by Chris Barnard | Jan 24, 2019 | Google My Business
UPDATED 1/24/2021.
What Are Google Posts?
Google Posts are a new way to market to customers & prospective customers (people searching for your products and.or services on Google) through your Google My Business listing.
Google Posts are offers, content, events, or highlights about your business published – via Google My Business (not Google+…more on that later) – which post directly to Google Search & Google Maps.
According to Google, posting through Google My Business lets you publish your events, products, and services directly to Google Search and Maps.
By creating posts, you can place timely, action-oriented content in front of customers & prospective customers when they find your business listing on Google or Google Maps.
Where Will People See Your Google Posts?
When you publish a Post to your Google My Business listing, your post will be seen on:
- Your Google My Business listing.
- Google search engine results – in your Knowledge Panel.
- On your Google Maps listing.
Here’s an example of what Posts inside the Knowledge Panel looks like on search: (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Aug 2, 2018 | Google My Business
How Can A Local Business Owner Remove A Fake Google Review?
By having a review generation & monitoring system in place, by responding to every review, and by taking the appropriate steps to remove the fake review while also cultivating positive reviews from existing customers, with consistency.
We’ll examine that review system and the steps involved in more detail below, but first I want to point out how having your blinders on about reviews won’t protect you from becoming a victim of a fake – or many fake – reviews.
Are local business owners really victims of fake reviews on Google? Is the problem really that bad?
Yes, it’s not #fakenews – it’s #fakereviews – and sadly it’s just a fact of doing business in the social, mobile, digital world.
As for it being a systemic issue that is really that bad or not, ask yourself how you would feel if you saw some fake 1-star bullshit review pop up on your Google My Business listing.
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by Chris Barnard | May 29, 2018 | Google My Business
How Can Your Business Dominate Google Maps?
Google Maps leads new customers to your local business every single day – whether you know it or not.
But in order for local businesses to dominate Google Maps, there are certain things you must do to make sure Google can find your business when people around you go a searchin’.
Listing your business on Google Maps is the start, but it doesn’t end there.
In order to dominate Google Maps, you need to claim more than your Google My Business listing.
Local SEO starts with an owned, verified & optimized Google My Business listing, it’s a great – free – way to get your business in front of new customers.
Most searches these days take place on a mobile device, this is one primary reason why Google is going to a mobile-first index by July 2018.
Google found that 4 out of 5 people surveyed used search engines to conduct local searches. used smartphones and 84% used a computer or tablet.
Mobile-first means Google will be ranking the mobile version of your website, before the desktop version.
Takeaway: you shoulda been mobile-friendly as of April 21st, 2015. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Apr 9, 2018 | Google My Business
Google Adds Business Descriptions In Google My Business & Local Knowledge Panel
Are you a local Carlsbad business owner concerned with what your Google My Business listing says about you?
Not the descriptors, reviews, office hours, categories, or other such important attributes of your Google My Business listing, no.
We’re talking about the ‘Descriptions‘ field that disappeared back in 2016, but has been reappearing in some Google My Business listings in the past week or so.
It wasn’t that long ago when Google removed the capability to describe your business in Google My Business, that was back in 2016.
And don’t think that this Description field can possibly disappear from your Google My Business listing in the future. Google is notorious for launching, then removing many things….which positively & negatively affect your local business digital footprint.
Business owners will likely soon have – if you don’t see it already – the option to write and edit descriptions that show up in your Google My Business listing, and in Google’s local knowledge panel. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Apr 21, 2015 | Google My Business
They’re not, in all likelihood Google is NOT calling your Carlsbad business.
The more likely situation is, those scam robocalls you’re receiving are from (rather unscrupulous) marketing & advertising companies preying on unsuspecting business owners.
Businesses Get Duped By Scam Calls Claiming to Be Google
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by Chris Barnard | Dec 17, 2014 | Google My Business
Are Google My Business Descriptors for Your Carlsbad Business Done?
Earlier this month – on December 2nd – Google rolled out another major update to their Google My Business guidelines.
OK, maybe guidelines should be titled, “never concrete and subject to change suggestions we can possibly penalize you for,” but that’s another argument – one none of us will win.
As stated by Google,
Following these guidelines helps avoid common problems, including changes to your information, or, in some cases, removal of your business information from Google.
So what’s the story, what do Carlsbad businesses need to know in order to secure their Google My Business page(s) ranking?
Basically it’s a name recognition thing, but first a little background.
Google had always suggested (read: mandated), that the business name with regards to the Google Places, Google+ Local, or Google My Business listings, always be consistent with the real-world business name.
For example, something like John Q. Public, D.D.S. was the suggested business name under Google My Business guidelines if in fact the dental practice was on the books (corporate entity name/DBA) as such.
Then earlier this year, (February 2014 to be exact), Google announced that business with Local pages (ones that appear in search results & maps – as opposed to Brand pages which do not get indexed in maps or “local pack” results) were allowed to use what they called descriptors in their business name.
What’s a Descriptor?
An example of a descriptor for a dental practice Google My Business page would be something like, Dogpatch Family Dentistry: John Q. Public, D.D.S. – with Dogpatch Family Dentistry being the descriptor.
Fast forward to December 2014, and we have witnessed yet another flip-flop by Google with regards to their guidelines for local business pages. At this time, Google only deems solo practitioners as those worthy of still using the descriptors attributes in the business name.
This is how they lay it out for all the solo Carlsbad practitioners out there to play it out…
According to the guidelines you can review here, solo practitioners’ Google My Business pages should be titled using the following format: [brand/company]: [practitioner name].
So say if yours is a mutli-doctor practice (or real estate office, law office…), each “practitioner” is still allowed a specific Google My Business page – given they actually maintain office hours that jibe with what their listing communicates.
Here’s exactly what Google has to say on the subject: (more…)
