Link Building Strategies

Google seems to be testing removing the green checkmark from the Local Service Ads. I was able to replicate this for the same query, and the same set of advertisers. In one case it has the Google Screened checkmark in green and in the other, it does not.View the full article

Google is testing removing the "more" results button for Local Service Ads within the web search results. Instead, you are given the option to expand the results to 8 in total but not click through to see more LSA listings.View the full article

Google is testing adding to the call and message button on Local Service Ads a reviews and sometimes overview button. Reviews takes you to the reviews but the overview button to the local listing for that business.View the full article

The first week of January, we reported on an interesting local update we named the January 2025 local search update. Well, this might be more of a diversity update, where Google removes the URL for the core organic results, when that URL is also present in the local pack results. View the full article

As you know, Google has been testing a way to click a button to message multiple businesses through the Local Service Ads. Google now calls that message fan out. That being said, Google seems to be testing variations of that button.View the full article

Google recently said it made Search "much faster," at least that is what Rajan Patel, the VP of Engineering at Google Search said on social. There is a larger blog post that Google wrote up on this, which I initially decided not to cover but I changed my mind.View the full article

Last month we shared the spam efforts the Google Maps team announced - but did you know that in 2024 Google had almost one billion reviews published within Google Maps? That is 999 million reviews, 752 million photos and videos and 94 million place edits published just in 2024.View the full article

Google released its annual metrics on how well it did with fighting spam on Google Maps. In short, Google said it blocked or removed more than 240 million policy-violating reviews, blocked or removed more than 70 million policy-violating edits, removed or blocked more than 12 million fake Business Profiles and placed posting restrictions on more than 900,000 accounts.View the full article

Google is testing promoting the Google Maps app in the desktop interface of Google Maps. Google is placing a little icon at the bottom left corner of the desktop interface that says "Mobile app." When you click on it, it takes you to an overlay that has links to the iOS or Android Google Maps app and a large QR to scan as well.View the full article

For the past few years or so, Google has had a more detailed, almost survey-style review questionnaire for some local results, especially restaurants. Now, according to Claudia Tomina, Google has expanded the questions it asks on those surveys.View the full article

Google has removed the visit website button from the first screen of the Google Maps hotel results. Instead, you first need to click on the "Check availability" to get to the visit website button.View the full article

Google announced some new features for Google Maps including a big one for reviews, where reviewers can now use nicknames instead of their real names when leaving reviews. Plus, Google added trending places to the explore tab and insider tips/know before you go to the results.View the full article

Did you know there is a quick way to directly generate an access request for Service Area Businesses in Google Maps? This is apparently not so new but also not widely known.View the full article

Google Maps is updating its share buttons by removing the options to share on X and adding the options to share on Reddit and Facebook. View the full article

Google's March 20025 core update is now done rolling out, it took 14 days, starting on March 13, 2025 at around 12:23 pm ET and ending on March 27, 2025 at around XX ET. Google posted saying, "The rollout was complete as of March XX, 2025."View the full article

Now that the Google March 2025 core update is done, I wanted to share some polls I spotted on this update, including some I posted myself. The theme is, most said their rankings stayed the same, while many saw declines and improvements with the update. Which tells us, this was a normal core update.View the full article

Google officially announced the rollout of the March 2025 core update yesterday at around 12:30 pm ET. This core update is expected to take up to two weeks to roll out. Google said this is a regular core update but did make a note about helping surface content from content creators. View the full article

As a reminder, the Google March 2025 core update touched down on March 13th, and as Google said, not before. And while many sites were hit super hard in the early days, the net of this update didn't seem as wide as other core updates. Now, I am seeing the third-party tracking tools explode this morning - but is it a tool issue or real core update volatility being detected?View the full article

As you know, the Google March 2025 core update was announced on March 13th and it should be just about done rolling out. We saw some volatility related to that core update a few days into the update, then a lot of confusion later on, and now at the tail end of the update, we are seeing more volatility. View the full article

As you know, Thursday, March 13, 2025 at around 12:30 pm ET Google announced the March 2025 core update, the first core update of the 2025 year. I was expecting to see a lot of volatility by now and while we are seeing some sites report volatility, it does not feel as widespread or heated as a normal core update - YET.View the full article

Back in February, I reported about this unusual Google Search ad format for people also considered sponsored results. They did not look like ads, but they were labeled sponsored. Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Liaison, confirmed these are a sponsored ads experiment, but clicking on them do not result in a charge. They are labeled as sponsored only because they go to more commercial queries.View the full article

Google Merchant Center has apparently added the ability to dispute and/or request a review in bulk. This does not work for all notices but it works for some and it can save you a lot of time, if the same disapproval is issued across a number of products or issues. View the full article

Google added a new navigation button to Google Merchant Center labeled "Creative Content." I believe this is where you access Product Studio, and all your videos and assets for your Merchant Center campaigns.View the full article

Google has added a new promotion option to Google Merchant Center. The new option is Google Wallet. Google doesn't detail what this promotion does but it likely lets you promote that you accept Google Wallet for purchases.View the full article

Google added a new promotion method in Google Merchant Center for Top-performing products. This lets you just promote your best performing products in Google Shopping and Google Search.View the full article