Google Places

SEO vs. PPC: Getting Down to Business

It’s the age-old digital marketing question – should you be focusing on search engine optimization or pay-per-click advertising – and it’s a doozy. Yes, it would be great if some kind of marketing guru could provide you with a definitive answer that could put all your doubts to rest. But like so many conundrums of this kind, the answer has to come from within. Let’s do a bit of soul-searching.

Google Local Pack Updates Change the Game… Again!

If you thought that removing right sidebar ads was the biggest change Google would make to search results in 2016, buckle up. Prepare for an incoming update — Google’s at it again! Why Does This Matter? This change means that another organic position is being replaced with a paid ad. While the removal of sidebar ads already moved organic positions down the page, this is another push to dominate the top of the search results page with ads. On a mobile device, users will have to scroll past numerous ads before they see any organic results. Below you can see a mock up from Search Engine Roundtable of what the new local pack might look like with an ad in position one. These new ads will likely look very similar to the other two listings in the local pack, but Google hasn’t officially released information about what the ads will … Continued

What 2015 Google Updates Did I Miss? #FAQuesday

If you hit the snooze button at all last year, you may have missed an alarm for one of the huge updates from Google that hit the digital marketing stratosphere — hard. Businesses that didn’t keep up with crucial 2015 changes felt the pain. But there’s still time to wake up and do something about the latest SEO developments. Grab a cup of coffee and see what you missed and how The Web Guys can get you ready for 2016. Mobilegeddon: Go Mobile or Get Left Behind From asking for driving directions to shopping for shoes, almost anything can be accomplished using a smartphone or tablet. Google took note of the continued growth of mobile searches and made a significant change to its search algorithm. As of April 21, mobile friendliness became a search-ranking factor, ensuring users receive high-quality results when using mobile devices. Don’t worry you haven’t gotten on the mobile trend yet. Our Web design team can revamp your … Continued

Attract New Customers by Improving Online Visibility

At The Web Guys, we know that the foundation of great digital marketing is a killer website that engages customers and motivates them to act — whether it’s scheduling an appointment or booking a reservation online. But how do you get new clients to your website in the first place? Considering that 97 percent of consumers search online for goods and services at some point in their decision-making process, it’s important to make sure that your business’ website shows up in local search results. What is Local Search? Local search is any type of online search — whether it’s on Google, Bing, or Yahoo! — that’s aimed at finding a service within a specific geographic area. For example, to find a hotel for a vacation to Disney World, families can search “hotels in Orlando.” If they get hungry on the trip, a quick search on a smart phone for “best restaurants near me” will point … Continued

Where Did My Google+ Reviews Go? #FAQuesday

Have you been on your Google+ Local page recently and wondered why everything looks so terribly unfamiliar? It’s no secret that Google is always and forever updating its products, and the Google+ social network was the latest to get a major overhaul.The tech giant launched a redesigned interface Nov. 17 that makes users’ Collections (posts targeted by interest) and Communities (groups organized by a mutual interest) easier to see in their home streams. At the same time, the Google+ Local pages for businesses were streamlined to share the look and feel of individual profiles. The new, simpler design no longer includes easy access to certain information, including the company’s business category, operating hours, and customer reviews — including the related star ratings.Out with the Old If you need a quick reminder of how the old pages looked, you can see from this classic view of The Web Guys‘ page that it integrated local information, posts, Google Photos, and YouTube on separate … Continued

How to Find Duplicate Google Local Listings

Google Local listings beam powerful signals about businesses to whoever is looking for related services, so the search giant keeps vigilant watch on this vital information. But signals can get crossed when a business has multiple entries floating around the Interweb. We deal with this all the time at The Web Guys, so let’s go through some ways to detect these rogue listings. But first things first… Why Should I Care About Duplicate Listings? The problem with duplicate listings is that they’re rarely identical — meaning only one is completely accurate. Old addresses and phone numbers have a way of resurfacing online, creating confusion both for Google and for potential customers. Google will recognize that a business has multiple listings, but it can’t tell which one to trust and may return bad information in search results. In particularly messy situations, it may even suspend the verified (and correct) account because of the uncertainty.How to Locate a Duplicate Listing Thanks to Google’s … Continued

Why is Google Calling Me?

You probably get an overwhelming amount of telemarketing calls on a daily basis, but hearing the name “Google” may have you hesitating to hang up so quickly. You think, “Oh, is this really Google? Maybe I need to hear this out.” We’re here to tell you to hang up the phone. FAST. To put it simply, unrequested calls from Google do not exist. It does not place robocalls and does not cold call businesses. That said, there are a few reasons a Google representative might actually be calling. Reasons Google Might Call You have an active AdWords account. You are verifying a Google My Business listing. Google thinks your address is invalid. If this is the case, the representative should never ask for personal information. Google Scams There are many types of Google scams occurring because Google is a powerhouse that everyone knows about and trusts. The scammers try to … Continued

A Breakdown of Google My Business

The switch from Google+ and Google Places to Google My Business has arrived. Here is what businesses need to know about the upgrade. WHAT IS THE SAME +1 clicks Posts (#hashtags, tagging people or businesses) Page tabs (About, Photos, YouTube, Reviews) Google Analytics Insights (will still connect and analyze content of accounts) WHAT IS DIFFERENT Manage reviews, Google Analytics, AdWords and YouTube from one page Dashboard can be viewed and managed from one menu Ability to edit local search information Ability to edit Google Maps address(es) Ability to respond to reviews Formal, provided business listings No custom categories No payment options or additional details will be listed Company reviews and +1’s combined into one search-powered page Local pages that accept upgrade automatically converted to storefront or service area pages THE BENEFIT OF PROVIDED BUSINESS CATEGORIES One of the most effective changes of the “My Business” upgrade is the business listing. … Continued

Google Places is Now Google Local+

Google recently rolled out several updates to their Google Places‘ local listings. Google Places is now known as Google+ Local. A new name wasn’t the only change Google made, the recent update also affects the way your customers write reviews on your own local listing. All existing Google Places reviews were automatically transferred to your new Google+ Local listing. While there was no effect on your existing reviews, the steps your customers must go through to provide valuable feedback on your local listing has changed. In order to leave a customer review on your Google+ Local listing, your customers must have a Google+ page. Google+ is Google’s version of a social networking site that allows you to set up a profile, create circles of friends, and share photos, videos, links, and more. Below we have provided detailed instructions that you can pass onto your customers to ensure they are up-to-date on how to … Continued

Google Places Reviews: Imperative to Your Online Success

Google is continually changing the parameters for Google Places.The new layout of Google Places puts a heavy emphasis on customer reviews. More specifically, it emphasizes reviews from Google users and no longer shows reviews from third party sites, such as Yelp or CitySearch. As reviews become an even more important factor in local search rankings, those Google Places pages with more quality reviews tend to perform better. This means getting your customers to post reviews about your business on your Google Places listing is now more critical than ever! Focus on getting positive reviews for your business as an important way to boost your local search marketing. In this blog post we’ll show you how to add a review of a local business to Google Places. A Google account is needed to write a review in Google Places. If your customer doesn’t already have a Google account, it only takes a … Continued