I may be a little too close to the review world, but each time I hear a radio ad come on that talks about how many five-star reviews they have, it makes me cringe. For one thing, there is no mention of how many 1-star reviews they have or even 2 stars. There is no [...]
The end of October has been a fountain of information around reviews data and Google My Business information. We have had three major studies come out in the past 10 days or so around the different aspects of Google My Business or reviews in general. I wanted to touch quickly on this data before pointing [...]
On the heels of a recent Semrush study on the importance of reviews for local rankings, I wanted to update this post on local ranking factors. It is now more important than ever to bake reviews into your process. I recommend digging into the study but it shows that the median top-ranking business had 16% [...]
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 I often run into prospects that have recently been told some secret technique or strategy that is either outdated or unethical.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 [...]
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 [...]
