Tag: Google

22Mar By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, robot chat, technology, wifi

How to connect, update, and troubleshoot your Google Home Wi-Fi network | by Tapaan Chauhan

Your Google Home or Google Assistant speaker listens intently to your every word to deliver music requests, smart home control, and answers to questions — but only if it’s connected to the internet.This connection should be formed during the first setup of your Google Nest Mini, Nest Audio, or Nest Hub, however, if you’re changing Wi-Fi networks or reconnecting after the initial setup, you’ll need to go through the menus of the Google Home app.However, as long as you’re trying to connect your speaker to the same network as your phone or tablet, this should be rather simple. When completing the instructions below, have your Wi-Fi password and name handy.You’ll be asked to link your speaker to a Wi-Fi network during setup, but you can always go into the settings menu of each item and connect...

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17Mar By Kristopher JonesNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

4 Quick Tips To Boost Your Google Business Profile Visibility

Every business out there wants to attract more online visibility – especially on Google. How can you get in front of just the right people in local search listings and the Map Pack? Optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing puts your local business in the best position to get found and convert motivated searchers to paying customers. Here are a few tips to get you some quick wins without breaking the bank. 1. Encourage Reviews Reviews are one of the best ways to grow your GBP. They cost nothing but do much to raise your business’s profile to organic searchers. Think about how you might go about weeding through a large selection of local general contractors if you have never employed one before. You have no idea if the claims made on a contractor’s website are accurate since yo...

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15Mar By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, robot chat, technology, voice-assistant, youtube

Google Assistant and YouTube to be incorporated into Volvo cars | by Tapaan Chauhan | Jan, 2022

It has been announced that Google is about to join hands with the Volvo car group to integrate its Google Assistant features along with Apps like YouTube into Volvo cars.As technology is taking over the world in every aspect, it is not surprising that now you will soon be able to give commands to Google Assistant for managing various features of your car.Through this innovative incorporation, people will be able to control functions in their car like opening and locking the car, maintenance of temperature inside the car, getting information about battery life opening and closing of the windows of the car, and many more, by allocating voice commands to Google Assistant-enabled home and mobile devices.Apart from managing these functions in your car, there is even an option for your entertain...

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8Mar By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai, ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, robot chat, technology, voice-assistant

Google has launched a next-gen AI model ‘Pathways’ | by Tapaan Chauhan

Google has decided to step ahead by bringing the new model of artificial intelligence that is capable of doing multiple tasks. It’s overtaking all the singularly designed models by tying all the specialized models used in a multimodel all-rounder. The AI model is meant to cover a wider array of tasks than a one-way centered designed model in use. The new AI is most likely to be performed like a human brain.Singularly designed AI models are trained in one way and can only perform one task. And by mixing all of these single-minded algorithms this new model Pathways will be able to do multi-task and learn new things.“That’s more or less how we train most machine learning models today. Rather than extending existing models to learn new tasks, we train each new model from nothing to do one thin...

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7Mar By Alix CoeNo Comments

Blog, Citations, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Fraudulent Business Profiles in the Spotlight as Google Updates Verification Requirements and Trust Signals

Reports of a new Google Business Profile (GBP) verification label are currently circulating within the local SEO community. Select GBPs have received the new ‘confirmed’ label from Google to show that the associated business has had its details verified recently. Although not all GBPs have received this label, searchers can see that certain profiles have had their business details verified by Google—likely through an automated phone call. They're like a series of "trust" signals you think @rustybrick ? Has the state of the GBP ecosystem in terms of accuracy become so bad that Google needs to add these to show consumers they can be confident in the panel details? 🧐 https://t.co/yPjrzFmfIm pic.twitter.com/1Byf5ZgJyr — Claire Carlile🕊️ 🌊 🥑 🦥 (@c...

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2Mar By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Google Maps Spam-Reporting System: the Toilet That Flushes 60% of the Time (on a Good Day)

Like my post? Please share! In the past couple of years, I’ve heard many local SEOs and a few hands-on business owners make a comment to the effect of, “Google Maps doesn’t approve anti-spam edits anymore.”  There’s more than grain of truth to that. Google never has been good about policing the local map enough to show businesses that playing it straight is worth the restraint.  In recent years Google doesn’t seem to have gotten any better and may even have gotten worse, especially given its more-relaxed policies toward non-in-person businesses since 2020. You may already have an objection to the effect of, “I’m a ‘live and let live’ type” or “I don’t want to rat anyone out.”  My philosophy here is simple: if competitors are to outrank you, at least make them work for it.  If you want to l...

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28Feb By Tomas AcunaNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Core Web Vitals Impact on Google Business Profile Landing Pages

Core Web Vitals Impact on Google Business Profile Landing Pages - Whitespark In 2021 Google announced it would include page experience signals as a ranking factor. Included in page experience signals are Core Web Vitals which help measure the quality of a website experience. We want...

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12Feb By Brock CooperNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google Cautions Businesses About Anti-Tech Legislation

With access to millions of emails and business profiles, Google’s using its vast resources to inform businesses about tech legislation via email and numerous websites. People with Google Business Profiles, or who use other Google properties, may have noticed an email warning them of upcoming legislation that could impact their businesses. In addition to emails, Google has written blogs and set up websites with the goal of educating people about the potential consequences of these bills. Anti-tech bills, such as the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, work to keep companies like Google from using their online platforms for discriminatory behavior. Google and other major tech companies are rallying to torpedo the recent bill. Grassroots Efforts by Google According to BillHartzer.com,...

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4Feb By Sherry BonelliNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

The Complete Guide To Google Business Profile Reviews

If you’re like most people, you prefer to work with businesses you trust. That’s why we often turn to our family and friends to ask for referrals when looking for a particular business, product, or service. And if we can’t find a referral from a person we trust, we frequently turn to online reviews as the next best thing. Online reviews have become an integral part of the buyer’s journey, so much so that 77% of consumers now say they ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ read online reviews when browsing for local businesses. And the pricier or riskier the product or service, the more people pay attention to the reviews. Google Business Profile Reviews Are Front And Center Yes, there are plenty of sites with reviews including Yelp, Facebook, Better Business Bureau, and many more. But because most peopl...

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2Feb By Roger MonttiNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

How Google Maps Reviews Are Moderated

Google published an explainer that offers insights into how Google handles reviews left for local businesses on Google Maps. The article outlines the multiple steps and actions Google takes that enables it to review and publish user generated reviews in a matter of seconds. Google shared five steps it takes to ensure that Google Maps reviews are useful and authentic. Step 1: Strict Content Policies The backbone of Google’s approach to moderating reviews left on Google Maps is a well defined content policy. Every website that accepts user generated content must have a well-defined policy describing what is acceptable. This helps users understand the limits and also informs the moderators on when to step in. According to Google: “We’ve created strict content policies to make sure reviews ar...

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1Feb By Mark Walker-FordNo Comments

Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing

8 Free Google Ads Tools to Help Boost Website Traffic [Infographic]

Are you just getting started with a Google Ads campaign for your business? Need help creating your ads and deciding on the right way forward? The team from Red Website Design share 8 free Google Ads tools to try in this infographic. Here’s what makes the list: Check out the infographic listing below for more detail. A version of this post was first published on the Red Website Design blog.

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19Jan By Brooke OsmundsonNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

How To Get Free Hotel Booking Links In Google

A new tutorial on the Google Ads YouTube channel goes over easy, step-by-step instructions for setting up free hotel booking links.This video can help Google Ads users learn how to take advantage of a feature the company launched within the past year.Google announced free booking links for hotels in March 2021, expanding opportunities for small boutiques to large chains across the country.These listings provide free traffic directly to your site and provide live updates and availability. With the additions to this link type, free booking links can be used in conjunction with hotel ads to maximize exposure.What Are Free Booking Links?Free booking links currently show on Google when a user searches hotel prices and availability and looks at the details of a particular hotel.A key benefit of ...

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17Jan By Miranda MillerNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Are Local Citations (NAP) A Google Ranking Factor?

In local SEO, a citation is a mention of key business information – your name, address, and phone number (NAP) – anywhere else on the web.Local citations might appear in directories, on social networking or review sites, in apps, and on all kinds of other websites.Clearly, these are an important part of a searcher’s experience; NAP info is how a local consumer will find their way to your store or give you a call.But do citations help you rank higher in Google Search results?The Claim: Local Citations As A Ranking FactorSome citations allow only for the location’s name, address, and phone number.However, you may be able to add a website link, business description, photos, and more, depending on the directory or platform.The idea here is that each of these optimizations will help you rank hi...

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15Jan By Pratik BhangireNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot messenger, chatbot online, chatbot website, chatbot-development, chatbots, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, facebook bot, facebook chatbot, facebook messenger bot, google chat bots, manychat, Messenger, messenger-bots, robot chat

How to Collect User Data in Messenger and Export It to Google Sheets with the ManyChat Bot — EmpathyBots | by Pratik Bhangire | Jan, 2022

Are you planning to generate leads for your business with Messenger?Or, just growing a subscriber list of your newsletter?Whatever it be, you just want to collect user data like name, email, contact number, etc.And you know what, it is very easy to collect user data in Messenger with the ManyChat bot.Not just that, In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to collect user data in Messenger and export it to google sheets with the ManyChat bot so that you can easily access it later.Source: EmpathyBotsBefore starting out, If you are not familiar with technical terms in chatbot development then please refer to my guide on technical chatbot terminology, because in this tutorial you need to be aware of that technical jargon.Ok, I’m going to divide this tutorial into 2 parts, first we’ll see ho...

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14Jan By John VuongNo Comments

Business advice, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Promote Your Business Website: 4 Ways to Use Your Google Business Profile

Building an excellent business website is essential to succeeding in today’s business environment. It’s as important to have a great website as it is to have a high-quality store in your community. Once you have your website, however, it’s important to promote it. You can’t just expect people to find your business if you don’t promote it. Fortunately, you have an excellent tool available to you — Google My Business. Google My Business (GMB), also known as your Google Business Profile, allows you to create a profile for your business and increase your online presence and reputation. If you want to promote your website, you need to use GMB. Here’s how to do it. Have a Complete Profile If you’re trying to find a reputable company and you find an online profile that’s only partially complete,...

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7Jan By Jeff RiddallNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How Google Reviews Impact Map Pack & Organic Search Rankings

There is little doubt there are local SEO and general business benefits to earning and encouraging customers to leave keyword-rich reviews. In many cases, customers will leave reviews whether you ask them to or not.Even negative reviews can have a positive effect if they are resolved promptly and in a positive way. Perhaps the worst thing a business can do is not respond to a review to show the customer you are listening.And in addition to the impact they have on conversion, reviews are a local ranking factor that can either bolster or hinder your rankings, depending on a number of factors.Let’s learn more about how local reviews impact your Map Pack and local organic search rankings.The Benefits Of Customer ReviewsCustomer reviews are a powerful indicator of the standing a local business ...

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5Jan By Loren BakerNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEJ Show, SEO

New Google Local & Google Maps Features For Marketing

The 2022 key to local business success: Be the first to use Google’s newest marketing features in your area.Get more traffic in your door, get your business noticed faster, and outrank your competition.Amanda Jordan, Director of Digital Strategy for RicketyRoo Inc., will join me on the Search Engine Journal Show Friday, January 7, at 3 pm ET to discuss the new Google Local and Google Maps features and how to incorporate them into your local SEO strategy.Amanda Jordan, Director of Digital Strategy for RicketyRoo Inc. On The SEJ ShowAmanda has extensive experience designing campaigns, including web development and SEO, and is very talented and creative.AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowHaving started her SEO career in 2011, Amanda specializes in local SEO for legal and enterprise companies ...

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23Dec By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, robot chat, technology, vaccines, voice-assistant

Google to enable voice banking and vaccination scheduling features | by Tapaan Chauhan | Dec, 2021

Google is stepping way more ahead by introducing a bunch of new features to their services in India. With these new features, users of Google assistant in India can easily get to set up their vaccination appointment while Google pay users will be able to command in Hinglish (a mixture of English and Hindi) to make any financial transaction.Google pay is now one of the most popular apps for financial transactions in India. So for adding many spices to its feature Google is going to introduce a speech text feature. With this New advanced AI, users just need to command which bank and which account number they want to send money and as soon as the recipient confirms, their money will be sent in seconds. The app can understand both the language Hindi and English but this new addition of Hinglis...

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21Dec By Alix CoeNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Confirms Biggest Local Search Algorithm Update in Five Years

Many local businesses have noticed huge fluctuations in their local search rankings over the last few weeks, with Google now confirming an important update to the local algorithm.  Rolling out between November 30th and December 8th, this update has been named ‘Vicinity’ by Sterling Sky. This is the largest change to the local algorithm since Possum in 2016 and has caused widespread ranking disruption. Google confirmed the update in a tweet on December 16th: Our November 2021 local search update has concluded. It began Nov 30 and ran through Dec 8. It involved a rebalancing of various factors we consider in generating local search results. General guidance for businesses remains the same as covered here: https://t.co/uyXFfmUEIR — Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 16, 2021 Wh...

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14Dec By Alix CoeNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Google Confirms Local Pack Redesign

Google has been testing a new layout for the Local Pack interface over the last few months, and has now announced that the change will be permanent.  The Local Pack is a prominent section of the local search results. It features the top three businesses for a local query, as well as a map pinpointing the location of each. Being featured here can make a huge difference to local business web traffic and sales. Google has typically displayed three results with a map above since 2015. Before then, seven results were listed in the Local Pack without the addition of a map. New Local Pack Design The new design—which only applies to searches made on desktop—will feature three results on the left of the page and a map to the right. One notable advantage to this is that the map is bigger and could t...

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10Dec By Ben FisherNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

7 New & Ongoing Google Business Profile (GMB) Issues, December 2021

This year has been a wild ride when it comes to Google My Business (GMB) – erm, I mean Google Business Profile (GBP).The most notable change in 2021 was its rebranding and the full rollout of the capability that enables marketers to manage business profiles via Search and Maps.For a time, Google Business Profile support was massively backed up with requests and the backlog took a few months to clear out.And still, there are several ongoing issues. It can be frustrating when things are not working the way they should and in some cases, it makes no sense as to why the issue exists or has not been resolved.But have faith – Google’s support and engineering teams are constantly working on many bugs, new features, and more. They do try to stay on top of issues that are brought up in the GBP comm...

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5Dec By SendbirdNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, api, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, chatbots, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, dialogflow, google chat bots, robot chat, software-development, tutorial

How to implement chatbots with Sendbird and Google Dialogflow | by Sendbird | Dec, 2021

By Walter RodriguezSolutions Engineer| SendbirdIf you’re looking for tutorials about Swift, Kotlin, React, and more, check out our developer portal.The Sendbird chatbot sample code may help you. For additional guidance, check out our docs. Here’s a general Sendbird chat demo and details about Sendbird chat.This tutorial will explain how to use the Sendbird API for Bots to receive a message from any channel, send it to Dialogflow, and respond.Figure 1. Sendbird chatbot architecture diagramBy the end of this tutorial, you will understand how to build the entire flow in the architecture diagram above. This flow consists of the following steps:The client sends a message to the Sendbird Bot Sync Server.From the Sendbird Bot Sync Server, we send the message to Dialogflow using the Dialogflow API...

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30Nov By Chuck PriceNo Comments

content marketing, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Learn To Master Video For Google Business Profiles

Watching and sharing videos just might be the world’s favorite pastime. In fact, it’s a daily event for countless people of all ages.A video that goes viral can acquire millions of views by sharing through a wide variety of social media platforms, ranging from TikTok and Reels to YouTube and Twitter.But did you know that you can add a video to your Google Business Profile?Businesses of all sizes face an incredible amount of competition. Small businesses, in particular, are constantly being challenged to find new and creative ways to grab the attention of fickle consumers.Finding a cost-effective way to reach an audience and build interest in products and services can be the difference between success and failure.One of the best ways to accomplish this is to seize on the public thirst for s...

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18Nov By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Maps Adds 4 New Features For Local Shopping

Google Maps launches four new features to improve the local shopping experience for customers, which in turn can lead to more sales for businesses.In addition, Google has published statistics related to local shopping during the holiday season. This includes the most popular times to visit certain categories of businesses, and more.These are the new features that are now available in Google Maps worldwide.4 New Google Maps Features1. Area BusynessCustomers can now see how busy a particular area is before they get there, which will help those who prefer to avoid large crowds.The new feature, called Area Busyness, combines live busyness trends from individual businesses that are in close proximity to each other.AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowTo access Area Busyness data, open Google Maps...

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17Nov By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Launches New Local Search Features

As more searchers look up the query “news near me” than ever before, Google is launching new features for local search results and new tools for journalists.Google reports that searches for “news near me” have tripled over the past five years, reaching an all time high in May 2020.Screenshot from: blog.google/products/news, November 2021.In response to the demand for local news, Google is adding new features to search results to help people find locally relevant stories.AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowGoogle is also releasing new and upgraded tools for reporters to produce more work that’s tailored to a digital medium.Here’s an overview of everything Google is rolling out.New Features For Local News In Google SearchNew features coming to Google Search will make it easier for people to f...

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17Nov By John VuongNo Comments

Business advice, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How to Set Up Your Google My Business Website

Creating a Google My Business page is one of the best steps you can take to improve your online marketing. It’s a great way to put your business on the map and make Google more aware you exist. However, creating a page isn’t the only benefit you get. You also have the ability to make a simple GMB website to strengthen your online presence. Why You Should Build a Website with Google A website is a crucial part of your digital marketing strategy. For small businesses that don’t have one or can’t afford professional solutions, building a free Google business website is a good starting point. Even if you already have a site, it’s often a good idea to invest some time in optimizing your GMB this way. The more of Google’s services you use, the bigger you make your presence, and the easier it is...

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16Nov By Chelsea AlvesNo Comments

Digital Experience, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

8 Google Business Profile Updates To Make For The Holidays

The peak holiday season is rapidly approaching – in fact, for many, it’s already in full swing.E-commerce sales for November 2021 to January 2022 are forecasted to rise 11%-15% to between $210 billion and $218 billion this year.In-store shopping is also anticipated to rebound to a 33% share in 2021 from 28% in 2020, coming close to the 36% estimated for 2019.As Daniel Bachman, U.S. economic forecaster at Deloitte, states:“We anticipate strong consumer spending for the upcoming holiday season. As vaccination rates rise and consumers are more comfortable being outside of the home, we are likely to see increased spending on services, including restaurants and travel, while spending on goods will continue to hold steady.A steady decline in the savings rate to pre-pandemic levels will support c...

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10Nov By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, guides-and-tutorials, how-to, robot chat, technology

Guide to How you can turn on and use Google Assistant Continued Conversation | by Tapaan Chauhan | Nov, 2021

Sometimes it feels so awkward to talk to Google assistant because of its weird robotic voice. But with the recent improvement with Google’s continued conversation feature things are getting better.With this new feature you don’t have to always command with ‘hey Google/ ok Google’ in every sentence. You can just now follow-up ask or command questions without mentioning ‘hey Google’. For instance, you can easily say “hey Google, set an alarm for tomorrow 7am” and add “also check my upcoming events too” this flow makes this communication more alive.However, it can’t get enabled automatically. You need to go through some simple steps to enable it. Let’s get straight to how you can enable Google assistant continued conversation.Install the Google assistant app and open it.In the top right side ...

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9Nov By Allie MargesonNo Comments

googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

2021 Holiday Guide to Google My Business

Over the past 20 months we’ve learned to adapt, pivot, and embrace flexibility when it comes to operating a local business. We know 2021 has continued to be a challenging year for you, your families, and your business. As we approach the second pandemic holiday season, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite local marketing tips to get your Google My Business listing and website holiday ready.  We wish you a happy holiday season!  Holiday Local Search Marketing Tips Shopping locally continues to be more important than ever. “60% of U.S. consumers who are planning to shop for the holidays say they will shop more at local small businesses” (Think With Google).  1. Go above and beyond to keep your shoppers informed Like last year, your business is likely continuing to operate with additional CO...

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5Nov By Alix CoeNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

GMB Rebrands to Google Business Profile: What Does it Mean for Local Businesses?

Update Nov 5, 2022: Search Engine Land has reported that “if … you are a local SEO that manages a number of businesses, you will still continue to use an interface like Google My Business, renamed to Business Profile Manager going forward,” so that should put some local SEOs’ fears to rest. Google has announced that it’s renaming Google My Business to Google Business Profile, amid a number of additional developments within the local business management tool. Local SEO experts have been quick to react to the update, and we’ve taken our own look to see what has actually changed for local business owners.  What’s new with Google Business Profiles? In addition to the name change, Google has announced that single listings will now be managed directly within Google Maps and Google Search.  To ma...

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5Nov By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, google-home, guides-and-tutorials, robot chat, smart-home, technology

Guide to How you can use Google Home and Assistant as a smart alarm clock | by Tapaan Chauhan | Oct, 2021

Did you know that your Google Assistant can work as an excellent smart alarm to make your day better? It can make you awake with your favorite music, radio or news. Additionally you can set morning and night time routines by pairing alarm with your playlists. It absolutely doesn’t matter which model of Google assistant smart speaker You are using, you can make it work with any of them. So let’s get straight to how you can use Google Home and Assistant as a smart alarm clock.Do not worry about facing any complex steps as you can just command and get your things done. So if you want to set a one time Alarm then just ask “hello Google set an alarm for tomorrow 8.00 am.” After this as a confirmation assistant will confirm the time with you. Also if you are willing to remember an alarm as event...

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29Oct By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, amazon, Apple, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, robot chat, voice-assistant

Can New Voice Assistants Compete Against Google, Amazon, and Apple? | by Tapaan Chauhan | Oct, 2021

Orange chose to quit selling its Djingo keen speaker, and it didn’t get a lot of notice. However, it is believed to be critical. It shows that even a $30 billion telecom goliath can’t contend with any semblance of Google and Amazon (unexpectedly, they were utilizing SoundHound innovation, which is probably as acceptable a cloud recognizer as a free broadly useful right hand has endeavored). Add to that Bixby’s disappointment from Samsung, one of the world’s most prominent equipment gadgets combinations, and the issue begins to become more apparent.Here’s the issue. Google, Amazon, and Apple are contributing such a lot and gathering so much information that it will be tough for any other person to adequately enter wide space employments of voice assistants.A piece of it is a precision issue...

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17Oct By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, bluetooth, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot messenger, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, facebook bot, facebook chatbot, facebook messenger bot, google chat bots, google-assistant, google-home, robot chat, voice-assistant

Guide to How you can connect and pair your Google Home to a Bluetooth speaker | by Tapaan Chauhan | Oct, 2021

Tapaan ChauhanFollowOct 14 · 3 min readIt is now possible to connect your Bluetooth speaker with your Google smart speaker. For instance, if you want to enjoy the benefits of Google Assistant but want the sound to play via another speaker then this is the best solution for you. Here we will guide you about how you can connect and pair your Google assistant with Bluetooth speaker.First you need to turn on your Bluetooth speaker and then press and hold the particular button on the top or back in order to stick it in pairing mode. Then head of to the steps mentioned below:Open Google Home appTap the Google home deviceAt the top-right click settings and then AudioAfter that click default music speakerThen click pair Bluetooth speakerWhen your Bluetooth device appears click done.1. How Conversa...

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14Oct By lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox)No Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, Internet marketing, Online Marketing, Technical SEO

How to Tell Google Not to Index a Page in Search

Indexing as many pages on your website as possible can be very tempting for marketers who are trying to boost their search engine authority. But, while it’s true that publishing more pages that are relevant for a particular keyword (assuming they’re also high quality) will improve your ranking for that keyword, sometimes there’s actually more value in keeping certain pages on your website out of a search engine’s index. ... Say what?! Stay with us, folks. This post will walk you through why you might want to remove certain webpages from the SERPs (search engine results pages), and exactly how to go about doing it. De-Indexing a Page from Google There are a few occasions where you may want to exclude a webpage — or a portion of a webpage — from search engine crawling and indexing like: T...

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5Oct By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Does Adding Photos in Google My Business Increase Ranking? [Case Study]

Posted Oct 4, 2021 by Joy Hawkins I often see posts come up in Facebook groups that recommend adding photos constantly to your Google My Business listing because this helps a business rank higher in the local pack results.  Most people say it’s because Google likes “fresh” or “recent” content. TLDR; According to this case study: Adding photos to a Google My Business listing had no measurable impact on ranking in the local pack search results. The search results didn’t show the photos we added and often defaulted to the cover photo. Adding photos to the GMB landing page (the business website) did impact ranking due to the alt-text on the photo. The Case Study For this test, we took 4 different Goo...

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3Oct By Allie MargesonNo Comments

googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Leveraging Conversions with GMB Bookings/Reserve with Google

Leveraging Conversions with GMB Bookings/Reserve with Google - Whitespark The Google My Business Booking feature, or Reserve with Google, allows businesses to integrate specific supported booking systems with their GMB listing, which gives customers the ability to make an appointment directly from the listing. This feature can get your b...

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22Sep By Claire CarlileNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

5 Steps to GMB Products Set-Up via Google Product Editor

Have you tried using GMB Products to promote important product pages on your website?If not, you may be missing out on a valuable opportunity to showcase products and drive customer interactions in Google Search.Google officially calls this feature “Product Editor,” but you’ll likely hear it referred to as “GMB Products” in marketing circles.Either way, although GMB Products has existed since 2018, it first popped into many businesses’ Google My Business dashboards when it came out of beta in early 2020.What are GMB Products?GMB Products are sometimes confused by some with “Product Posts,” but these are actually now one and the same thing.Screenshot from GMB Dashboard, September 2021“Add Product” in the Posts section of GMB now populates a product rather than a post.AdvertisementContinue R...

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22Sep By Paddi MacDonnellNo Comments

best fonts, best free fonts, building website, creating a website, free font downloads, free fonts, Google fonts, google web designer, internet design, Resources, web design, web design company, web designer, web page design, website builder, website design

21 Exceptional Google Fonts You Probably Haven’t Discovered Yet

Google Fonts may be the single most significant contribution Google has made to the evolution of the web — yes, more significant than search, advertising, or analytics. Google Fonts gives every business access to a visual voice with which to distinguish itself. Fonts can be downloaded for use in design software and then embedded using best practices for a consistent experience on the web. If there’s anything wrong with Google Fonts, it’s that its default listings are based on “Trending,” a self-fulfilling criterion that keeps Noto Sans high up the list, destined to be over-used. But if you spend a little time lower down the listings, you’ll find some exceptional typefaces that are hardly used. Yes, some of them are highly stylized, but there are also usable sans, serifs, and display fonts ...

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20Sep By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, Strategy

Do Images Impact Ranking on Google? [Case Study]

Posted Sep 20, 2021 by Joy Hawkins We have been doing a lot of testing around images in the last year at Sterling Sky.  You can read about the tests we did on geotagging photos and the cover photo you select in Google My Business.  For this test, we wanted to measure how the photos you use on your website impact your organic ranking on Google. TLDR; According to this case study: Larger/better quality photos are better for ranking Having a photo that matches what Google is looking for can have a positive impact on ranking.  Having a photo that doesn’t match can have a negative impact. How much images contribute to ranking likely varies based on the query or industry. The Case Study There was a pag...

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13Sep By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

3 Little Known Facts About the Google My Business Cover Photo

Posted Sep 13, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Google My Business has a designated section for the cover photo that sounds very simple but actually has quite a few nuances that many business owners and marketers are unaware of. In an ideal world, you just add your cover photo, Google displays exactly what you put, and you move on with your life.  Unfortunately, that’s not always what happens. Fact 1: The cover photo can show up in the 3-pack There are many queries on Google that show images in the local pack results.  Sometimes, these 3-packs display images that are related to what you search.  In this example, I searched for tires and Google is displaying photos of tires beside each listing: However, often t...

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7Sep By Heather CampbellNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Webinar

Are You Making These Big Mistakes with Your Google My Business Listing?

Google My Business can be one of the most valuable tools for any local business – one that can help you gain customers or clients and, most importantly, revenue.However, many GMB listings are suffering from all-too-common, critical issues.On June 16, I moderated a sponsored Search Engine Journal webinar presented by Mark Luckenbaugh of Local Viking.He shared how to make sure you’re avoiding these pitfalls – whether you manage a single GMB listing or thousands of them.Here’s a recap of the webinar presentation.Are you making it hard for local customers to find your business when they’re searching for you?If your business is not showing up for relevant search queries, then you probably need to look into your Google My Business (GMB) profile.Most GMB issues can’t be resolved through brute for...

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4Sep By Chandal Nolasco da SilvaNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

A Guide to Star Ratings on Google and How They Work

The elusive five-star review used to be something you could only flaunt in a rotating reviews section on your website.But today, Google has pulled these stars out of the shadows and features them front and center across branded SERPs and beyond.Consider that 48% of consumers won’t even look twice at a business with less than 4-stars.Star ratings can help businesses earn trust from potential customers, improve local search rankings, and boost conversions.This is your guide to how they work.Stars and SERPsStar ratings on Google are powered by consumer reviews from different properties, and Google uses an algorithm and an average to determine how many stars are displayed.These ratings appear on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.When a person searches Google, they will come across star ratings on standa...

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1Sep By Shane BarkerNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How to Use Local Keywords to Rank Higher on Google

Did you know that 76% of people who search for a nearby business on their smartphones visit them within a day’s time?Or that 28% of these searches end in a purchase?That’s the power of local SEO – and local keyword research.Choosing the right keywords for your business can help you rank better for competitive keywords related to your product and industry.While local searches may yield lower search volumes, it’s more about intent and driving traffic ready to convert.You need to make it easy for consumers to find your local business on Google and other search engines.So how do you find and use keywords to help increase your local search rankings?Read on to find out.Local Keyword ResearchYou first need to know which search queries are helping people find your business.Optimizing your website ...

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30Aug By Roger MonttiNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google Explains Importance of GMB for Local Search

Google’s John Mueller answered a question about the difference in SEO between an informational search query and a query for a local service. Mueller answers the question and followed up by explaining what a business needs to do to rank for local search queries, stressing the importance of Google My Business (GMB).What’s the Difference Between Local and Informational Search Queries?A “Local Search Query” is a search question that someone types into Google when they are looking for a service or a store that is in their geographic area.Examples of a local search business can be a a plumber, a restaurant, a retail store or a lawyer.And informational search query is one where a searcher is trying to find information, like, for example, the cast of a movie, a product review or instructions on ho...

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25Aug By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

How to Add & Remove the Temporarily Closed Label on a Google My Business Listing

Posted Aug 24, 2021 by Joy Hawkins The temporarily closed label has been around for several years but is not a very utilized feature currently.  It is meant to be used when your business is closing for an extended length of time, but not permanently. How do you temporarily close your Google My Business listing? To get your Google My Business listing marked “temporarily closed” you can go into the Google My Business dashboard and on the info tab there should be an option to mark it as closed temporarily: How to Remove the Temporarily Closed Label in Google My Business If you want to re-open your listing after marking it as temporarily closed, follow the steps below: Go to the Info tab inside Goog...

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24Aug By Digital MarketerNo Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, Internet marketing, Online Marketing

The 50 Most Searched for HR Questions on Google [Infographic]

Privacy, surveillance, and compensation are top-of-mind for employees when researching human resources topics online, according to Elements Global Services. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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23Aug By gsoskey@hubspot.com (Ginny Mineo)No Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, email outreach, Internet marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Online Marketing, PPC

How to Create UTM Tracking URLs on Google Analytics

Crucial aspects of being a great marketer are being able to measure your success and measure your impact. No matter which metrics you use, you want to prove to your boss (and the company) that you're worth your salt. (more…)

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16Aug By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Will Google Remove a Google Maps Review After the Owner of the GMB Page Replied to It?

Like my post? Please share! Yes, Google may remove Google Maps reviews that the owner/admin of a Google My Business page wrote a public reply to.   Responding to a review doesn’t seem to validate it in Google’s view, as in, “Well, if business owner replied to it, it must be legit.”  Your response to a review doesn’t fossilize that review for eternity. Every now and then a client gets a bad review from a non-customer, a real customer with a bogus or irrelevant complaint, a slimy competitor, or another  questionable source, and the question I get is: “Should I report the review to Google or should I reply to it?”  If you’re wondering the same thing, I’d say you should do both.  Report the review and reply to it in a circumspect way (if you think you’re better off with a response up for all t...

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13Aug By cchi@hubspot.com (Clifford Chi)No Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, Google Docs, Internet marketing, Online Marketing

How to Strikethrough Text in Google Docs [FAQ]

Strikethrough text is like body language in your writing. It allows you to convey subtext or your true opinion about something, without explicitly expressing it: (more…)

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8Aug By Heather CampbellNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Webinar

Are You Making These Big Mistakes with Your Google My Business Listing?

Google My Business can be one of the most valuable tools for any local business – one that can help you gain customers or clients and, most importantly, revenue.However, many GMB listings are suffering from all-too-common, critical issues.On June 16, I moderated a sponsored Search Engine Journal webinar presented by Mark Luckenbaugh of Local Viking.He shared how to make sure you’re avoiding these pitfalls – whether you manage a single GMB listing or thousands of them.Here’s a recap of the webinar presentation.Are you making it hard for local customers to find your business when they’re searching for you?If your business is not showing up for relevant search queries, then you probably need to look into your Google My Business (GMB) profile.Most GMB issues can’t be resolved through brute for...

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3Aug By Roger MonttiNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google Explains Importance of GMB for Local Search

Google’s John Mueller answered a question about the difference in SEO between an informational search query and a query for a local service. Mueller answers the question and followed up by explaining what a business needs to do to rank for local search queries, stressing the importance of Google My Business (GMB).What’s the Difference Between Local and Informational Search Queries?A “Local Search Query” is a search question that someone types into Google when they are looking for a service or a store that is in their geographic area.Examples of a local search business can be a a plumber, a restaurant, a retail store or a lawyer.And informational search query is one where a searcher is trying to find information, like, for example, the cast of a movie, a product review or instructions on ho...

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27Jul By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Do Google Posts Impact Ranking?

Posted Jul 26, 2021 by Joy Hawkins One of the most frequent questions I get asked related to Google posts is if they impact where a business ranks in the local pack.  To answer this question, we did a test recently on a few inactive Google My Business listings. TLDR Adding Google posts to Google My Business (GMB) listings had no measurable impact on rankings in the local pack. The Methodology: To test this, we picked 3 different Google My Business (GMB) listings that we started adding Google posts to.  These 3 listings had no SEO efforts whatsoever (no content, reputation, or link building efforts) and were in small towns.  2 of them were for marketing companies that were set up as service-area bus...

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25Jul By Jamie PitmanNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google Now Shows ‘Ranking Factors Box’ in SERPs to Explain Results

Want to find out why your competitor’s page is No. 1 in Google organic SERPs? Well, now you can! (To the extent that Google is willing to tell you, anyway.) That’s because Google yesterday announced a feature that shows a selection of reasons for ranking individual pages in SERPs, bringing some much-needed transparency to search. via GIPHY Source: Google This feature is a section called ‘Your search & this result’ but it doesn’t have a catchy name yet, so we’re calling it the ‘Ranking Factors Box’, simply because, well, it’s a box that displays ranking factors! The Ranking Factors Box is an extension of the ‘About this result’ box, which is accessible by clicking the ‘three vertical dots’ at the end of a search result and was originally launched back in February of this year. Where is...

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19Jul By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Succeed With Google Posts: What We Learned From Analyzing Over 1,000 Google Posts

Posted Jul 19, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Wondering how to make your Google posts perform better? In this case study, we wanted to find out what types of posts performed the best and manually analyzed over 1000 posts from a variety of different small businesses. For the full video of this presentation plus several others, check out our videos on demand from LocalU in April. In this study, we looked at both clicks according to Google My Business (GMB), and clicks and conversions inside Google Analytics (by using UTM codes). Guide to Google My Business Posts: What type of Google post performs best? Should GMB posts have titles and should they be all caps? Should GMB posts include emojis? What to include in...

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16Jul By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

You Can Now Remove Phone Numbers From Google My Business LIstings

Posted Jul 16, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Recently, there have been a few threads on the Google My Business forum where business owners cannot figure out why Google won’t allow them to add a phone number to their Google My Business (GMB) listing.  It turns out there is a new setting that allows businesses to disable the phone number from appearing on their listing.  Mike Blumenthal commented that this might be useful for business types like farmers’ markets that don’t really have a phone number that people can contact for help. This feature could use some improvements because even if you select you don’t want a phone number on your listing, Google still prompts users to add one via Suggest an Edit. Jason ...

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15Jul By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Google Starts Cheering Anti-Spam Edits in Google Maps

Like my post? Please share!Just about every day I send in edits on Google My Business pages that have committed one party foul or another, but this is the first I’ve seen Google go out of its way to encourage those edits: It was a partial edit of a business’s name, in which I removed a single stuffed-in keyword.  I find two things interesting, at least in this case.  The first is that I made that edit back in 2018.  The second is that that edit has stuck for almost 3 years, even though it would have been easy for the business to add back in the keyword.  Often when you make a Google Maps edit on the name of GMB page and Google agrees with your edit and makes the change, the business just changes the name back to whatever it was, and Google doesn’t do anything about it.  Often it becomes a...

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8Jul By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Uncategorized

Shoehorning Cities into the Address Field of a Google My Business Page

Like my post? Please share! I may have seen this before, but it must not have registered with me until I saw it more than once on the same page of Google Maps results.   In any event, it’s new to me.  Below is an example.  Do you see what’s out of place? Is it the plump business name?  Nope.  Keyword-stuffing like that is omnipresent.  What else looks odd? That “service area” – Holy Moses!  Has Google started displaying in Google Maps all the cities in your GMB service area?  That’s what I thought at first, but notice: the cities are in the “address” field. The street address is in the address field, but so are 12 cities (known as “suburbs” in Australia) and communities the business serves. That isn’t a fluke, because on the very same page of Google Maps results is another GMB page with...

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5Jul By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

What Everybody Ought to Know About Events & Google My Business

Posted Jul 5, 2021 by Joy Hawkins In this Guide How to deal with events in your knowledge panel Google sometimes shows events in the Knowledge Panel for businesses, like this example for Folly Farm: Where do they show up? According to Krystal Taing, These were temporarily removed in 2020 due to COVID.  They only show up now on Google search and not at all on Google Maps or the Google Maps app.  They were removed from Google Maps in March 2020. Where does Google get event details from? Events show up generally because they are scraped from the website and automatically added to the knowledge panel.  There are lots of opportunities for this to go wrong which is why we suggest constantly monitoring i...

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24Jun By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments

Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google My Business Management 101

It’s no secret that Google My Business (GMB) is an incredibly popular platform and plays a huge part in influencing local rankings. According to a survey carried out by Whitespark, Google My Business is the number 1 ranking factor for the local pack. But GMB goes beyond rankings. Many call it the homepage for local businesses—the first place customers will find and evaluate your business—whether they are looking at customer reviews, exploring your services, or converting directly from your listing. This is why we’re proud to announce the next free course to land in BrightLocal Academy: Google My Business Management 101. We’ve created this detailed new course in collaboration with local SEO and GMB expert Niki Mosier. Why? Well, we noticed that there’s lots of advice out there about setting...

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23Jun By Heather CampbellNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Webinar

Are You Making These Big Mistakes with Your Google My Business Listing?

Google My Business can be one of the most valuable tools for any local business – one that can help you gain customers or clients and, most importantly, revenue.However, many GMB listings are suffering from all-too-common, critical issues.On June 16, I moderated a sponsored Search Engine Journal webinar presented by Mark Luckenbaugh of Local Viking.He shared how to make sure you’re avoiding these pitfalls – whether you manage a single GMB listing or thousands of them.Here’s a recap of the webinar presentation.Are you making it hard for local customers to find your business when they’re searching for you?If your business is not showing up for relevant search queries, then you probably need to look into your Google My Business (GMB) profile.Most GMB issues can’t be resolved through brute for...

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8Jun By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

What Are “Relations” in Google My Business?

Posted Jun 7, 2021 by Joy Hawkins I first heard the term “relation” when talking to Google My Business (GMB) support and had no clue what they were talking about.  Most people don’t know these exist because they aren’t present inside the Google My Business dashboard and some types are invisible on the actual listing itself. What is a Relation? A relation is basically a way for Google to connect different Google My Business listings to each other.  There are 4 different types that I have run across thusfar.  Located In – This is meant for businesses located inside other businesses.  It is not intended for practitioners or departments. You can add this without contacting GMB support by suggesting an...

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4Jun By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Reviews, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Review-Gating is Against the Google My Business Guidelines

Posted May 12, 2021 by Joy Hawkins What Is Review Gating? All businesses want great reviews but unfortunately, the reality is at some point in time you’re likely to receive a negative review. Review-gating is the process of filtering candidates before asking them to leave your business a review on Google, Facebook, or some other review platform.  Normally review gating is done by sending customers an email template that first asks them if they had a positive or negative experience.  If they had a positive experience, they are then directed to leave a review on Google, Facebook, etc. But, if they had a negative experience, they are prompted to leave private feedback for the business and are never g...

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3Jun By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

business, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

How Do You Get a Branded Google Map Pin? 5 Facts to Know

Posted Jun 2, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Updated on June 2, 2021 We have seen a big increase lately in the amount of branded map pins that exist on Google Maps.  I was told by several people that they were a part of Google’s local campaigns but didn’t see any mention of them in the help center and very little information on how you qualify for a local campaign.  Luckily Kyle Harris from DAC Group was able to get me some answers about these pins and how to get them. Branded map pins are a paid feature. Yep, sorry guys, you need to pay Google to get this feature.  It’s not free.  It is part of their local campaigns product with Google Ads. They don’t give you a permanent branded pin. For example, A&W ha...

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1Jun By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

The Ultimate Guide to Practitioner Listings on Google My Business [2021]

Posted Jun 1, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Included in this Guide ⭐What are practitioner listings?✨What business types are allowed practitioner listings?💫How do solo practitioners differ from multi-practitioner listings?🌟What if the practitioner no longer works there? Public-Facing professionals (doctors, lawyers, dentists, realtors, etc.) are allowed their own listings separate from the office they work for.  If you’re wondering if a person is allowed a practitioner listing, ask yourself if they do the following: Have a direct relationship with customers where customers would request them by name (such as a hairdresser). Have schedules that sometimes vary from the normal ho...

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31May By Digital MarketerNo Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, Internet marketing, Online Marketing

Google Analytics 4 Is Here

The complexity of the modern Web user's experience has made it critical for marketers to track users across mobile and desktop environments—together. Since 2013, when Google released the third version of Google Analytics, AKA Universal Analytics, it has provided great results for users. But its limitations have become evident, especially in the past two or three years. Enter Google Analytics 4, the much-anticipated update within the Google Analytics product, announced in October 2020. With the proliferation of new platforms, such as mobile apps and IoT devices, a massive influx of new data sources has been created; and as powerful as Universal Analytics was, it simply wasn't up to the task. So Google went back to the drawing board. This article will explain the difference...

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25May By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, Reviews, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Does Upvoting a Review Help it Show Up Higher on Google?

Posted May 25, 2021 by Joy Hawkins People often want strategies to help them control which reviews Google highlights in the Knowledge Panel.  One specific tactic that gets brought up a lot is the upvote feature that Google has beside each individual review.  We wanted to see if upvoting a review on Google impacted where the review showed up so we did a test on this for a client of ours who had a negative review being highlighted in his knowledge panel. We had multiple people upvote a specific review that was left by a well-established Local Guide to see if we could get that review to replace the one that was displaying in the Knowledge Panel.We found that upvoting the review had no impact on the or...

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20May By manvi@socialpilot.co (Manvi Agarwal)No Comments

Google My Business, Growth Hacks / Tips / Strategies, Local Marketing, Small Business, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing

6 Reasons Every Local Business Must Market With Google My Business Listing

Most of us spend endless hours and resources for social media marketing, but we end up ignoring the most preliminary step, and that’s optimizing our search rankings. No matter how many social media platforms you actively use, Google search still remains the favorite go-to option for making vital buying decisions. One of the first things that customers looking for your products and services online will do is an in-depth Google search. In fact, Google has reported that 46% of all searches have local intent and that business location is the main piece of information sought by local searches. But how do you make sure you pop up in their search results with relevant information across multiple devices? The easiest and fastest way to show up in the search feed is to have a Google My Business lis...

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18May By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

What Business Types or Categories Don’t Have Access to Google My Business Posts?

Posted May 18, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Not all business types have the advantage of utilizing the Google My Business posts feature.   Usually, if a business type doesn’t have the ability to utilize Google Posts, it is because the industry is regulated.  The following Google My Business categories do not have the ability to utilize Google Posts: Adult Entertainment Camp Cannabis shop Casino Conference Center Gun Shop Hotel (all hotel categories) Vacation Rental Wine Store (and other alcohol-related categories) There are also some categories that have a limited ability to utilize Google Posts.  These categories can use the “update” or “event” post type, but not offer posts.  Products are also missing f...

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17May By Sherry BonelliNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Fix Common Service Area Business Issues in Google My Business

When it comes to Google My Business’s rules and guidelines there is a lot of room for improvement.Yes, they have rules written down, but those guidelines are vague in many areas and contradictory in spots.That makes things confusing for even the smartest marketer or business owner. Trying to understand some of GMBs guidelines is almost like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a dark room.And the rules pertaining to Service Area Businesses (SABs) seem to be the most confusing.In this column, you’ll learn about the most common problems SABs experience in Google My Business — and how to solve them.What is Unique About Service Area Businesses in GMB?Service Area Businesses are those lacking a physical storefront location where customers can visit.SABs have employees that go out to their customer...

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14May By Furkan AkyurekNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, google chat bots, google-assistant, product, product-management, robot chat, ux, voice-assistant

How we made an award-winning Google Assistant App | by Furkan Akyurek | May, 2021

News Quiz for TRT World have combined the human voice with intelligent voice assistant technology to create the best user experience.News Quiz from TRT World has recently won awards in two separate categories in Google Actions Challenge. Our quiz tests user knowledge about the current events with new questions every day and exist both on Google Home and Amazon Alexa.It took a lot of iterations to get there. We were faced with unexpected challenges as developing an app for a voice interface requires a different mindset. This article will detail our process of getting to the end product and the lessons we learned. As one of the first comers to the voice assistant platform in the media industry, we’d like to share some of the practices we developed along the way.Conception of the ideaAfter re...

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14May By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google My Business News: New Features, Updates and Tests from March-May

The midway point of the year isn’t far off, and it’s safe to say that a lot has gone on in local SEO already this year.  So far in 2021, we’ve seen big changes to Google Posts, updates to review summaries in Google My Business (GMB), high scores from Local RankFlux, and 2-Packs showing on Google mobile results. But, in the past couple of months alone even more tests and updates have been impacting GMB. In this GMB news roundup, we take a look at the biggest headlines affecting local SEOs recently. Think we’ve left something out? Put it in the comments section down below! Competitor quotes in GMB Messaging It’s often recommended that businesses make use of GMB’s Messaging feature to better communicate with customers. But you might want to hold your horses. LocalU shared  that when searcher...

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11May By Colan NielsenNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, Strategy, Tips

How Does Google My Business Handle Solo Practitioner Listings?

Posted May 11, 2021 by Colan Nielsen In our April LocalU event, I covered Shades Of Grey: Controversial Local SEO Tactics that Drive Results. I covered tactics ranging from keyword stuffing to review snippets in the organic search results. There were several tactics that didn’t make the final cut. One of those tactics was if solo practitioners should have two listings on Google My Business. Google recommends that solo practitioners have 1 listing that combines the name of the practice with the name of the practitioner.  For example, “Allstate Insurance: Bob Smith”.  However, it’s not actually a violation of the guidelines for solo practitioners to have a separate listing for themself as well as a s...

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4May By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

How to Get Review Notifications When You Manage Over 100 Google My Business Listings

Posted May 4, 2021 by Joy Hawkins If you manage more than 100 listings inside your Google My Business dashboard, Google stops sending you email alerts when you get new reviews.  What you select as your settings has no influence on this.  Since we manage over 100 listings in our account, we found a workaround to make sure we were getting these notifications for our clients. Since this automatic setting is based on the number of listings that a particular account manages, the key is to split up the listings into smaller groups using other emails that you have access to.  The following steps will help you accomplish that so you can start getting email alerts again. Sign up for a new Gmail and call it...

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30Apr By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Adds 3 New Features For People Ready to Travel Again

As search trends show a renewed interest in travel, Google is adding new features to help people plan their next trip.Google reports searches for hotels reached a 10-year high in April 2021, as did searches for “where can I travel” and “travel restrictions by country.”To help answer those questions, and keep people up to date with travel advisories, Google is rolling out three new features in search results.New Travel-Related Features in Google Search ResultsTodays updates to Google Search are designed to help people stay informed about the latest travel guidance and explore potential destinations.Latest Travel GuidanceWhen searchers look for travel information like flights, hotels or things to do, Google currently lets them know if there are COVID-19 related travel advisories or restricti...

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29Apr By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Uncategorized

What to Do If You Lost All Your Google Reviews after Accidentally Deleting Your GMB Page

Like my post? Please share! As I’ve observed and written for many years, your Google reviews are never completely safe – and never completely gone.  You can lose them in bulk or in a drip.  You can lose them because of Google’s filter, manual removal, a bug, or a reviewer’s change of heart.  You can also lose your Google reviews – all of them – in a puff of smoke when trying to move to a different Google account. The specific scenario I’m thinking of is that you deleted a G Suite account or other Google account and thought your Google My Business page and reviews wouldn’t be affected, only to discover that both your GMB page and your pile of reviews are gone. Oops. If it makes you feel better, Google’s messaging often is unclear, such that routine steps sound scary and shooting yourself in...

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28Apr By Lauren AbramsonNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Best Practices for Getting and Using Your Google Maps API Key

With the rise and prominence of local search marketing, brands have begun to build robust location pages with advanced mapping features to meet the growing needs of searchers.The page types typically include a map to show users where the location is, what are the cross streets, and any major landmarks. This enables the user to easily find the location and increases a brand’s opportunities for conversions.With numerous mapping options available, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with them and understand how to implement them — especially the top contender: Google Maps.And for that, you’re going to need a Google Maps API Key.In this column, you’ll learn from my colleague/co-author Marshall Nyman and I what a Google Maps API Key is and how to get started.What Is a Google Maps API Key?Googl...

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27Apr By Colan NielsenNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, New Feature, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, Strategy, Tips

Do Google My Business Identity Attributes Impact Ranking? SterlingSky.ca

Posted Apr 27, 2021 by Colan Nielsen Last October, Joy covered 4 Google My Business Fileds That Impact Ranking on a Whiteboard Friday. The four fields Joy covered were: Business Name Categories Website Reviews Up until recently, those were the only features inside the GMB dashboard that had a direct impact on ranking. As of this month, we discovered a fifth feature that has a direct impact on ranking in the 3-pack and Google Maps – Identity Attributes. Key Takeaway: GMB Identity Attributes have a strong impact on ranking for keywords related to the attribute. What are Identity Attributes? If you log in to your GMB dashboard, navigate to the “Info” tab, and select the edit button beside “From the ...

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20Apr By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Rebranding Your Business | Checklist for Google My Business & Local Search

Posted Apr 20, 2021 by Joy Hawkins In the local search space, rebranding is something that happens quite often.  This is a checklist of all the places a local business needs to update online when they are changing their business name. Update website first. The logo needs to reflect the new name.  Often logos include taglines.  If you want it to be clear that something is a part of your business name, don’t put it on a second line. Any place that references your business name (About Us page etc) Update the Site name inside WordPress or whatever CMS you use. Update your domain registry. Update business license with the Secretary of State (US) and other places you have licenses listed. If in heal...

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14Apr By Suzanne ScaccaNo Comments

building website, creating a website, google algorithm, Google update, google web designer, internet design, page ranking, SEO, SERP, web design, web design company, web designer, web page design, website builder, website design

Get Ready For Next Month’s Google Shakeup

Google has been talking about the Core Web Vitals tool and the Page Experience Update for about a year now. With the update scheduled to roll out in May 2021, now is the time to make sure your websites are prepared for it. It’s taking a lot of the best practices Google has recommended over the years and making them an official part of the search algorithm, so not taking this seriously could negatively impact your sites’ rankings. Today, we’re going to look at everything Google has told us about the update and how to use the Core Web Vitals tool to ensure your site rankings don’t drop once it rolls out. What We Know About the Google Page Experience Update Google first told us about the page experience update back in May 2020. Here’s what we know about the upcoming update: Google’s Search Al...

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9Apr By Corey MorrisNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

10 Quick Restaurant SEO Tips to Boost Your Google Search Visibility

Define Your SEO & Content StrategiesDominate in Local SearchEngage With Customers on Social MediaEncourage Reviews & TestimonialsCreate Unique ContentConsider Content LocalizationApply Basic On-Page SEO Best PracticesThink Mobile FirstImplement Schema “Restaurants” MarkupMeasure Your EffortsSummaryA lot of factors have put an increasing amount of pressure on restaurants to improve their online presence.Whether through disruptions due to the pandemic, increased competition, or changes in the importance of having a strong online presence, we know we have to up our game.Right now, improving visibility at the local level is essential for both in-person dining and carry-out options.There are a lot of paid ads, partner services, and referral options for gaining traffic. However, rising t...

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1Apr By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Local 2-Packs Spotted in Google Mobile SERPs

Google’s Local 3-Pack might soon be a Local 2-Pack (on mobile at least). This week, Joy Hawkins at Local U (via Mariano Rodriguez from LawRank) shared findings of 2-Packs being spotted in local search results on mobile.  Since the news was first shared, more and more people have reported seeing a set of just two results when performing local searches on mobile. Seeing a 2-pack on Android Mobile. Anyone else?#localseo pic.twitter.com/bpICh5W2tX — Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) March 30, 2021   Both Android and iPhone users are being presented with 2-Pack results: I’ve been seeing it on iPhone/safari: pic.twitter.com/ArBEDQuzJ2 — Frank Olivo (@FrancoOlivo) March 31, 2021 What’s new? When performing a local search, users are usually presented with three top results. This is referred to as the...

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31Mar By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Google Enhances Business Profiles For Stores With Delivery & Pickup

Google is adding more information to Search and Maps about businesses that offer options for grocery delivery and pickup.The information is getting added to search automatically, which means there’s no work needed on the part of businesses, but it’s an update worth being aware of.This addition to Google Search and Maps is rolling out as part of a larger update which includes a number of other useful features.We’ll look at the other features at the end of this article – let’s first go over the enhancements to Google My Business profiles.New Information in Google My Business ProfilesGoogle is bringing shopping information to stores’ business profiles to assist people with finding convenient grocery delivery and pickup options.AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowThe information Google is addin...

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31Mar By MarianaNo Comments

building website, creating a website, google web designer, internet design, Presentations, web design, web design company, web designer, web page design, website builder, website design

Quick Guide on How to do Hanging Indent on Google Slides

Defining Hanging Indent When to Use Hanging Indent How to do Hanging Indent on Google Slides Step #1. Enable the Ruler Step #2. Create Indentation for Paragraph Step #3. Align to the Left Edge of the First Line Step #4. Repeat the Same with More References Review of Top-5 Best Selling Templates for Google Slides Summing-Up Are you working on a presentation and want to make an impressive accent on certain parts of the text? Then, you may want to try using a hanging indent. No matter if you are using Google Slides or PowerPoint templates for your pitch, setting up a hanging indent is as easy as pie with both applications. Today, we plan to share some short tips on how to do hanging indent on Google Slides. Before taking a look at the quick guide, let’s consider what hanging indent actu...

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31Mar By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, Tips

How to Track Google Posts in Google Analytics & Search Console

Posted Mar 30, 2021 by Joy Hawkins We have a big study on Google My Business posts that I’m presenting at LocalU on April 7th. While doing that study, there were several things we learned about Google Posts. Clicks in Google My Business Insights Don’t Match Clicks in Google Analytics.  If you’re looking inside Google My Business, they have data showing you how many clicks your posts received. The numbers you see here will not match the numbers you see inside Google Analytics.  There are many reasons for this which I have highlighted in this post. How to Track Google Posts in Google Analytics In order to track the activity from Google Posts in Google Analytics, you need to use UTM codes.  After a ...

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24Mar By Roger MonttiNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Wix and Google Announce GMB Integration

Wix Business ModelWhat GMB Integration OffersQ & A With WixGoogle Integration ExpertiseWix Making Strides in Local SearchWix and Google announced an expanded partnership that integrates Google My Business (GMB) directly within Wix. Businesses can now access GMB data, customer interactions and manage their  profile directly from Wix.Wix Business ModelThe value proposition in a service like Wix is that they take handle the technical side of an online presence. Things like search engine optimization (SEO) and structured data are taken care of by Wix. Wix also provides marketing tools that help small businesses succeed. This allows businesses to focus on doing what they do best.AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowIntegrating Google My Business fits in with the Wix business model of making i...

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24Mar By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

New SEO Tool Tracks % Of Google SERPs with Local Packs

A new, free tool for SEOs provides insights about Google search features from an analysis of 60 million US queries.Developed by Local SEO Guide, the Local-Pack-O-Meter tracks data for ten different types of Google search features such as local packs, knowledge panels, shopping, job postings, ads, and more.What separates the Local-Pack-O-Meter apart from other tools that monitor Google search features is the amount of data it has access to.Traject Data, a client of Local SEO Guide, supplies the SERP stats from roughly 60 million US search queries. The significantly larger sample size, compared to similar tools, may result in data that’s more representative of all US queries.“While tools like MozCast have their own versions of a SERP Feature tracker, these are typically only for a relatively...

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12Mar By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Maps Lets Users Add Photos Without Leaving a Review

Google Maps Photo UpdatesDraw Roads on Google MapsGoogle Maps Community ChallengeGoogle Maps is introducing three new ways for users to add helpful content for others, including the ability to share photos without leaving a review.The Google Maps features announced today aim to make sharing and finding local recommendations easier, and a new community challenge may add some fun to the process.Google Maps Photo UpdatesA new content type will soon be rolled out to Google Maps called photo updates.Photo updates allow users to share experiences and highlights with recent photos without being required to leave a review.A photo update consists of a recent picture of a place with a short text description.To add a photo update, start by selecting a place in Google Maps and going to the “Updates” t...

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5Mar By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

[2021] How to Interpret Google My Business (GMB) Insights

Posted Mar 4, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Updated March 4, 2021 There are many questions that often come up about how to properly interpret Google My Business Insights.  I’m going to break down the different sections and explain what they mean. For an overview of the new Mobile vs Desktop breakdown and the upcoming display to track driving directions, website clicks, and bookings via GMB, check out this article about the 2021 GMB Insights Update. How Customers Search for your Business This chart is only reporting on impressions (not clicks). Direct = People that are searching for your business by name or location.  I would say you can attribute these impressions to other forms of marketing since the pers...

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2Mar By Adam HeitzmanNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How to Delete or Merge Duplicate Google My Business Listings

A Quick Recap: Why Google My Business Is Essential for SuccessWhy It Is Important to Delete or Merge Duplicate Google My Business ListingsHow to Merge Two Google My Business ListingsHow to Delete a Duplicate Google My Business ListingLet’s say you just moved to the city of Chicago, specifically Lincoln Park, and you want to try their famous pizza.You Google [best pizza in lincoln park] and the search results pop up.You see many businesses representing the best pizza in Chicago. How do you choose?You look at the reviews; a recent study shows that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.Not only that, but you consider the convenience factor.Is the pizza joint close?What is the address? Hours of operation?You ultimately decide to get the pizza delivered and ...

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24Feb By John LincolnNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

8 New & Updated Google My Business Features for Local SEO

Google has rolled out several new features and attributes in Google My Business (GMB) since the Coronavirus began.If you’re running a local business, you need to know about those updates so you can get the most out of the platform.In this article, we’ll check out 10 recent changes to Google My Business that you need to check out.1. Health & Safety AttributesLate in 2020, GMB rolled out new attributes so searchers can make informed decisions about the health standards at businesses they may visit.These new GMB attributes are:Appointment required.Mask required.Staff wear masks.Staff get temperature checks.Temperature check required.Keep in mind that f you follow stricter health-related guidelines than your competitors and you advertise those guidelines on GMB, you could very well capture...

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23Feb By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Reviews, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

What Happens When Google Removes 98% of Your Reviews | A Case Study

Posted Feb 23, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Google has a long way to go to solve the problem with fake reviews but every now and then we see a business that loses a huge chunk of reviews because they did something to violate Google’s policies.  In this case, I tracked a dentist that lost 98% of their reviews because they were caught review gating.In this case, losing most of their reviews didn’t even impact their overall star rating which supports the finding from Mike Blumethal’s study that showed review gating didn’t really have a large impact on the overall rating of a business. After they lost the reviews, I monitored the rankings of the business for several months and was surprised to see that their ra...

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16Feb By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

How Much Do Local Rankings Fluctuate in Google? How Can You Rank Higher in Local?

Posted Feb 16, 2021 by Joy Hawkins It’s pretty common to see threads at the Local Search Forum like this one where a business owner is wondering how they can rank higher on Google.  The challenge I see most often is that a lot of business owners seem unaware of how much rankings in the local search results fluctuate.  There are 3 principles that I’ve observed in the last decade that summarize what people should be aware of.  The top positions seem to be more stable.  If you’re in the top 3-5, you will likely see less fluctuation than positions 5-10.  For example, we often see search results like this where the top few remain consistent over short periods of time and the listings below them shift m...

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11Feb By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, News, Reputation Management, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Star Rating Now Showing in Google Review Summary

In the world of local SEO, there’s always something new to keep your eye out for that could be a game-changer. This week, that news is that star ratings are now appearing in review snippet on Google My Business listings. First time I’ve seen the star rating appear with the review snippet here pic.twitter.com/gXoP0mG7hn — Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington8) February 3, 2021 Spotted on Twitter by Tom Waddington on February 3rd, 2021, this change is yet another step from Google to bring online reviews front and center.  What’s new with Google review summaries? Previously, when a business’s Knowledge Panel was generated by a local search, Google would highlight potentially relevant keywords. For example, “great service” might be bolded for a restaurant. Now, not only is a searcher presented wit...

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6Feb By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, News, Reputation Management, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Star Rating Now Showing in Google Review Summary

In the world of local SEO, there’s always something new to keep your eye out for that could be a game-changer. This week, that news is that star ratings are now appearing in review snippet on Google My Business listings. First time I’ve seen the star rating appear with the review snippet here pic.twitter.com/gXoP0mG7hn — Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington8) February 3, 2021 Spotted on Twitter by Tom Waddington on February 3rd, 2021, this change is yet another step from Google to bring online reviews front and center.  What’s new with Google review summaries? Previously, when a business’s Knowledge Panel was generated by a local search, Google would highlight potentially relevant keywords. For example, “great service” might be bolded for a restaurant. Now, not only is a searcher presented wit...

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3Feb By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Are Coworking Spaces Against the Google My Business Guidelines?

Posted Feb 2, 2021 by Joy Hawkins Recently I have seen more and more discussions around coworking spaces and how Google My Business deals with them.  We actually use co-working spaces here at Sterling Sky for meet-ups regularly and love the flexibility they provide.  But are you allowed to use a coworking space for your address on your Google My Business listing?  The answer is “it depends”. In February of 2021, Google updated their guidelines and added a section addressing coworking spaces.  The following section is new: “Businesses can’t list an office at a co-working space unless that office maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during ...

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28Jan By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Maps Search Trends For January 2021

Google is sharing insights about trending searches in Google Maps, a rare set of search data which may assist local marketers.Local search data for the month of January traditionally offers a look into peoples’ New Year’s resolution plans, with searches for gyms, healthy restaurants, winter vacations, and various forms of self improvement spiking during this month.Unique to January 2021, this set of Google Maps search data offers a look into what people are doing when they leave the home during a time when travel is discouraged.The data reveals people are doing a lot of the same things they do every January, with a different approach to it this year.Instead of searching for international travel destinations, people are searching for local travel. Instead of searching for the nearest gym, p...

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23Jan By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google Posts No Longer Expire After Seven Days [NEWS]

TL;DR Google Posts are now visible in the business's Knowledge Panel for more than 7 days Before this update, Google Posts expired 7 days after creation Google Posts are a great way to communicate with customers directly within SERPs On Tuesday, January 19th, eagle-eyed SEO Brodie Clark spotted that Google Posts older than seven days were appearing in the local business Knowledge Panel.  Nice one for Local SEOs to be aware of. Now seeing standard Posts appears from months back by default. Would show for 7 days previously, then “expire” and become hidden behind the ‘view all’ button. Glad to see more visibility given to Posts – this change makes sense IMO. pic.twitter.com/H3pQTDG5qH — Brodie Clark (@brodieseo) January 20, 2021 As Brodie mentions, Posts created within Google My...

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21Jan By Vince MagalineNo Comments

best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot app, chatbot messenger, chatbot online, chatbot website, creating chatbots, facebook bot, facebook chatbot, facebook messenger bot, google chat bots, instagram chatbot, Lead Generation Tools, robot chat

How to Send Lead Data to Google Sheets from WebChat, Messenger & SMS

When you have automated messaging working night and day across your website, Facebook, Instagram, and SMS text messaging — you end up collecting a ton of valuable data for growing your business. And where better to store, organize, and distribute that data, than in the spreadsheets so many of us are used to using every day? That’s why one of the most popular MobileMonkey integrations is with Google Sheets. Today I’m going to show you how to send your MobileMonkey customer or prospect data into a spreadsheet where your team can view and act on it. Experience it yourself by chatting with the website chat on this page, or chatting with us in Messenger here. The MobileMonkey + Google Sheets integration is guaranteed to save time across your marketing, sales, and customer servic...

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20Jan By Sherry BonelliNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Why Was My Google My Business Listing Suspended?

Many local businesses rely on their Google My Business (GMB) listing as a major online marketing tool.In fact, for a large group of small businesses, a GMB profile is their only form of internet marketing.Foolish?Yes.Risky?Yes.But for small local businesses that operate on a tiny marketing budget (or even no budget at all), a free GMB profile is often the only online marketing strategy they have.When they run into issues with Google My Business, those issues can literally put them out of business.One of the biggest stressors to a small business owner in this situation is when their Google My Business listing gets suspended.With a Google My Business suspension, your GMB listing is no longer visible on Google Search or Maps, or you have lost control of your listing (your business listing is ...

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18Jan By Vibhu DhariwalNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, best chatbot, bots, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, chatbots, conversation with ai, conversational-ai, conversational-marketing, creating chatbots, google chat bots, google-ads-tips, robot chat

Get Started With Conversational Ads For Google | by Vibhu Dhariwal

From the last two decades, Google has been one of the best digital advertising platforms. Advertisers and digital marketers use this platform to reach a wider audience either by ranking on rich keywords or by using display advertising campaigns.According to the reports, Google has earned $52 billion in the last 15 years, which is 30% of the total revenue of global ad investment. Google ad gets an average 8% clicks click-through rate, and yields more than 180 million impressions every month.There are many formats that Google offers for advertisements like YouTube videos, PPC, Maps, Business Listing, etc. With its wide range of resources, Google has been ruling the world of search engine based advertising. But are you able to get a good ROI from your promotional campaigns on Google?Many busi...

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12Jan By Erica PerryNo Comments

AR, AR experience, artificial reality, facebook, facebook marketing, Google, instagram, Marketing, snapchat, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing, youtube

How Google is Preparing for Fully Immersive AR Environments

January 5th, 2021 Marketing Erica Perry Since its inception, one of the biggest use cases of AR on mobile remains the ability to play with your appearance whether through clothes, accessories, or makeup. Snapchat and Instagram are no stranger to this trend, and now Google is making its mark in the space with its own update. Specifically, the tech giant tapped ModiFace and Perfect Corp, two companies highly involved in AR...

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12Jan By Ben FisherNo Comments

Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

What is Google My Business ‘Direct Edit’, and What Does It Mean for Agencies?

Ben Fisher is a Platinum Product Expert for Google My Business. He’s a master of the spam redressal form, is always on top of the latest news, and loves to share his knowledge with others. Here, he explains the new ‘Direct Edit’ feature in Google My Business, or, as he’s calling it, the Transparent Merchant Experience. In 2017, Google My Business (GMB) launched the ability to update your business information, make posts, upload photos, see how many views you have received, and more, within SERPs. The blog post they released was then titled ‘Manage your business listing without leaving Google Search.’ Now fast forward to 2020, and they have upgraded the experience in a blog post titled ‘Update your Business Profile on Google Maps and Search‘. See the difference there? The main change is h...

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10Jan By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai, ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, bots, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, google-assistant, robot chat

New Google Assistant Developer Tools Promise Better Discovery and Smart Display Visuals | by Tapaan Chauhan | Jan, 2021

In June, Google revealed its new Actions Builder support to rearrange the formation of Google Actions, and vast numbers of the latest highlights serve to enlarge those stages. Yet, designers who have been utilizing Dialogflow might be hesitant to experience the issue of moving their ventures and hopping into using Actions Builder. To smooth out the issue, Google declared a relocation device that mechanizes the vast majority of the moving cycle.1. 3 Tips for your Voice and Chatbot Program from Gartner’s Customer Service Hype Cycle 20202. Deploying Watson Assistant Web Chat in Salesforce Lightning Console3. Are Chatbots Vulnerable? Best Practices to Ensure Chatbots Security4. Your Path to AI — An IBM Developer SeriesOnce on Actions Builder, Google Assistant engineers have a few extra instrum...

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5Jan By Pragnakalp TechlabsNo Comments

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Setup Twilio Integration on your server to connect Google Dialogflow | by Pragnakalp Techlabs | Dec, 2020

Dialogflow has discontinued the one-click integration of Twilio for SMS and instead made the Twilio integration available as open source.Here, we take you through the process of setting up Twilio integration on your own server to connect Twilio phone number with the Dialogflow agent.You have created an account with billing enabled for the project on Dialogflow and an agent is ready.You must have an account with Twilio, purchased a mobile number and credits send SMS messages.We are using textnow.com to test our integration create if you don’t have or you can use any other service or your own mobile phone to send the SMS.Installed nodejs on your system and basic knowledge of nodejs.Ngrok is installed in your system.Gcloud cli is installed on your system and your working project is selected.S...

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3Jan By Doug BonderudNo Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, Infographics, Internet marketing, Online Marketing

How to Make a Timeline Graphic in Google Docs, Word, Excel, Google Sheets, and PowerPoint

Infographics are a great way to capture user attention and communicate key concepts. Why? Because they combine relevant information with graphic impact to increase retention and engagement. (more…)

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2Jan By Erica PerryNo Comments

e-commerce, facebook, facebook marketing, Google, holiday 2020, holiday shopping, Marketing, online shopping, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing, virtual shopping, youtube

How Google is Helping Marketers Navigate Shifting Shopping Behaviors

October 20th, 2020 Marketing Erica Perry The 2020 holiday season will undoubtedly look a little different this year, but one thing that is unchanged: it is still a time of peak demand and a critical time to connect with consumers. With just under 70 days until Christmas, brands are scaling their efforts as best they can and learning along the way as they reinvent and maximize opportunities. In support of this, Google la...

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1Jan By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

What to Do If Google Auto-Updates Your Google My Business Info and Gets It Wrong

Like my post? Please share! You probably know Google’s tendency to mess with the business info you put in your Google My Business dashboard.  Whether Google emptied fields you filled out, or “corrected” basic facts about your business, or injected info that may be 100% wrong, the telltale orange writing in the GMB dashboard is always a hassle and sometimes a big problem.     Google’s “we know better than you do” MO got worse throughout 2020.  Around the time it temporarily froze some GMB features, Google started piling on new features at an even-faster pace than it had before.  Sometimes Google would fill out those new fields or check those new boxes for you, and often not correctly.  Also, Google started more frequently overwriting or removing old info – info you may have put in your G...

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31Dec By Andrew HutchinsonNo Comments

instagram, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing, tiktok, youtube

Google Adds Short-Form Video Carousel in Selected Search Results

This is interesting, and could, potentially, have implications for your 2021 content approach. This week, Google has begun testing a new carousel of short-form video results for selected queries, providing direct links to relevant TikTok and Instagram Reels video clips. The move aligns with the rising popularity of short-form video content, enabling Google to tap into that trend, while also maintaining the relevance of its search results. And there's a key element to Google's lean-in to short clips. As noted by TechCrunch: "Both Instagram and TikTok videos were available in the Short Videos row. When clicked, you’re taken to the web version of the social platform - not the native mobile app, even if it’s installed on your device. The end result is that Google users are more likely to re...

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30Dec By Anna PristNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, artificial-intelligence, best chatbot, bots, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, gaming, Google, google chat bots, robot chat, voice-assistant

Best Games to Play With Google Assistant on Your Smart Display | by Anna Prist | Dec, 2020

Christmas is right around the corner and since most of us will be spending this holiday season at home, now is just the right time to plan some fun activities. Google Assistant is of great help here — it can entertain both kids and adults, making any party safe and fun. If you own a smart display, consider yourself lucky, as these devices provide a better gaming experience and full immersion, for they conjoin sound, touch, and visual elements.We play-tested a number of games using Google Nest Hub to find the most enthralling and addictive ones, games you’d love to play on and on. It’s not just about graphics and sound, we analyzed program behavior, the gameplay itself, the response time, speech recognition, and limits of a system. As a result, we present our top games to play with Google A...

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29Dec By WebdesignerDepot StaffNo Comments

building website, creating a website, deals, font resources, Fonts, google web designer, internet design, PHBGHC, Preposterously Huge Book of Google Font Combinations, Tools & Resources, web design, web design company, web designer, web page design, website builder, website design

Deal: The Preposterously Huge Book of Google Font Combinations

Google Fonts is one of the most useful tools designers have, with hundreds of amazing fonts provided for free. But if you just grab one of the top ten suggestions, you’re missing out on a vast wealth of typographic gems. Just about every font on Google Fonts is worth trying out, but the very best designs — designs that engage, inspire, and delight — combine two or more fonts. It’s the same principle as sweet and sour; two competing tastes that are both familiar and surprising; that’s a good font combination. But how do you pick out those flavors? How do you know what complements and what clashes? Does Inter work okay with Open Sans? Does Merriweather look good with Roboto? Well, today we’ve got a deal for you that will answer those questions and more. Our sister site, MightDeals.com, has a...

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28Dec By Chris MercerNo Comments

facebook, Facebook Analytics, facebook marketing, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, How To, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing

Getting Started With Google Tag Manager: A Beginner’s Guide : Social Media Examiner

Social Media Marketing Industry Report In our 12th annual social media study (46 pages, 60+ charts) of 5,200+ marketers, you'll discover which social networks marketers most plan on using, organic social activities, paid social media plans, and much more! Get this free report and never miss another great article from Social Media Examiner.

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28Dec By egreenman@hubspot.com (Emma Greenman)No Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, google adwords, Google Shopping, Internet marketing, Online Marketing, PPC

How to Create a Revenue-Generating Google Ads Campaign

The trouble with search engine optimization (SEO) is that it takes a long time to work and doesn’t come with any guarantees. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, on the other hand, can provide results a lot faster. For companies that have no organic presence and need ROI fast, a paid ad is sometimes your best bet for driving traffic to (and conversions from) your website. (more…)

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27Dec By Cameron ChapmanNo Comments

Apps, Best Of, building website, business, Compilation, creating a website, CSS, design, Freelancing, Google, google web designer, Graphic Design, Inspiration, internet design, News, responsive design, social media, Typography, Usability, ux design, web design, web design company, web designer, Web Development, web page design, website builder, website design

Popular Design News of the Week: December 21, 2020 – December 27, 2020

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. Minimal CSS Loader Collection   Webdesign Toolbox: Find the Perfect Web Development Tools   Facebook: Free as in Bullsh*t   New Year Edition: Top UX/UI Design Trends Rushing to Us In 2021   Our 50 Favorite CSS Libraries, Frameworks and Tools from 2020   404 Page Inspiration – The Best 404 Pages from Around the Web   7 Best Instagram Tools for Designe...

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27Dec By Michael StelznerNo Comments

Expert Interviews, facebook, facebook marketing, Google Analytics, How To, podcast, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing, Social Media Marketing Podcast

Google Analytics 4: What Marketers Need to Know : Social Media Examiner

Social Media Marketing Industry Report In our 12th annual social media study (46 pages, 60+ charts) of 5,200+ marketers, you'll discover which social networks marketers most plan on using, organic social activities, paid social media plans, and much more! Get this free report and never miss another great article from Social Media Examiner.

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27Dec By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, best chatbot, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, google-assistant, google-play, robot chat, youtube, youtube-music

Google Announces Closure of Google Play Music | by Tapaan Chauhan | Dec, 2020

Google has announced the closure of its popular Google Play Music service. The Google Play Music service is first shutting down in countries like New Zealand, South Africa from September. Later, this service will be stopped in all other regions from the month of October. If the company believes, then by December, this service will be stopped entirely. After this, users will not be able to use the content of Google Play Music nor transfer it.1. 3 Tips for your Voice and Chatbot Program from Gartner’s Customer Service Hype Cycle 20202. Deploying Watson Assistant Web Chat in Salesforce Lightning Console3. Are Chatbots Vulnerable? Best Practices to Ensure Chatbots Security4. Your Path to AI — An IBM Developer SeriesAlbeit, Google Play Music started allowing its users to transfer literally ever...

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27Dec By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, amazon-echo, best chatbot, bots, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, google chat bots, google-assistant, robot chat, smart-speaker, voice-assistant

The best smart speaker: Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple, Sonos & more — 2020 | by Tapaan Chauhan | Dec, 2020

The craze of smart speakers is increasing a lot nowadays. It is one of the few essential gadgets to make a home smart. Smart speakers work through the virtual assistant of smartphones. If you have a smart speaker in your house, you can also play music along with turning on the home light through voice command. Not only this, but smart speakers also answer your questions and even tell you the weather conditions along with the latest news. If you, too, are thinking of getting a smart speaker for yourself, then we are telling you about some of the best options.Coming at the price of around Rs 14,000, this smart speaker is much better than the expensive Apple HomePod and Google Home Max. It can be used for stereo as well as a multi-room audio setup. Now, coming to the features, you can choose ...

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27Dec By Cameron ChapmanNo Comments

Apps, Best Of, building website, business, Compilation, creating a website, CSS, design, Freelancing, Google, google web designer, Graphic Design, Inspiration, internet design, News, responsive design, social media, Typography, Usability, ux design, web design, web design company, web designer, Web Development, web page design, website builder, website design, WordPress

Popular Design News of the Week: December 7, 2020 – December 13, 2020

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. Web Typography Rules: What You Need to Know   How Microsoft Crushed Slack   Graphic Design Trends for Social Media in 2021   UX Christmas   Traxr – Monitor Links with 100% Accuracy   Hexometer 2.0: Monitor Website Issues and Performance Actively   Designing Data Science Tools at Spotify   Cow Pilot – The Deadline Driven To-Do List   Roy – A Simple ...

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26Dec By Tapaan ChauhanNo Comments

ai bot, ai chat, ai chatbot, android-app-development, best chatbot, bots, chatbot, chatbot ai, chatbot app, chatbot online, chatbot website, conversation with ai, creating chatbots, Google, google chat bots, google-assistant, robot chat, voices

Google App Actions Now Available to All Developers | by Tapaan Chauhan | Dec, 2020

The main focus of the previous Google Assistant Developer Day was firmly not smart speakers. While keen presentations were referred to a few times, and there are new highlights for account connecting and adaptation, the vast spotlight was Google Assistant on the cell phone.Video credit: GoogleThat emphasis on a “digital assistant that moves without you during the day” drives straightforwardly to utilizing Google Assistant more on the cell phone. The primary new highlights presented for engineers were App Actions, which are currently accessible to all designers. Application Actions developed at Google I/O in 2019 and have been available on a restricted premise. Google first made 20 built-in intents for four industry verticals, including finance, transportation, food and drink, and wellbeing...

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26Dec By Anne LaingNo Comments

building website, creating a website, google web designer, How to start a presentation, internet design, Presentations, web design, web design company, web designer, web page design, website builder, website design

How to Make Google Slides Timeline Template: Step-by-Step Instructions

They say that a ‘picture is worth a thousand words’. This holds particularly true if you need to present a series of events in a logical manner. For this purpose, take advantage of building a Google Slides timeline template. In fact, building a chronology from scratch may be a pretty time-consuming task for a newbie. Moreover, even if you work hard on it, it’s still likely to look less polished than professional designs. That’s why it makes perfect sense to create your timeline using a Google Slides theme. This will save you time designing a custom timeline and provide a sound basis for your upcoming presentation. Are you eager to learn more about working with Google Slides? Then, check out our ultimate guide. How to Make Google Slides Timeline Template Step #1: Get Hold of Your Te...

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26Dec By Cameron ChapmanNo Comments

Apps, Best Of, building website, business, Compilation, creating a website, CSS, design, Fonts, Freelancing, Google, google web designer, Graphic Design, Inspiration, internet design, News, responsive design, social media, Typography, Usability, ux design, video, web design, web design company, web designer, Web Development, web page design, website builder, website design, WordPress

Popular Design News of the Week: December 14, 2020 – December 20, 2020

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. The Best Design Tool of 2020 is not What You Expect   14 Top Design Trends to Watch Out for in 2021   UI Trends for 2077   Firefox was Always Enough   Wavelry – Create & Customise Wavey Svg and Png Backgrounds   Design Documentation   The Best 25 Black and White Web Design Inspiration   2020 Design Tools Survey   Web Design in 2021 – What to Ex...

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25Dec By Chris MercerNo Comments

facebook, facebook marketing, Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, How To, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing, Tools

How to Create a Google Data Studio Dashboard : Social Media Examiner

Social Media Marketing Industry Report In our 12th annual social media study (46 pages, 60+ charts) of 5,200+ marketers, you'll discover which social networks marketers most plan on using, organic social activities, paid social media plans, and much more! Get this free report and never miss another great article from Social Media Examiner.

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24Dec By fneedle@hubspot.com (Flori Needle)No Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, email outreach, G Suite, Internet marketing, Online Marketing

Google Maps Marketing Strategy: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet

When I’m looking for a business that will have what I need, whether it’s food or office supplies, I use Google Maps. I know that the search results will give me enough information to pick the best option, like reviews, ratings, photos, and location information. (more…)

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24Dec By Marie HaynesNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Some early observations on the Google December core update

Some early observations on the Google December core update Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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24Dec By Ginny MarvinNo Comments

Digital Marketing, digital mkt, Internet marketing, Online Marketing

Google, YouTube add user controls to limit alcohol, gambling ads

Google, YouTube add user controls to limit alcohol, gambling ads Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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23Dec By JR OakesNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Brand reputation and the impact of Google SERP selections

Brand reputation and the impact of Google SERP selections Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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23Dec By John VuongNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Online marketing, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

5 Basic On-Page SEO Factors that Will Get You Ranked on Google

December 22, 2020 John Vuong Online marketing, SEO Learn On-page SEO core elements that you need to tweak on your website to increase your chances of ranking highly on Google’s search results pages. To make it easier for your customers to find you after performing a Google search, it’s essential to clinch a top spot on Google’s search engine results pages. And one way to boost your ranking is through on-page SEO. On-page search engine optimization is the method of optimizing your web pages for 2 main goals: to increase your search engine ranking and direct more visitors to your site. These goals are achieved by...

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23Dec By Pedro DiasNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google algorithms vs Google penalties, explained by an ex-Googler

Google algorithms vs Google penalties, explained by an ex-Googler Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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23Dec By Tony TranNo Comments

facebook, facebook marketing, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing, Strategy

How to Set Up Google Analytics: A Step-by-Step Guide

Knowing how to set up Google Analytics is the first step to understanding: Who your website’s visitors are What content they want to see from your business How they behave when browsing your site The best part? Google Analytics is absolutely free. And once you have it implemented, Google Analytics allows you to track and measure your business’ traffic goals and prove the ROI of your web and social media presence. However, setting up Google Analytics can be hard (to put it mildly). Luckily for you, we have a step-by-step guide for digital marketers of any level to easily and painlessly set up Google Analytics. Before we jump into how exactly to do that, let’s take a look at what makes Google Analytics so great. Bonus: Get a free social media analytics report template that shows you the m...

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23Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google confirms passage indexing is not yet live

Google confirms passage indexing is not yet live Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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22Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Search Console brings back request indexing tool

Google Search Console brings back request indexing tool Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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21Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Google services were down including Google Ads, Google Analytics, Search Console & more

Google services were down including Google Ads, Google Analytics, Search Console & more Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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21Dec By Chris MercerNo Comments

facebook, facebook marketing, Google Analytics, How To, Social Marketing Strategies, social media, social media marketing

How to Analyze Site Visitor Engagement With Google Analytics Reports : Social Media Examiner

Social Media Marketing Industry Report In our 12th annual social media study (46 pages, 60+ charts) of 5,200+ marketers, you'll discover which social networks marketers most plan on using, organic social activities, paid social media plans, and much more! Get this free report and never miss another great article from Social Media Examiner.

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21Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Alan Rabinowitz’s Google ranking & online reputation management tips

Video: Alan Rabinowitz's Google ranking & online reputation management tips Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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21Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Maps local listing now showing web search results

Google Maps local listing now showing web search results Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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21Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google to move the Structured Data testing tool to schema.org

Google to move the Structured Data testing tool to schema.org Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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21Dec By Matt SouthernNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google My Business to Log Recent Customer Calls

Google My Business is working on a new feature that will allow businesses to see recent customer calls triggered from search results.Google is notifying business owners about this upcoming feature via the GMB. The notification can be seen below:Call history notification in Google My BusinessClicking on Try it out prompts a message saying “You’ll be notified when this feature is available.”AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowCall history in Google My Business is clearly in the early stages of development. But there’s a help page already published where users can learn more about the feature before it launches.Clicking on Learn more links to a help page that reads:“You can use call history to keep track of phone calls from your customers on Google Search and Maps. Your calls are all in one pl...

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21Dec By Tom WaddingtonNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, PPC, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

What You Need To Know About Google Local Services Ads

Google’s Local Services ads (aka LSA, Google Guaranteed ads, Local Services by Google, Google Local Services) is a pay per lead advertising platform that has expanded across the United States, and in Canada (excluding Quebec) but limited to 4 business categories. Below is a list of the eligible business categories Google has set for Local Services ads. Nationwide Categories Appliance repair services Bankruptcy law services Business law services Carpenter services Carpet cleaning services Cleaning services Contract law services Countertop services Criminal law services Disability law services DUI law services Electricians (available in Canada) Estate lawyer services Family law services Fencing services Junk removal services Financial planning services Flooring services Foundations services...

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21Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Is COVID-19 the End of “Google As Your New Homepage”?

Like my post? Please share! Over the years, we’ve seen Google add so much stuff to the search results that we’ve concluded Google doesn’t even want searchers to click through to your website, because (Google assumes) everything people want to know is right there in the search results.  Some smart people in the local-search space have called that slow transformation “Google as your new homepage.”  Who needs to see your homepage when Google can save people a click or tap? As with so many other things, COVID-19 will probably change that.  At least in the crazy world of search, it seems the big lesson is: we still need to click. Google’s local search results are affected by the disruption and (to a lesser extent) contribute to it.  In the long haul, that may us a little less reliant on them an...

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21Dec By Sam HollingsworthNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How to Completely Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool from Google that helps business owners manage their online presence across the search engine and its growing portfolio of utilities.Seasoned SEO professionals use GMB listings to leverage a location-based strategyCreating a GMB listing is the first step to local search success.And for good reason.GMB offers the greatest impact for brands seeking local exposure.A feature like Google’s Local Search emphasizes the need for a GMB listing for both new and established businesses.It gives a list of businesses nearby and a lot of information needed to find a specific business like:Business address.Business hours.Category.Reviews.Google’s Knowledge Graph also utilizes verified Google My Business information.AdvertisementContinue Reading BelowIt helps generate...

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21Dec By Barry SchwartzNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Ads moves campaign goal metric

Google Ads moves campaign goal metric Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok

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21Dec By Jessie LowNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Google Review Attributes, Local Link Building & UTM Tagging Guide for GMB

Meh, Links: A process for identifying local links that generate customers, leads, and search visibility Gyi is well known in local search circles for his catch-phrase “meh, links” which is the most succinct way of saying, “All other SEO factors considered, it’s probably the links that are making the difference in why one business is outranking another” You will hear a lot from people within the industry that “links are way oversold, all you’ve got to do is create great content, fix your site, incorporate searcher intent, create for users, add Schema…” Yes, all of that is important… BUT the difference maker is the links. Re-frame your mindset around local link building, especially in competitive verticals.  It’s time to correct your myopic view on link building and stop thinking about eve...

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