay Raise,” and “Plantation” - https://theintercept.com/2022/04/04/amazon-union-living-wage-restrooms-chat-app/
• Amazon workers in New York City vote to form first U.S. union at retail giant - https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/amazon-union-new-york-city-staten-island-jfk8-first/#
• Consumer Review Trust Down but Usage Up - https://www.nearmedia.co/consumer-trust-in-reviews/
• Writing Google reviews about patients is actually a HIPAA violation - https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/1/23006132/google-patient-reviews-hipaa-doctors-yelp
• Damian Rollison note about GBP page on ranking including products as a ranking factor - Twitter - https://twitter.com/damianrollison/status/1511117722163187713?s=12&t=hrgr1Cjx84rks7G7uFCARA
• How to improve your local ranking on Google - Google Business Profile Help - https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en
• 8 Q1 Local Search Developments You Need to Know About - https://moz.com/blog/q1-2022-local-search-developments
• Google Business Profile review management tool expands support to those with many local listings - https://searchengineland.com/google-business-profile-review-management-tool-expands-support-to-those-with-many-local-listings-383372
• How to remove reviews from your Business Profile on Google - Android - Google Business Profile Help - https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid
• How to Remove a Permanently Closed Google Business Profile Page from Google Maps for Good - https://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2022/03/30/how-to-remove-a-permanently-closed-google-business-profile-page-from-google-maps-for-good/
• Google Maps rolling out toll pricing, more detailed navigation, and new iOS integrations - https://9to5google.com/2022/04/05/google-maps-new-navigation/

Carrie’s Links

• My Google Business Profile Vanished. What Do I Do? - Sterling Sky Inc - Colan Nielsen https://www.sterlingsky.ca/my-google-business-profile-vanished/
• New Offer Posts Feature? | Local Sea

Mike’s Links:

• How we kept information on Maps reliable in 2021 - https://blog.google/products/maps/how-we-kept-maps-reliable-2021/
• Details from the FTC's 'HomeAdvisor Cheated SMBs' Complaint - https://www.nearmedia.co/detailed-allegations-from-the-ftc-homeadvisor-complaint/
• Google Review Growth in Decline - https://www.nearmedia.co/google-review-growth-slowing/
• GBP Help Center making Chat & Get a Call Support options available again 
• h/t Allie Margeson - https://twitter.com/SeoAllie
• Google Testing Metadesc Links based on H2 headings
• Adding goeMidpoint &geoRadius Schema to limit out of market inquiries 
• Google Increasingly Showing Product Images in Local Packs - https://www.nearmedia.co/google-increasingly-merging-merchant-center-images-into-3-pack/
• Create externally friendly booking pages with appointment scheduling in Google Calendar - https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2022/03/blog-post.html

Carrie’s Links

• Google Search will soon let you book checkups and other medical appointments - CNBC - https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/24/google-health-care-appointment-bookings-search.html
• Google's Web Stories Now Prominently Featured on Mobile in the US - Brodie Clark Consulting  - https://brodieclark.com/visual-stories-unit-web-stories/
• Google Search Console structured data error reporting gains more contextual information - Barry Schwartz - https://searchengineland.com/google-search-console-structured-data-error-reporting-gains-more-contextual-information-383222
• Vicinity Update Correction - March 2022 | Local Search Forum Joy Hawkins -https://localsearchforum.com/threads/vicinity-update-correction-march-2022.58846/

Mike’s Links:

• HomeAdvisor Cheated SMBs for Years – FTC - https://www.nearmedia.co/homeadvisors-accused-of-cheating-smb-by-ftc/
• Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA - https://beta.ada.gov/web-guidance/
• Prepare for the future with Google Analytics 4 - https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/prepare-for-future-with-google-analytics-4/amp/
• Using Google Analytics for SEO: UA and GA4 - ​​https://seranking.com/blog/how-to-use-google-analytics-for-seo/
  • How to Set Up Google Analytics: Complete Tutorial - https://seranking.com/blog/google-analytics-setup/
  • How to recreate the landing pages report in GA4 - Dana DiTomaso - https://twitter.com/danaditomaso/status/1504864442114215936
• What is Visual Search? A Primer for Local Businesses- https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/what-is-visual-search-a-primer-for-local-businesses/Microsoft Edge now automatically generates image labels for screen readers
• Google’s free hotel booking links arrive on Search and Maps - https://searchengineland.com/googles-free-hotel-booking-links-arrive-on-search-and-maps-382594
• Google Adds Business Profiles Managers Controls In Web Search - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-manager-controls-in-web-search-33085.html
• SMS Messaging Support Returns To Google Business Profiles? - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sms-messaging-business-profiles-33098.html
• Reviews In Google Local Gone Missing are Found - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-reviews-going-missing-33079.html

Carrie’s Links

• Business Owner Review Responses Appearing on Local Services Ads  - Tom Waddington - https://tomwaddington.com/business-owner-review-responses-local-services-ads/
• How to recreate the landing pages report in GA4 - Dana DiTomaso - https://twitter.com/danaditomaso/status/1504864442114215936
• Taking Action Against Fake Customer Feedback and Reviews | Meta - https://about.fb.com/news/2022/03/taking-action-against-fake-customer-feedback-and-reviews/
• Thanks to our LocalU Advanced Sponsors for our 4/5/22 Event:
  • Zipsprout - https://zipsprout.com/

Mike’s Links:

‘Insidious and seductive’: Uber funds lobbying group campaigning to stop gig workers unionising - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/11/uber-funds-new-lobbying-group-to-deny-rights-for-gig-workers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Howard Lerman on LinkedIn: Tens of Millions of Accurate Listings - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/howardlerman_tens-of-millions-of-accurate-listings-1403500-activity-6907073739486564352-qouo
1,403,500 emails (mostly unread | 72 comments) - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/howardlerman_tens-of-millions-of-accurate-listings-1403500-activity-6907073739486564352-qouo
Yelp's Hidden Headwinds: Declining User Traffic and Aging Reviews - https://www.nearmedia.co/yelp-2021-financials-headwinds/
Vicinity Update & GBP Name Spam: What Was the Real Impact? - https://www.brightlocal.com/research/vicinity-gbp-spam-impact/
 
Carrie’s Links
A Beginner's Guide to Local SEO - Greg Gifford for BrightLocal - https://academy.brightlocal.com/course/complete-guide-to-local-seo
Google Local Q&A Related To Your Search Feature - Barry Schwartz - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-q-a-related-to-your-search-31661.html
 The Most Expensive Keywords For 2022 -  Mike Schrobo - https://www.ppchero.com/the-most-expensive-keywords-for-2022/
Version 100 of Chrome, Firefox & Edge May Break Websites - Mark Porter - https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/version-100-of-chrome-firefox-edge/
How To Debug Missing Pages In A Crawl - Screaming Frog - https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/how-to-debug-missing-pages-in-a-crawl/

Mike’s Links:

• Target's new hourly wage will soon be as much as $24 - https://www.retaildive.com/news/targets-new-hourly-wage-will-soon-be-as-much-as-24/619512/
• Amazon Ends Bookstores, Review Trust Down, CX a Google Ranking Factor - https://www.nearmedia.co/amazon-ends-bookstores-review-trust-down-cx-a-google-ranking-factor/
• Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods - https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/technology/whole-foods-amazon-automation.amp.html?usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#
• Toxic links: Here's why you can often ignore them - https://www.mariehaynes.com/disavow-blacklist-tool/
• Tripadvisor, Google Maps Suspend Reviews of Some Russian Listings
• - https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-03-02/card/tripadvisor-google-maps-suspend-reviews-of-some-russian-listings-vM2no1PgGDmMkL2TSvPZ
• Google Business Profiles May Require Additional Verification - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-additional-verification-33006.html
• Ben Fisher: GBP offering promo to add Woo Commerce Link to profile - https://twitter.com/TheSocialDude/status/1498828876398489604
• Google Test "Confirmed by phone call x Weeks ago" label for opening hours in Location Panel - ​​https://tldrmarketing.com/seo/google-test-confirmed-by-phone-call-x-weeks-ago-label-for-opening-hours-in-location-panel/
• Claire Carlile: Post Insights now available to GPB search interface - https://twitter.com/clairecarlile/status/1499728197499379720?s=12
• Franchise Owners Should be Managing Franchisee Business Listings & Expectations - https://onlineownership.com/franchise-owners-should-be-managing-franchisee-business-listings-expectations/

Carrie’s Links

• Walmart moves further into Livestream shopping | Retail Dive - https://www.retaildive.com/news/walmart-moves-further-into-livestream-shopping/619558/
• 2022 Local SEO Blackbelt Quiz - Sterling Sky Inc - Colan Nielsen - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/2022-local-seo-blackbelt-quiz/
• New Recorded Video Verification for Google Business Profiles - Yan Gilbert - https://localu.org/recorded-video-verification/
• Happy 5 year birthday, Sterling Sky (in April) - https://twitter.com/JoyanneHawkins/status/1500539149392228356

Mike’s Links:

• Core Web Vitals Impact on Google Business Profile Landing Pages - https://whitespark.ca/blog/core-web-vitals-local-search-study/
• Core Web Vitals: No impact on Local ranking: Why is that? -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK7_60qmvh4
• Mike Blumenthal: Appointment link in GBP is back with a new modal l on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1496519712984997902
• Stefan Somborac: New Order Metric from GMB Insights - https://twitter.com/stefansomborac/status/1497324093221314569?s=12
• Changes to your Insights data - Google Business Profile Help - https://support.google.com/business/answer/10018786?hl=en

Carrie’s Links

• Why Are My Google Business Profile Posts Getting Rejected? - Sterling Sky Inc - Joy Hawkins - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/rejected-google-posts/
• Local Pack Update Allows Searchers to Interact with the Featured Map - Whitespark - Allie Margeson - https://whitespark.ca/blog/interactive-local-pack-map/
• LocalU Advanced April 5 - $99 tix - https://localu.org/apr5 

Mike’s Links:

• Amazon's sprawling grocery business has become an 'expensive hobby' with a cloudy future - https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/19/amazons-sprawling-grocery-business-has-become-an-expensive-hobby.html
• Bredin Report: What Content Works Best for SMB Consideration? - https://bredin.com/blog/2022/02/bredin-report-what-content-works-best-for-smb-consideration/
• 10 Ways to Beat Google Title Rewrites, Backed by Data - https://zyppy.com/seo/title-tags/beat-google-title-rewrites
• Dr. Marie Haynes - Google Workspace Docs now provides document summary automatically  -Marie Haynes- https://twitter.com/marie_haynes/status/1493970225456369669?s=21
• Ep 52 Near Memo: David Mihm discusses whether the Doc summary feature provides an SEO tool -David Mihm- https://www.nearmedia.co/will-google-make-seo-superfluous-is-android-sandbox-real-or-pr-wixs-q4-s-how-big-is-the-smb-market/
• Favi-gone: 5 Reasons Why Your Favicon Disappeared From The Google Search Results [Case Studies] -Glenn Gabe- https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/favicon-problems-google-search/
• GBP Appointment Link is Gone?! - https://localsearchforum.com/threads/gbp-appointment-link-is-gone.58705/
• How to beat the GBP Q&A bug and answer a question as the business -Greg Gifford- https://searchlabdigital.com/blog/how-to-beat-the-gbp-qa-bug-and-answer-a-question-as-the-business/
• Yelp Elites and Others Paid for Fake Reviews in Plain Sight -Jason Brown- https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/consumer/yelp-elites-and-others-paid-for-fake-reviews-in-plain-sight/2816914/

Carrie’s Links

• 1-Star Reviews Have Increased on Yelp for 4 Years in a Row -Joy Hawkins- https://localu.org/yelp-rating-distribution-trends/
• Offer on Google Maps -Joy Hawkins- https://localu.org/google-just-deprecated-the-follow-button-and-welcome-offer-on-google-maps/
• Thinking about setting up a second Google Business Profile for your service area business? Read this before you do to make sure you don't fall into Google's naughty list. -Colan Nielsen- https://twitter.com/ColanNielsen/status/1494770066935750659
• LocalU Advanced April 5, 2022 - Great speakers, unique content -OnDemand Included- just $99 -https://localu.org/apr5

Mike’s Links:

• Yelp-Q4-2021-Letter-to-Shareholders - https://s24.q4cdn.com/521204325/files/doc_financials/2021/q4/Yelp-Q4-2021-Letter-to-Shareholders.pdf
• Near Media : The FTC *& Reviews, the Cliff Notes on Twitter - https://twitter.com/nearmediaco/status/1490763893760835585?s=12
• Google Automates SMB Emails to Congress to Plead Antitrust Case - https://www.nearmedia.co/google-automates-smb-emails-to-congress-to-plead-googles-case/
• Getting Google My Business Support - https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/getting-google-my-business-support/
• How to Track Calls from Ads in the 3-Pack - Google Ads Help - Sterling Sky Inc - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/tracking-3-pack-ad-calls/
• Lily Ray  Google now sends alerts when you sit down to eat at a restaurant saying "Are you at X restaurant? View the menu" Twitter - https://twitter.com/lilyraynyc/status/1491511222637846537

Carrie’s Links

• What You Need to Know about Updates from Customers on Google Maps - Joy Hawkins -  https://localu.org/updates-from-customers-google-maps/
• BBB Scam Alert: Don't let scammers steal your Google Business Profile! - BBB  - https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/26465-bbb-scam-alert-dont-let-scammers-steal-your-google-business-profile
• Google Local Pack With Double Ad Placement - A Bug?  Barry Schwartz - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-pack-with-double-ad-placement-32892.html
• Agenda Published for LocalU Advanced!  Come check it out! - https://localu.org/apr5

Mike’s Links:

• The 10 Review Platforms Who Got FTC Warning Letters - https://www.nearmedia.co/ftc-review-fraud-letters-the-platforms-who-got-them/
• As 2022 kicks off, store closures are down 65%: Coresight - https://www.retaildive.com/news/as-2022-kicks-off-store-closures-are-down-65-coresight/618020/
• Local Economics Through the Lens of Elected Officials and Organizers - https://moz.com/blog/local-economies-elected-officials?utm_campaign=blog_post&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
• How reviews on Google Maps work - https://www.blog.google/products/maps/how-google-maps-reviews-work/
• Is This a Twitter Thread or a Blog Post? - https://sparktoro.com/blog/is-this-a-twitter-thread-or-a-blog-post/

Carrie’s Links

• Google Business Profile UTM Tagging for Multi-Location Businesses - Claire Carlile - Bright Local - https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/google-utm-for-business-profile/
• Pending Changes that were stuck seem to be publishing - Joy Hawkins via Twitter - https://twitter.com/JoyanneHawkins/status/1488531825282719746
• LocalU April 5 - $99 tickets, OnDemand Included - https://localu.org/apr5 

Mike’s Links:

• Losses Mount for Startups Racing to Deliver Groceries Fast and Cheap - https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/losses-mount-for-startups-racing-to-deliver-groceries-fast-and-cheap-11643544004
• Apple working on tech to allow iPhones to directly process credit cards - https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/01/27/apple-working-on-tech-to-allow-iphones-to-directly-process-credit-cards
• With $4.2M Fine, FTC Kills 'Review Gating' - https://www.nearmedia.co/ftc-drops-a-4-2-review-abuse-fine/
• FTC's Review Guidelines Part I: Business Marketers - https://www.nearmedia.co/ftcs-business-marketer-guidelines/
• Ep 49: GMB PWND by spammer, Google moves toward contextual advertising & The FTC updates review guidelines - https://www.nearmedia.co/ep-49/
• We Studied 81,000 Page Titles - Google Rewrote 61% Of Them - https://zyppy.com/blog/google-title-rewrite-study/
• Video verification is now available for Google Business Profiles - https://searchlabdigital.com/blog/video-verification-is-now-available-for-google-business-profiles/
• Best Practices When Moving Your Business Location in GMB - https://whitespark.ca/blog/best-practices-when-moving-your-business-gmb-listing/
• Google Promotes Pointy From Google In Business Profiles - https://www.seroundtable.com/pointy-from-google-promotion-32823.html?utm_source=tldrmarketing.com&utm_medium=referral
• Colan Nielsen Google Promotes Pointy, Twitter - https://www.seroundtable.com/pointy-from-google-promotion-32823.html?utm_source=tldrmarketing.com&utm_medium=referral

Carrie’s Links:

• Apple to Rival Square by Turning iPhones Into Payment Terminals - Bloomberg - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-27/apple-to-let-iphones-accept-credit-cards-without-extra-hardware?fbclid=IwAR34SkK-P-9-P0PvoIr_gA2lxeMfyl0qbAi7QT6JK6q0ccQ_SUj-bKmpQek
• NJ Restaurant Threatened to Fire Workers Who Didn't Get 5-Star Reviews - Business Insider - https://www.businessinsider.com/nj-restaurant-fire-workers-5-star-google-reviews-tio-edison-2022-1