Category: Google Maps

Tom Waddington posted a GIF on Twitter of Google Local Service Ads allowing you to request multiple quotes at the same time from multiple local service providers. He said “‘Request Quotes’ button above 3-pack. Lets users request quotes from multiple b…

I do not know what to call it but it seems Google is testing showing a card or box within the local pack snippets of a specific listing that links you to the business’s web site. Jason Parks shared a screen shot of this with me on Twitter, here, look …

Google can now show how far a specific location is from another nearby landmark. I know I’ve seen this with hotel search results but this is now showing for other local panels in web search. This was spotted by Dave DiGregorio and he shared it with me…

Mike Blumenthal posted on Twitter a screen shot of a new look for reviews listed in the local knowledge panel. It shows a carousel of reviews, and Mike said are “query related phrases.”

We’ve seen Google testing black ad labels on desktop, but now here is what it looks like in the local pack. Note, the mobile black ad label has been around for some time but Google is only testing it on desktop and has been for some time.

Google is now letting Local Guides and maybe other Google users to select a tag to describe why you like the business you are reviewing. So not just leave a star rating and a review and photos but also select a descriptive tag that Google can use in a…

Google launched yesterday, I believe, on Thanksgiving, a new feature in Google My Business for job types for services. This is where services businesses in the US can choose from suggested types of services. This includes things like “repair toilets” …

There is a new theory out about that Google Local update from earlier in this month, nicknamed the Bedlam update. The theory is that most of the time, position one in the local pack is stable but positions two and three are the ones being shuffled out…

I do not follow the Google Hotel user interfaces too closely and it is a space where Google is constantly testing new interfaces. But over the past week or so, I am getting a lot of reports of new features, from map overlay hovers to a massive number o…

Mike Blumenthal posted a screen shot on Twitter showing a possible sign that Google My Business may be experimenting with doing its own booking or reservation system or engine. He showed that under the booking tab, that Google was listed as a provider…

Remember the Google local update we reported about earlier this month, well the local SEO folks are still tracking this update in detail. Joy Hawkins named it the Bedlam update because it is “a scene of uproar and confusion” and she hates the animal n…

If you login to your Google My Business listing area and look at the manage locations tab (which is the default page most go to when they login) – you won’t see any listings. There is a bug hiding them, they are invisible, but Google is aware of it and…

Mike Blumenthal, a local SEO expect, is at the Google PE Summit and he was told by the Google local team that there are bugs with the local Q&A feature where the Q&As are erratically showing and not showing.

Google announced it has removed the toll free customer support numbers from the Google My Business homepage. Now if you do try to call one of the existing numbers, you will be directed to the Google My Business Help Center. You can still request someo…

Google may be testing (or it might be a bug) removing reviews from the local knowledge panel in the search results. It seems so weird that I am thinking this is a weird bug, but who knows. Darcy Burk posted this on Twitter with screen shots showing t…

Google announced it is now limiting the number of service areas a business can list to no more than 20. Google wrote in the Google Ads Help page “service area businesses are now limited to having a maximum of 20 service areas per business.”

Earlier this year Google added short names as an option for businesses in Google My Business. So if you wanted to give someone a quick way to see your business on Google Maps you would send them g.page/[yourcustomname]. Now this short name shows in the…

The Google My Business app is testing allowing business owners communicate with its customers not just through text but also through photos. Some business owners can now send photos to customers who message them via Google Maps and Google Local.
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Google My Business seems to be testing a new feature to help business owners respond to reviews left by customers in Google Maps. Cordell Crowley posted this GIF of it in action in the Local Search Forums, where Google is auto-suggesting replies for r…

When you saw a review from a “Google User” in your Google My Business listings, a local review from a user who has not set up a real Google account, you were able to hover your cursor over that name and it would show you an abridged version of the emai…