Newsletter #46

The Latest GMB Updates You Need to Know About & a New Tool For Checking Your Reviews

February 26, 2019

Whitespark's Monthly Local Search Newsletter

Local InsiderFebruary 2019

 Get Your Google Review Score and Reviews & Ratings Across the Web We launched our new free Review Checker tool last week, and we are so pumped about it that we are sharing it with you again!Simply search your business to see your reviews and ratings at a glance across the web. The tool also calculates your unique Google Review Score, that shows you how well your business' Google reviews are performing in comparison to local competitors. 

From the Blog Whitespark's Guide to Optimizing Google My Business (Updates)Keep your GMB listing optimized and up-to-date with our guide. Here are the latest changes you need to know about: GMB Messaging - Allo  (Google's messaging app) is shutting down in March, and you can no longer setup messaging via your desktop dashboard in Google My Business. If you had your messaging via SMS setup and integrated using Allo, there is still no clear indication of what will replace it (so stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed).  Products Menu - is in Beta and available for some businesses. Testing for Google Assistant is live on some listings. You can now respond to reviews on Google Maps desktop directly from your Business Profile.

Around The Web

Google Posts are predominately showing up at the bottom of the Knowledge Panel/Business Profile, but they still add value for businesses, and provide an additional opportunity to engage with searchers, encourage conversions, and website visits. Get David Mihm's and Mike Blumenthal's thoughts on Google Posts in the latest edition of their commentary series for Street Fight. 

Google moved Posts to the bottom of the Knowledge Panel, but it looks like they are testing out different placements for posts. Perhaps GMB Posts will become more visible in the near future? Or maybe it's just Google messing with us?  

In this study, Brian Barwig takes a look at what commonalities businesses that rank beyond their immediate location in the local pack share. He gives insights, key takeaways, and possible strategies to help businesses rank beyond their front door. While the site is geared towards law firms, the advice is relevant to all businesses.

Local SEO takes a lot of hard work and commitment, especially when it comes to staying on top of all the changes with Google My Business. Factor in having to monitor all the edits, suggestions, and other elements that users can use to manipulate or change on your Business Profile and it can feel like a full-time job! Phil Rozek outlines where your listing is most vulnerable in Google Maps/My Business. 

Is your data dirty? Clean it up with the help of Dana DiTomaso in this edition of Whiteboard Friday. Learn some quick and easy steps you can take to properly manage your data, and what to watch out for in Google Analytics. 

Google has changed how service area businesses "add" their address in the Google My Business dashboard, Joy Hawkins shares details about this change and what else you need to know if you are a SAB. 

Mike Blumenthal discusses the optimal path to recover from a complaint and bad online review. Apologizing and ensuring the issue doesn't happen again in the future is great for future customers, but it's not going to help you retain that customer registering the complaint. 

David Mihm and the team at Thrive Hive conducted a study on the most frequently asked questions by category across 43,549 GMB Business Profiles, the data and key findings are fascinating. Be sure to read about the study here, and then dive into the results for each analyzed category!

Upcoming Conferences 

March 4 - 5, 2019

San Diego, CA

March 5 - 7, 2019

Fort Lauderdale, FL

March 7 - 8, 2019

Portland, OR