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SMBs Passing On Websites, Using Facebook Instead – 3 Digital Thingshttp://www.aaronweiche.com/2017/10/smbs-passing-websites-using-facebook-website-3-digital-things/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=smbs-passing-websites-using-facebook-website-3-digital-thingsBy Aaron Weiche on Oct 10, 2017 08:42 am Technology and marketing combining has shown itself to be a very confusing area for many small businesses.  While the last decade has brought incredible strides for making all of this easier for SMBs, some aspects haven’t simplified enough. This month’s 3 Digital Things looks at SMBs using Facebook as their website.  It’s easy to see ...The post SMBs Passing On Websites, Using Facebook Instead – 3 Digital Things appeared first on Aaron Weiche.Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local Oct. 9, 2017http://localu.org/blog/video-last-week-in-local-oct-9-2017/By Mike Blumenthal on Oct 09, 2017 10:47 pm Last week in local 10/9/2017 Join Local U for the latest public episode of Last Week in Local, a weekly conversation about the articles that attracted our attention during the past week ending Oct. 2nd, 2017. This week features Mary Bowling & Mike blumenthal. If you have a special topic you would like us to [...]The post Video: Last Week in Local Oct. 9, 2017 appeared first on Local University.Read it! »6 ways IoT will make local search for SMBs scalablehttp://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/channel-local/~3/q6k6mfTZxyo/6-ways-iot-will-make-local-search-smbs-scalable-283750By Wesley Young on Oct 09, 2017 12:25 pm Don't turn your attention away from the Internet of Things just yet. Contributor Wesley Young contends that the data provided by connected devices could help smaller players better compete with the big guys. The post 6 ways IoT will make local search for SMBs scalable appeared first on Search...Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Yes, Competitors Can Edit Your Listing on Google My Businesshttp://tracking.feedpress.it/link/16388/7029871By JoyHawkins on Oct 08, 2017 08:07 pm Posted by JoyHawkinsI decided to write this article in response to a recent article that was published over at CBSDFW. The article was one of many stories about how spammers update legitimate information on Google as a way to send more leads somewhere else. This might shock some readers, but it was old news to me since spam of this nature on Google Maps has been a problem for almost a decade.What sparked my interest in this article was Google’s response. Google stated:Merchants who manage their business listing info through Google My Business (which is free to use), are notified via email when edits are suggested. Spammers and others with negative intent are a problem for consumers, businesses, and technology companies that provide local business information. We use automated systems to detect for spam and fraud, but we tend not to share details behind our processes so as not to tip off spammers or others with bad intent.Someone might read that and feel safe, believing that they have nothing to worry about. However, some of us who have been in this space for a long time know that there are several incorrect and misleading statements in that paragraph. I’m going to point them out below."Merchants are notified by email"Google just started notifying users by email last month. Their statement makes it sound like this has been going on for ages. Before September 2017, there were no emails going to people about edits made to their listings. Not everyone gets an email about edits that have been made. To test this, I had several people submit an update to a listing I own to change the phone number. When the edit went live, the Google account that was the primary owner on the listing got an email; the Google account that was a manager on the listing did not.Similarly, I am a manager on over 50 listings and 7 of them currently show as having updates in the Google My Business dashboard. I haven’t received a single email since they launched this feature a month ago."Notified [...] when edits are suggested"Merchants are not notified when edits are "suggested." Any time I've ever heard of an email notification in the last month, it went out after the edit was already live.Here's a recent case on the Google My Business forum. This business owner got an email when his name was updated because the edit was already live. He currently has a pending edit on his listing to change the hours of operation. Clearly this guy is on top of things, so why hasn’t he denied it? Because he wouldn’t even know about it since it’s pending. The edit isn’t live yet, so he’s not receiving a notification — either by email or inside the Google My Business dashboard.Edits show up in the Google My Business dashboard as "Updates from Google." Many people think that if they don’t "accept" these edits in the Google My Business dashboard, the edits won’t go live. The reality is that by "accepting" them, you’re just confirming something that’s already live on Google. If you "don’t accept," you actually need to edit the listing to revert it back (there is no "deny" button).Here's another current example of a listing I manage inside Google My Business. The dashboard doesn’t show any updates to the website field, yet there's a pending edit that I can see on the Google Maps app. A user has suggested that the proper website is a different page on the website than what I currently have. The only way to see all types of pending edits is via Check the Facts on Google Maps. No business owner I've ever spoken to has any clue what this is, so I think it’s safe to say they wouldn’t be checking there. Here's how I would edit that original response from Google to make it more factually correct:Merchants who manage their business listing info through Google My Business (which is free to use) are notified when edits made by others are published on Google. Sometimes they are notified by email and the updates are also shown inside the Google My Business dashboard. Google allows users (other than the business owner) to make edits to listings on Google, but the edits are reviewed by either automated systems or, in some cases, actual human beings. Although the system isn’t perfect, Google is continually making efforts to keep the map free from spam and malicious editing. Do you manage listings that have been edited by competitors? What's your experience been? Share your story in the comments below!Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!Read it! »  10 More Local Search Posts You May Have Missed2017 Google My Business Holiday ChecklistThe Expert’s Guide to Local SEO – September Updates are Live!Local SEO: 7 Google My Business questions asked and answeredAre Home Service Ads the death of home-based businesses on Google?Understanding the 2017 U.S. Local Search EcosystemVideo Deep Dive: Categories and Relevance in Google Local SearchSpecial Notes for SABs Amid Decreased Local Search VisibilityThe Acquisition of TaskRabbit and the death of the ‘Gig Economy’Last Week in Local Oct. 2, 2017The Impending HTTPstrophe — And What it Means for Local Businesses