A federal judge found Allure Esthetic wrongly prevented patients from posting negative reviews with illegal NDAs.

Google has positioned entities of all sorts – whether local, hotel, tickets or products – as beyond the regulatory bounds of the DMA.

While the traditional approach to SEO may survive for awhile, marketers need to branch out and create content that can't easily be replicated by AI.

The appearance of a second Local Pack in the EU seems to fly in the face of the Digital Market Act's anti-self-preferencing rules.

Google Posts have declined in visibility. Social posts on your GBP could replace them, extending their reach. But there's a lot we still don't know yet.

How long the review ban will last has come up a number of times in the forums, with no official Google confirmation of the ban or when it might end.

Places Sites may as well not exist. The module drives almost no engagement, even above the fold.

Google has created new search features for the 27-country European Economic Area. Here's what they look like.

The potential for AI in Google Maps is huge. However, while interesting, the results so far are unimpressive.

It has become increasingly clear to those on the front lines that Google's singular focus is on increasing revenue at all costs.

Google has made various changes to local SERPs to comply with the DMA. But most of them don't really benefit publishers or users.

This eye-opening interview with Zachary Dotson, an experienced HVAC marketer, sheds light on a rampant scam in Google LSAs and its impact on legitimate businesses. He exposes the challenges in tackling these scams and the lack of response from the authorities and Google.

Google's brand credibility and its 'Google Guarantee' are enabling LSA scammers. And neither the police nor Google seem to care. Hear a victim’s account.

Google has seen every type of spam and scam in local, yet they've now infiltrated Local Services Ads, which carry a Google "guarantee." This makes Google complicit in deceiving the public.

Joy Hawkins of SterlingSky and Darren Shaw of Whitespark, joined Mike and Greg to talk about how AI has impacted local SEO. They discuss specific use cases and the future.

The findings highlight the importance of reviews in a wider range of business categories than we previously suspected and the need for tailored strategies based on category and location.

Citations and NAP consistency have dramatically declined in their ranking influence, since 2014 when they were widely considered to be the number one local ranking factor.

The seemingly new Google Ambassador program holds out the promise of better support. But that's probably an illusion.

Google has not been clear about why it rejects GBP images. A new support form offers hope to get them posted.

The Overture Maps Foundation released its first global open map dataset. The data covers nearly 60 million places worldwide. It also includes transportation data, 780 million buildings and administrative boundaries

The best time to ask for reviews isn't the next day; it may be more than a week after the transaction according to new research.

Google created a new form and process to request reinstatement of missing reviews. It's a step in the right direction but still too complicated for most business owners.

Apple unveiled its long-awaited XR headset today. It's technically impressive but faces an uphill climb to mainstream success.

SGE is arguably the single biggest change to the Google SERP in over 20 years. But will it stick?

Google's rejection of images is a black box that often can't be penetrated. Zen-like patience is required. Maps can also be a workaround.

Google appears to be hedging with an AI-enhanced Google.com and an upgraded version of Bard simultaneously.

Google is no longer the only search game in town.

Every 12 months the survey offers an invaluable crash course in local SEO best practices.

There are many reasons you might see the "your business is not visible" message. But Google isn't going to tell you why.

Fake review attacks are an ongoing and serious problem. Google makes it difficult to get them removed but with inside knowledge and determination it is possible.

I don't believe it's hyperbole to say, "this changes everything."

Google's motto appears to be "release buggy products and externalize their costs."

Join David Mihm, Mike Blumenthal & Greg Sterling as they discuss why the Apple Business Center is significant for SMB and enterprise marketing. Both a video and full, edited transcript are available.

Apple Business Connect now offers insights into traffic and conversions. In some categories it will outpace both Facebook and Yelp as a source for conversions & new business.

OpenAI's ChatGPT is impressive and has sparked the internet's collective imagination. This is only the beginning.

Removal of reviews is apparently influenced by business category, age of the GBP, review solicitation, review velocity and whether the reviewer actually visited the business.

With Google's new AI-driven review filter, you're going to lose some reviews. Here's how to navigate the new system without going crazy.

Make sure you know your GBP CID numbers and have backups of your reviews; you'll need them sooner or later.

Google is placing increasing emphasis on visual search. This presentation talks about how to scale a photographic effort for multiple locations.

A looming recession doesn’t need to be a brand’s’ worst nightmare; local marketing strategies can help them survive.

Google has shut down new reviews for Planned Parenthood and other reproductive healthcare businesses. The action raises a number of unanswered questions.

As privacy concerns have grown, personal data websites, often built on exploitation and deception, have seen their Google rankings fall dramatically.

Doing the right thing is also good business.

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.

Among a flurry of announcements, Google Maps 'Immersive View,' Multisearch Near Me and Scene Explorer reflect the increasingly visual future of local search.

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.

Unstructured data from customers gives businesses a unique opportunity to inform strategy and customer experiences.

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.

TikTok offers a multiple opportunities for local marketers of all sizes, provided you do your homework.

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.

The deal accelerates and rounds out Vendasta's "end-to-end" platform for its local channel partners.

Some consumer review sites are happy to turn a (partially) blind eye to fake reviews, because they're driving revenue.

Google is the underdog in product search. The company is aggressively trying to close the gap.

The survey chronicles Google's evolving local ranking algorithm and captures local SEOs' changing tactics over time.

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.

Introduced as 'Google Local Business Center' in 2005, the local listings management tool has been through five iterations, landing on 'Google Business Profile.'

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

Reviews can provide an independent look at management issues and consumer trends at large multi-location chains. This 'proof of concept' approach explores Walmart's inventory woes through the lens of local store reviews.

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.

How the co-op model can help build sustainable restaurant delivery that's better for restaurants and local communities.

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 is helping local businesses by encouraging more user-generated content. In theory this is good. But more content does not always mean more high-quality content.

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.

A new report on the Online Reputation Management industry predicts that growth for North America will more than double between now and 2029.

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.

Survey findings tell us consumers are more eager to resume some pre-COVID activities than others.

In this era of visual storytelling, employee information and images are a way to build trust and humanize your brand.

Using its many technical and content assets, Google Maps is positioning itself as the digital UI for the real world and at the center of the online-to-offline economy.

Google’s blueprint for evolving its products for businesses is to read consumer behavior and revise its business tools accordingly. One important example is how Google is evolving its online chat functionality for businesses.

* 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.