SEO seems daunting and complicated to many small business owners. They get conflicting information from different sources and aren't sure who to believe. I often run into prospects that have recently been told some secret technique or strategy that is either outdated or unethical. Or sometimes people just totally miss very important factors in the [...]
This is a quick post because it has come up a few times in the past week talking with business owners and even the example image letter I recently got after making a purchase. Please don't risk getting yourself in trouble by offering prizes or rewards for 5-star reviews. Both Google and Amazon have strong [...]
The world of SEO is always changing and it pays to be able to look into the future a bit and read the tea leaves to stay ahead of the curve. Though 2020 has been a mess in many ways, including the world of SEO and local search, with service pauses, Google glitches (see this [...]
I have talked in the past about Entity Search and how Google views your business as an entity with other entities associated with it. In some areas, you can see what entities Google associates with your business. It is never as clear as what has been popping up recently in local search reviews. Google will [...]
GatherUp recently released 120+ amazing statistics on the importance of reviews for business success. This just underlines what I have been shouting for years... or maybe puts it in bold with an exclamation point. As we move into the future with better algorithms and artificial intelligence, and with Google getting smarter at weeding out fake [...]
Our latest You Can Be Found Anywhere finds me riding one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the USA. The Pig Trail Scenic Byway works its way through Ozark National Forest with lots of twisting turns, waterfalls, and beautiful scenic overlooks. You won't forget a quick drive down this road that is about an [...]
I have posted many times in recent months on the importance of reviews and some of the key pieces of why they are so important for your business going forward. In fact, some of this may be a bit of a review of reviews if you have been keeping up to date with the blog. [...]
As Google gets more nuanced with its algorithm over time, we are seeing reviews move up in importance and offer a lot more information than simply the overall score. Sergey Alakov recently found Google showing thumbs up and thumbs down to specific features within hotel reviews. This is the canary in the coal mine for [...]
Search Engine Land recently dug into a recent study showing how increases in review score and responses correlated to more conversions. This seems like a no brainer to those that have been following closely and understand that Google rewards interacting with your GMB page, but it is important in that any time we show true [...]
Just last week I talked to someone who explained how they did "Review Gating" for their company. This is a practice that was banned by Google back in the spring of 2018. This means you can get in trouble and in many cases lose all of your reviews if found to be "gating". What is [...]
