Newsletter #60

How to Deal with a Duplicate GMB Listing

April 2020, Whitespark Local Insider Newsletter

Finding, Merging, and Managing Duplicate Listings

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But on Google Maps, it is anything but flattering to find out your Google My Business listing has a doppleganger. A duplicate GMB listing can hurt your rankings and put your business listing at risk of suspension. Meanwhile, it’s not uncommon to see your competitors spamming Google Maps by creating multiple listings for one business. 

So why do duplicates seem to help some businesses and hurt others? In this guide, we’ll help you determine when you should remove a duplicate and when you should merge, and show you how! But first let’s look at what a duplicate is, and how to see if your business has any harmful doppelgangers hanging around. 

Cheers,Team Whitespark 

Mastering GMB with Help from the Local University Faculty

LocalU Advanced recently hosted a virtual Google My Business Master Class where they covered all things related to GMB. If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend, we’ve got you covered with our favorite insights, advice, and key takeaways from some of the talks.Topics covered in this post: How to manage GMB listings with the constant influx of changes. The best ways you can max out your reviews. Practical advice on local link building. Using call tracking to gain more data and insights. What really affects local pack rankings?

How to Add a COVID-19 Announcement to Your Website with Schema

Arguably, one of the most important things a business can do right now is effectively communicate with their clients.Are your doors open? Are you focusing on digital/remote/delivery options? Are you taking specific safety/distancing precautions? Answers to these questions could be critical for customers trying to determine which products and services they can still access, or whether they’ll choose you or one of your competitors to patronize.Your website is a critical part of your messaging strategy, and Google has provided an additional tool you can use alongside it to get the message out: Structured data for COVID-19 announcements. We share with you how to add this new mark up to your site. 

NEW AT WHITESPARK

  1. Have you seen our new Yext Replacement Service?

  2. We've drastically improved Local Citation Finder and will be launching this week! Here's a sneak peek:

AROUND THE WEB

  1. 🛒 Google is going to start promoting free (organic) listings in Google Shopping (available in US now, rolling out to other countries throughout 2020). Paid shopping ads will appear at the top of the Shopping results tab with the free organic listings at the bottom. Learn more at Google Merchant Center Help.

  2. Instagram is now offering new gift card, food order, and fundraiser tools for Stories and profiles. Gain access to these tools by connecting with one of the available partners. 🚚 🎁 🥡

  3. 🚗 Google just rolled out a major update for new car dealerships in the form of nested department listings on the main GMB profile. Now all your department listings (ie. Collision Center, Parts, Service Center) can be front and center when a user is searching for your dealership.

  4. ⚓ When GMB becomes your lifeline.

  5. Stay connected with your customers using these four basic principles. 🤝

  6. 🧰 Check out the best FREE SEO tools.

  7. Google is now allowing retail chains (10+ locations) access to the Post feature via GMB API. 📝

  8. ⚙️ It's okay if you don't 'pivot' your business right now. 

VIRTUAL CONFERENCES

June 3, 2020

May 12, 2020

July 7- 8, 2020