Google Places Optimization and Local SEO Blog

Here’s a hot new Red Hat Local SEO tip for you that can REALLY make you or your clients stand out from the competition with 10 gold stars instead of 5 and a bigger blended Google Places listing in the SERPS. Check out the screen shot.

Lost reviews, spam reviews, merged reviews, inability for customers to leave a Google review are just a few of the problems that come up all too frequently. Review problems of any kind are a HUGE pain point for small business owners. See Googles brand new review problem help docs. VERY transparent insight and solutions.

See My Ugly Jerry-rigged Before & After Ranking Comparison Report below. Nice results but POOR presentation. Pushing Places Scout and Bright Local to add this feature. SQUEAK if you want it too! Other major software updates coming from both companies too. See bottom of post for sneak peek.

I had them re-post on the Places forum so I could escalate to Google management and get Vanessa involved. Be sure to read the whole thread and follow it for more info. So many insights about G support, merges, clusters, etc. Also info about a new Places software update you will want to know about.

SEOmoz PRO just FINALLY launched a major update that added local (Google Places) results to their rank tracking solution. Whether it’s a 7-pack or a blended result, if you care about local SERP results, it’s often a pain to find out where you stand. We aim to help.

My new swiss army knife local SEO must-have tool. Advanced Places rank tracking PLUS competitive analysis to help you rank your clients higher PLUS lead generation to help you find new clients PLUS citation finding PLUS reputation management to a degree and lots more, all in one VERY INEXPENSIVE software program. Even shows rankings VISUALLY on the map.

According to some stats I found at eMarketer the other day 70% of consumers checked an online before going to a local business or restaurant. Google was the #1 source at 43%, no surprise there. The yellow pages came in 2nd at 30%. A little surprised it’s that high actually. People still use the YP? [...]

Working on important research and need help from the local SEO community. This will help us all do a better job of helping our local search clients AND be able to give them reports that knock their socks off! IF the research is correct then there is a HUGE HOLE hole in the way we analyze rankings and report success metrics to clients. SEE KEYWORD STATS BELOW.

WOW. This is VERY exciting news and I see can all types of amazing possibilities. I have a very strong feeling this is going to be huge and change lots of things for those of us that do local search consulting. Check out my list of important Google+ Pages for Business Pages resources.

The Google Places update I blogged Saturday is rolling out and map pins turned from Red to Gray. But the big change I want to highlight is the rich new preview data Google shows about a business. REALLY IMPORTANT – Be sure to put your best foot forward with GREAT images that showcase the benefits of your product or service. The 1st 5 images on your Place page show up in your preview. LETs TAKE A LOOK!

I’ve been seeing a strange new style of Adwords ads in local the past couple days. Looked so odd on the map that the 1st time I saw it yesterday I was in a rush and dismissed it as a fluke, but then saw @SIMpartners tweet an example and decided to investigate. I have not [...]

One change involves major Google blended and 7 pack SERP layouts. SEE SCREENSHOTS. But be sure to read below too about major Places dashboard changes that were just reported today. Sounds like it could include a change in the number of categories as well as category selection functionality.

Google just announced they will auto-update your Place page based on user edits and 3rd party data they scrape from the web. They’ll make the changes automatically without your consent, but notify you after the fact, so you can try to fix it if the info’s wrong. I think this is going to cause all kinds of problems.

If you or your clients have noticed a ranking drop lately this could be the reason. These companies all STILL rank page one for all of their other keywords EXCEPT for their core keyword. They all SHOULD/WOULD still rank for main keyword – if not for this new algo change. I’m dubbing this change the PROXIMITY LOCKOUT Algo. Counting on you guys to do some research and confirm this is what are are seeing too.

Red Hat = Smart, Bright, Bold Optimization. Red hat is thinking outside the box, discovering and utilizing advanced techniques that help make a listing stand out and give conversion rates a boost. Heres the Place page for a Dentist I recently took from #16 to #2 on Google for all his main keywords. He has a 100 hidden 3rd party reviews that do not show on Google. Heres how I made his reviews stand out ABOVE the fold.

Today an InfoWorld story about Google Places broke that I was interviewed for and quoted in. But the story also references the NYTimes article that I spearheaded last week about the problem of viable businesses being easily marked CLOSED. Todays story focuses more on the lack of Google Places support.

I’m working on some unique tip-filled posts but in the meantime wanted to share some great posts with some good tips from others. When I curate my Google Places news channel @Scoop.it some mornings I find little of interest. But the past few days there has been a ton of really good info so wanted to spread the word.

The New York Times interviewed me a couple weeks ago about a Google Places problem I’ve blogged about that is negatively impacting small businesses. Tuesday Google posted a reply to say they are actively working on a solution

This super lightweight app can help you quickly analyze Google Places competitive results. So if you are talking to a potential new client who is stuck on page 3, you can get a quick snapshot of what it takes to rank in that market. Shows G reviews and 3rd party separately. Plus great for prospecting. Can also download results and citation sources to CSV for further analysis. See screen shot.

Continuing to allow competitors to report a business as PERMANENTLY CLOSED without proof or verification is criminal negligence in my opinion. However Google does read our blogs and did make one change we suggested that will help this and other problems. If Google changes the core data on your Place page or marks your business as closed, at least now they inform the business…