It seems that Google is testing or introducing a “request quotes” button in local results. This was discovered by Tom Waddington. This comes as part of the Local Services Ads (LSAs). LSAs are currently delivering phone leads to local businesses participating in the program. LSAs are requiring businesses to be “Google Guaranteed” and pass licensing, insurance and […]

It seems that some have spotted reviews being displayed in Google in a carousel format, placed more prominently on local business profiles. Aneel Badyal was one who spotted the feature, which was then confirmed by a Google spokesperson. Although review excerpts on Google My Business-powered listings aren’t anything new to write home about, them being […]

Incognito mode is currently available on Google Maps for iOS users and bulk location history deletion in Timeline will be rolling out on Android next month, according to Google’s announcement. Being able to have more control over your privacy can give confidence and promote trust, which in the end, can help Google keep users. There […]

On December 5, SinglePlatform, a platform that syndicates restaurant menus to various search and directory sites online, and is positioned as a listings management company, was sold to TripAdvisor by Endurance International Group, which acquired ConstantContact for just over $1 billion in 2015 This deal is great for TripAdviser, who has been expanding its restaurant services and […]

When it comes to the operating assumption about local search, do you assume that Google lookups on smartphones dominate traffic? If you do, you wouldn’t be the only one. There is  a new consumer survey (n=500 U.S. adults) from Ignite Visibility that presents a number findings that appear to upend the conventional wisdom about local search. […]

Google is going to make it possible to buy movie tickets online using the Assistant (via Duplex). The company announced it was expanding the AI-powered Duplex beyond restaurant reservations to booking rental cars and buying movie tickets at Google I/O back in May. Users will have the ability to use the Google Assistant for new reservation and purchase […]

Google’s Local Guides program has over 120 million members in 24,000 global locations. Although they are largely invisible, they are indispensable part of the Google Maps experience. They provide reviews, images and other content as well as answering questions (Q&A) about local businesses and places. Guides are about to become even more visible than before, […]

I great part of Google My Business was the ability to dial a phone number and speak to someone at Google about your Google My Business listing. This was nice when you had an issue with how your business was showing up in Google Search or Google Maps, a person at Google could possibly help […]

If you’re an advertiser who has store visits measurement in your Google Ads account, you are now able to incorporate store visits data into your smart bidding strategies. With this update, stores with physical locations can optimize with and for foot traffic in addition to online conversions with smart bidding. Smart bidding strategies use machine learning […]

Google has been ramping up local search monetization over time. Local search ads was introduced in 2017, which made ads show up in local packs. Two years ago, ads were put in local Knowledge Panels about two years ago. But now, the company is beginning to show competitor ads in local business profiles. The ads, […]