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10 items tagged "Local"

Related tags: tips [+], Engine [+], Search [+]

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Google Places Does Not Allow Paid Reviews

  Fetched: March 1st, 2011, 1:14pm CET by Barry Schwartz

  Tags:  Local Search Engine tips  

  A Cre8asite Forums thread has a rant on a new business cropping up, the business of acquiring positive reviews for your Google Maps local listing or negative reviews for your competitors.

  This is really not all that new. Ever since there have been online company directories and yellow pages, reviews have been tampered with. Heck, even in 2005, I played a game with Yahoo to see how easily it would be to tamper with my own reviews. Of course, similar things work fine on Google until someone takes notice.

  That being said, as Matt McGee pointed out, Google has tweaked their reviews guidelines document, specifically saying you cannot solicit or pay for positive or negative reviews.

  Conflict of interest:

  Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. Even if well-intentioned, a conflict of interest can undermine the trust in a review. For instance, do not offer or accept money or product to write positive reviews about a business, or to write negative reviews about a competitor. Please also do not post reviews on behalf of others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with the place you are reviewing.

  Matt then goes into the irony of such guidelines.

  But yes, there are companies that actually will do this for you. If you want your reviews to be mostly positive, they will take your money and get you lots of positive reviews on your Google Places page or other online yellow pages.

  SEOigloo from the forums said:

  Beyond the immediate consequences to the business owner, there are the implications of a completely spammed review scene for all Internet users. We may all be aware of the adage, 'don't believe everything you read', but these spammy review practices are making it more like, 'don't believe ANYTHING you read' when it comes to local businesses.

  Bottom line: if you own a local business, please don't purchase these kinds of services. I genuinely believe it pays to play by the rules.

  Forum discussion at Cre8asite Forums.

  
  

• 

  Google Desktop Searches Differ About 86% From Mobile Searches

  Fetched: January 5th, 2011, 10:23am CET by Barry Schwartz

  Tags:  Local Search Engine tips  

  Bryson Meunier posted a study showing that search results on a desktop different from search results on a smart phone by about 86%.

  That means, the results you get for a specific keyword search when done on a iPhone or Android phone will 86% of the time be different in some way then if you conducted the same search on a desktop browser.

  Bryson said that most SEOs have claimed there are no major differences between the two. I don't really remember respected SEOs saying that but maybe they have. I do know there aren't many SEO changes one should make between optimizing their pages for desktop versus iPhone or Android phones, specifically. Okay, this is an over simplification of the process and I've explained a lot what you should be aware of.

  Overall, as Bryson said, the majority of the difference in the search results has to do with Google showing you more locally related results. Google feels, if you are searching on a mobile device, your search intent is more locally specific. He documented what he saw were the main differences. He said:

  • Local results more likely in mobile, so Google Places listings sometimes appear higher in results than they do in desktop, and domains with local intent more likely to appear
  • Positions of vertical results likely different in smartphone results
  • Blended mobile ranking algorithm for mobile queries
  • Android Market or iTunes results for queries that include "download" or "app"
  • Brand and store filters don't currently occur in mobile smartphone search
  • If CTR and bounce rate data is used to determine ranking in smartphone results, CTR and bounce rate more likely to vary in mobile smartphone listings, as listings in search suggest, abbreviated title line breaks and descriptions, unusable desktop sites in mobile results, increased engagement of mobile users and the variations in ranking mentioned above are all likely to change click through rates and bounce rates for smartphone searches

  Forum discussion at Sphinn.

  
  

• 

  Yelp To Change Review Policies

  Posted: April 8th, 2010, 3:17pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  For years Yelp has had controversy over reviews displayed and added to the system. In fact, recently they were sued over them.

  In response to all the questions and legal issues, Yelp decided to make two changes.

  (1) You can now see filtered out reviews
  (2) Yelp is discontinuing the "Favorite Review" feature

  Here is one comment from a WebmasterWorld thread on this change of heart:

  Ahh this is great. Watching them back peddle and clean up yet claim they are doing nothing wrong... ;-)

  Never understood how such a large brand got away with what they were doing. It just didn't seem right (how they let companies control the reviews if they bought in to advertising).

  Wonder how many companies are going to want a refund for retracking a service they are no longer offering... Get out the checkbook.

  Yes, this is a good first step for Yelp.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Bing Maps Adds WorldWide Telescope & Google Maps Updates Android App

  Posted: March 18th, 2010, 2:04pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  We have two different mapping announcements, one from Bing and one from Google. Bing's is the most interesting, in that they launched WorldWide Telescope data in their mapping software. Google updated their Google Maps for Android app to enable search 'n swipe, a latitude widget, and other changes.

  Bing's telescope feature works by going to Bing Maps, and simply panning the maps up to the sky. Here is a screen capture:

  Bing has partnered to get a ton of data about the sky maps, to learn more about it click here.

  Google released version 4.1 of their maps app for Android. This version updated search results page, added a swipe feature, added a Latitude widget, plus a Maps live wallpaper, and lets you switch easily between Google Accounts. For more information about this update click here.

  Forum discussion on Bing at WebmasterWorld and Google at Google Mobile Help.

  
  

• 

  Yelp Sued Over Accepting Money For Removing Negative Reviews

  Posted: February 26th, 2010, 9:21am CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  A WebmasterWorld thread has discussion around the allegations that Yelp has been burying negative reviews in exchange for advertising dollars.

  MediaPost writes:

  A California veterinary center has sued review site Yelp for allegedly promising to bury bad reviews in exchange for purchasing $3,600 worth of advertising on the site.

  "Yelp frequently exercises its control over the Yelp.com listing application to modify business listing pages to the advantage of businesses that purchase Yelp advertising subscriptions, and the disadvantage of those that decline," Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital owner Gregory Perrault alleges in a complaint filed in federal district court in the central district of California.

  Greg at Search Engine Land writes:

  Two class action law firms have filed suit in Los Angeles federal court claiming that Yelp has attempted to “extort” money from small businesses by offering to remove negative reviews in exchange for payment.

  The truth will out of course but I would be stunned if these claims were based in truth rather than the frustrations and misunderstandings of the plaintiff in this case.

  I hope Greg is right - we covered reports of this via the forums back in November 2008. Back then, I was told it:

  Reviews are purely algorithmic and that only one positive review can be emphasized. Reviews can come down if the person writing the review closed his/her account or the account was terminated due to violations. A third reason why reviews would be hidden is due to suspect behavior; the review is removed from the actual business but not from the reviewer's profile page.

  I guess time will tell us if this is true - unless this is settled out of court and no one really finds out the truth.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Yell.com Threatening Drop in Google Rankings?

  Posted: May 1st, 2009, 2:50pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  Let me start off by saying I find this hard to believe. A Google Maps Help thread has one individual claiming that a Yell.com representative claimed that if you don't pay for your Yell.com listing, your Google listing will drop down. Yell.com is a popular UK local search engine.

  The Yell representative reportedly said, "of next week, unless you pay for Yell.com, your listing on Google maps will drop down below anyone listed with Yell.com in your area."

  Of course, this is not possible, Google would not let Yell.com influence how Google Maps works and ranks listings. In early 2008, there were rumors that Google would buy Yell and in 2005 Yell even powered Google Local UK, but that is long over with.

  A Google Maps representative made it crystal clear. Joel H from the Google Maps team said:

  Yell.com doesn't control ranking in our search results.

  Maybe the poster was confused or maybe the Yell.com representative was confused or a bit crazed. I don't know for sure, but one thing I do know is that Yell.com cannot do what this poster said.

  Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

  
  

• 

  Google Maps Says 3 Hour Drive To Go From Staten Island to Staten Island

  Posted: January 21st, 2009, 2:18pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  Let's say you wanted to drive from the zip code 10302 to 10308, which are both in Staten Island, New York. If you plugged that into Google Maps, Google would tell you, you have to be prepared for a three hour or more commute.

  For some unknown reason, a bug in Google Maps, thinks the zip code 10308, which is owned by Staten Island, is in Schenectady, in upstate New York.

  Adam from the Google Maps team confirmed the issue in a Google Maps Help forum thread. He said:

  Turns out this bug is an artifact of a known issue we're working to resolve, so if you haven't reported this yet to Tele Atlas please don't expend the effort.

  So, if you are driving to 10308, be careful when using Google Maps.

  Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

• 

  GetListed.org Brings Much Needed Tool for Local Search Marketers

  Posted: January 21st, 2009, 1:59pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  How often to do you hit yourself on the head and say, "why didn't I think of that?" That is how many felt when Patrick Sexton and David Mihm launched GetListed.org. GetListed.org is an incredibly useful and easy to use tool to quickly see how your local search listings play in the local search space.

  Let me show you. First you enter in a business name and zip code. Then GetListed.org polls Google, Yahoo, Live and Best of the Web's local engines to see how your listings are doing in those engines. Here is a look at RustyBrick's local search reach:

  Then you can drill down deeper to see a better overview:

  Also, you can see a to do list, all your reviews and the details of your listing by those four engines. I suspect GetListed.org will continue to add more engines over time.

  Matt McGee posted his review at Search Engine Land and the Sphinn discussion around the new tool is excellent. This tool is an excellent idea and I am glad it was created.

  Forum discussion at Sphinn.

• 

  How To Get a Locations Longitude/Latitude Using Google Maps on iPhone

  Posted: January 8th, 2009, 2:17pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  Believe it or not, there are times where I want to find the latitude and longitude values of the location I am currently at or at an other location. I spotted a Google Mobile Help thread that goes through the steps on how to obtain the latitude and longitude using Google Maps. I found it interesting and I thought I document the process.

  Step 1: Open up the Maps application on your iPhone and find the location you want to get the latitude and longitude for. Either your current location or scroll through the map or enter in the location by name.

  Step 2: Click on the right bottom most button and then hit "Drop Pin."

  Step 3: Drag the pin to where you want to find the latitude and longitude:

  I picked an area that is under extreme turmoil right now, the border of Gaza:

  Step 4: Click on the blue, right arrow, above the pin. That will bring up this screen:

  Step 5: Click on the "Share location" button, which will open an email containing a link to Google Maps, coded by the longitude and latitude:

  There you go, here is the link, if you are interested. It is at 31.466114/34.484749, which seems to be off from the border by a few miles.

  Forum discussion at Google Mobile Help.

• 

  Google Maps Currently Does Not Support Multi-Language Listings

  Posted: April 25th, 2008, 2:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Local Search  

  A Google Groups thread confirms that Google Maps is lacking support for a common feature needed both here in the States and overseas, support for multi-language listings.

  A Google Groups member asked:

  As a multilingual company our website is in more than one language and each language has the same name but different URL. Should I create a listing for each language?

  Google's official response is that there is no way to add more than one language URL for a single listing and that you should not add more than one business profile for the same physical address. Google Maps Jen said:

  We don't have any way to handle multi-language listings at this point in time, and we strongly encourage businesses to only create one listing per physical address. However, it's a great suggestion to support these types of business listings - maybe we'll be able to support this in the future.

  I am pretty sure many local search engines ask for languages spoken at the company when creating a business profile. I am not sure if those are one of the questions asked by Google Local. In any event, if multiple languages are spoken, adding a special URL for each language, should not be too hard.

  Forum discussion at Google Groups.