Google tells businesses to publish unique, non-commodity content, but that advice leaves marketers and the brand with a harder question: What information should a local service page provide that is genuinely useful and unavailable elsewhere? Google AI Mode’s follow up prompts can help uncover the answer. When a user asks for a local service … Continued
Yelp is now feeding ChatGPT. The licensing deal announced in late July gives OpenAI access to Yelp’s reviews, ratings, photos, and business details in real time, so when someone asks ChatGPT for a plumber or a pizza place, Yelp content can show up in the answer with Yelp branding and links back to the listing. … Continued
I recently published original research in Search Engine Land on why Google Business Profile address changes can disrupt local rankings, built on survey data from GBP Product Experts, The SEO Slack community, and 62 LinkedIn practitioners. This post covers the core findings and what they mean before you touch a listing. If you’re looking … Continued
For years, the local SEO playbook has been dominated by a single, obsessive question: “How do I rank in the local 3-pack?” Agency pitches, marketing webinars, and dashboard reports are filled with heatmaps, keyword grids, and ranking trackers. The hyper-focus on “ranking” overlooks a huge, fundamental reality of how local customers actually behave. If … Continued
If you’re moving your business, hiding your address, or setting up a new Service Area Business (SAB) listing, the steps you take matter more than most business owners realize. Google’s map pin and your listed address are not the same thing, and getting this wrong can damage your local visibility for months and years … Continued
If you manage a Google Business Profile, you need to understand that Google Maps is no longer just a digital directory. It has evolved into a hyper-personalized AI ecosystem that uses past searches, location history, and explicit queries to infer what a user wants. Long form queries shape what businesses get surfaced, how they get … Continued
Before you dive in: I put together a quick explainer video that walks through the core ideas in this post. If you prefer a visual overview, watch it first, then read on for the full breakdown. Understanding Context Driven Answers for Local SEO The era of static search results is over. … Continued
From Directory to FAQ: How Ask Maps is Changing the Rules of Local Discovery After the biggest Google Maps update in more than a decade, Ask Maps has emerged as the feature that will redefine local search visibility. It is a Gemini-powered conversational feature that lets users ask complex, situational questions instead of typing … Continued
In 2024, Google blocked or removed more than 240 million policy-violating reviews. That is over 40% more than the year before, according to Google’s own annual spam report. That number does not account for the surge that followed. Between January and July 2025 alone, review deletion rates climbed by more than 600% after Google integrated … Continued
ℹ️ Purpose: This guide explains how to handle Google Business Profile (GBP) suspensions, including identifying suspension types, fixing common triggers, and submitting a reinstatement request. Understand GBP Suspensions Google issues suspensions when a profile appears to violate guidelines or cannot be verified as eligible. There are two main types: Soft suspension: The profile remains live … Continued
