How the get the new "Immersive View" for your GBP

and more local SEO news

March 17, 2025

Hello!

Just delivering your weekly local SEO update 👇️

1. I finally get what all of Google’s different statuses mean!

I made you a flow chart below to help you understand:

  • Suspended: you broke the guidelines and you’ve been removed from search.

  • Disabled: Google thinks something is sus and you need to REverify.

  • Unverified: you added a new GBP to your account and you need to verify it.

Save this graphic as a PDF here in case you ever have to deal with Google’s bs.

This is inspired by the brilliant research Miriam Ellis did a while back for Whitespark. I highly recommend reading her full article for all the deets 👇️ 

2. Increase your local rankings by stealing ALL your competitors’ categories 🦹‍♂️

We just added an awesome new feature to our Local Rank Tracker that helps you find new additional categories for your Google Business Profile based on your competitors’ categories.

Here’s how it works 👇

  • It shows you all the categories your top 100 competitors are using and how often they are used.

  • It shows you which categories you already have and which ones you haven't added yet.

  • If you manage multiple locations, you can easily compare categories across locations.

Add additional categories will help you rank for those keywords, and it also lets you add services for every new category. This is some of the most powerful local SEO work you can do, and you can do it in just a few minutes.

Our new feature gives you the complete list of category suggestions for your business on a silver platter.

@darrenshawseo

Increase your local rankings by stealing ALL your competitors’ categories 🦹‍♂️ We just added an awesome new feature to our Whitespark Loca... See more

3. Who can list their business on Google?

One of the most common questions in the Google Business Profile Help Community is, “Can an [X type of business] have a Google Business Profile?”

While Google doesn’t limit GBP eligibility solely to brick-and-mortar businesses, their official guidelines don’t exactly make it clear which ✨alternative✨ business models are allowed to list their business.

In her new article for Whitespark, Miriam Ellis addresses this problem and tells us whether, and how, the following business models can get listed on Google:

  • Food trucks

  • Kiosks and ATMs

  • Virtual kitchens

  • Home-based businesses

  • Virtual service businesses

  • Seasonal businesses

  • Businesses located at co-working spaces

  • Virtual offices and P.O. boxes

Read Miriam’s article to find out if your business is eligible for a GBP, and, if it’s not — how to make it appear on Google Maps anyway 😉

4. Local SEO in 2025 is all about DIVERSIFICATION.

Google reviews used to be the be-all and end-all when it comes to local, but that’s changing.

Reviews on 3rd party review sites like Facebook, Yellowpages & Better Business Bureau are the key to your local SEO success. Scroll through this carousel to learn why 👇️

Find this carousel on Instagram.

5. How the get the new Immersive View for your GBP

A couple of weeks ago I shared an example of Google’s incredible new Immersive View and I said I’d find out how it works. Here’s what I found…

Google uses different AI techniques to combine high-quality 360° + still images + a video of your business's interior to create detailed, 3D digital models of your business.

I share all the deets in this TikTok 👇️

@darrenshawseo

A couple of weeks ago I shared an example of Google’s incredible new Immersive View and I said I’d find out how it works. Here’s what I fo... See more

Follow me on LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok so you don’t miss any of my local SEO updates!

Darren