What would Google local search results look like if Google couldn't put the Local 3-Pack at the top of search results? A recently discovered test may give us a clue.

Legitimate reviews appear to be collateral damage from a stepped up Google effort to address review spam.

Every holiday or cultural event now is embraced as a marketing opportunity. But brands risk being seen as inauthentic or hypocritical if all they do is talk and don't walk the walk.

The specific steps should you be taking now, using high-quality images to improve conversions and how to future-proof your location(s) for Visual Search.

With advanced image recognition provided by their Cloud Vision AI, Google has made images more relevant to search intent.

One of the trends in Local has been Google's increasing use of images in search results. Google has expanded the space devoted to images, increased the number of images and enlarged their size. In Part 2 & 3 we will look at its impact on SEO.

Google is putting increasing emphasis on local product inventory search as it tries to better compete with Amazon.

Google now explicitly states that in-store product availability is a local ranking factor in its own Google Business Profile documentation.

Trust in reviews has been declining since 2017, but consumers still rely on them to make decisions. Businesses must adapt review strategies and embrace the negative review.

Google was gaining reviews until 2017. Then everything slowed way down.

We got a copy of the heavily redacted complaint, which contains numerous claims of misrepresentations to SMBs.

Google has been working steadily for at least a decade toward real-time product inventory in local search results.

The FTC filed a complaint against HomeAdvisor, saying the company overcharged SMBs and misrepresented leads, and the "likelihood they would result in actual jobs," since 2014.

Yelp made structural changes during COVID that improved performance, but there are major obstacles to growth going forward.

Feeling nervous, Google is intensifying its anti-antitrust campaign, lobbying SMBs to "take action" and automating their emails.

Ten review management platforms were put on notice by the FTC. Here they are and what got them into trouble.

The FTC's guidance for review platforms is sweeping. But enforcement will be selective and "closed platforms" are the most likely targets.

The FTC's new guidelines simplify many things about review solicitation and moderation, but other areas are now murkier.

Google allowed a fake reviews company to snatch its old Facebook URL.

The agency signaled it's going to get tough on brands and platforms that engage in review manipulation.

Apple is just getting started with its push into local business discovery and monetization for Apple Maps. AR is also in its future.

Apple's many recent updates to Maps to improve business discovery and transactions points to long term trend towards both building out Maps and integrating it in the future world of AR.

Google, in an effort to regain control of the antitrust narrative, has brazenly and deceptively enlisted small businesses to argue the company's case.

The FTC is trying to lay the groundwork for substantial fines against high-profile violators of its endorsement and review guidelines.

Apple has released the ability to review most businesses in the US. It is fast, easy and hard to spam. Learn the what's, why's and wherefores of this significant new review platform.

Whether through incompetence or egregious self-interest, Google has allowed companies like Kelly Forklift to continue to perpetrate customer deception and highlight themselves in search results.

A newly invigorated FTC is taking a much more activist position on a range of issues, potentially including local.

In the past, image search optimization was complicated and returns were minimal for local businesses. That's all starting to change.

Google critics argue the company's search monopoly harmed Yelp. A closer look reveals a more complex story with missed opportunities.

As official mask mandates lift, our survey shows many consumers are still anxious. That puts a challenging burden on local business owners.

Google owns the local review economy. It wasn't always that way. Here's how it happened.

In Amazon's efficiencies and ruthlessness we see all of the contradictions of American commerce and culture.

Google is rapidly building out front and back end capabilities to improve integration with restaurant food ordering and to control many parts of the process, while minimizing costs and extracting some rent.

Rebecca Slaughter, the acting Chair of the FTC, disdains fake reviews and has elevated rulemaking at the FTC to do something about it.

Early last week Google finally updated Maps for iOS and its attendant privacy label. As you suspected, Google is collecting a lot of personal data.

* The majority of consumers clearly support strict masking enforcement and prefer businesses that do this. Women and older consumers are most supportive. * A meaningful anti-mask minority creates a dilemma for

Like all Google releases it generated massive press. We cast our penetrating 'Kreminologist’s' eye on its many details.