The Local Memo

In this week’s update, learn about new features in Google Assistant including restaurant ordering; a court finding on one-star reviews; the impact of the product reviews update; a new feature calling attention to recent Google Posts; local store availability in product results; and updated GMB editing features in Search.

In this week’s update, learn about Google’s report on the digital side of local; Yelp’s new Asian-owned business attribute; Google’s updated guidelines on phone numbers in Posts; a search update boosting product reviews; this year’s Google I/O conference; and the “Kansas Bug” impacting some service-area businesses.

In this week’s update, learn about new features in Google Maps; a new format for local results on mobile; the relationships between ranking factors; detailed info on GMB suspensions; the benefits of GMB photos; and a “New” flag for reviews.

In this week’s update, learn about the growth of zero-click search; the risks of GMB messaging; a new helpfulness rating in reviews; the impact of COVID-19 on search and SEO; an address verification bug; and Google’s new hotel ads offering.

In this week’s update, learn about the updated Foursquare Places; Google’s new review management tool; a bug affecting featured snippets; regional availability and pricing in Merchant Center; a new guide to Google Maps marketing; and 10 common local SEO myths.

In this week’s update, learn about a major local ranking shakeup; free booking links for hotels; rejection of GMB posts; greater prominence in GMB for native restaurant ordering; photo updates and road editing in Google Maps; and recently retired GMB attributes.

In this week’s update, find out about updates to the GMB Products tab; how to use the GMB “opening date” field; a broader rollout of the device breakdown in GMB performance metrics; BrightLocal’s commentary on the possible February local ranking update; hourly fluctuation i local rankings; and Google’s evolution since 1998.

In this week’s update, learn about Yelp’s new Waitlist tools; Facebook’s new map; the impact of Core Web Vitals; a possible local ranking update; the source of “applicable services” in Google reviews; and three posts on GMB features that convert.

In this week’s update, learn about Google’s report on fake and fraudulent local content; a new ranking opportunity for hotels; lead form extensions in Google Ads; Google’s new event series; two new guides to local SEO; and several more Google-related updates.

This week, learn about the launch of GMB messaging for desktop; why E-A-T is important for local SEO; years in business in the local pack; Google’s rollout of passage ranking; SEO tips and tricks for images; and using keyword research across the enterprise.