1)      Businesses are reported closed (by robots, competitors, etc.), even though they are not.  Although the option to report a listing as closed always existed, after the format updates, the use of this feature has been rampant.  To fix an improperly reported closing you can click the Not True? button and use Google map maker to refute the closed status. However, a business listed as closed can deter business, require constant supervision, or be removed from Google Maps altogether. Once a business is removed it will have to be re-verified which can take up to 6 weeks.  According to blumenthals.com, Google has acknowledged this flaw in the community edits option and they are working on a solution.

2)     “We currently do not support the location” status.  If you are getting this message when you click on your Place Page you are among many business owners confused by the “loss” of their listing.  What’s even more baffling is that the listings have an “active” status in the Google Places account.  A work-around has been published; however, it is not a guaranteed fix.  If your listing remains unsupported, it may take 3-4 weeks to find its way back onto the maps.  This issue can also have a “no address found” message.

3)      Another community edit option that is popping up is the option to decide whether a website being used in a Places Page is correct or not.  This option is not available on every listing, but, I can see this leading to the same types of black hat practices discussed in point #1.

4)      The order of the images on a Place Page is not the same as the order they were uploaded in the Google Places account.  A lot of businesses like to have their images in a certain order in their Place Page, usually with the logo first.  Lately, we have noticed that the image order in the Place Pages are not in the order that they were uploaded.  There are a few guidelines Google lists for image order:

a) Google images will appear in order of the greatest size and quality
b) Photos from other sources can be added to a map listing
c) All photos must comply with the Google Maps Photo Policy

However, there is no clear indication of how all of these guidelines work together.  If a business wants a specific image to be the main image, we would suggest only uploading that one image.  However, since the number of images is still considered a ranking factor, we would ultimately suggest that businesses follow the guidelines set by Google and trust the final order that appears.

5)      Sentiment (descriptor) snippets.   Included in the rollout of the new Places Pages are snippets of information that are supposed to sum up the overall sentiment of a business.  The source of these snippets is a mixture of reviews, web page content, and in bound links.  We like the idea but there are definitely some bugs to be worked out.  The example below has Italian and French for a sushi restaurant (what?).  There is not a way to edit these snippets on the current Places Page.

6) The phone number being displayed is the alternative number used in the Google Places account. Or, phone numbers are not being displayed at all. Here is an example of an alternate number displaying instead of the local number. Since phone number is the first thing Google looks at when identifying a business, it is imperative that businesses are managing only one Google Places account to avoid overlap. This is especially important if you are contracting multiple agencies.

7) Photos are not appearing in Google Places at all even though they are uploaded into the Places account. This is a bug acknowledged by Google. They have published a fix but it is still taking time for those photos to publish is they are not currently in the place page.

8 ) Reviews are disappearing from place listings. This again, has been acknowledged by Google. Here are a few reasons why reviews may disappear:

- Reviews from third-party websites are no longer displayed on Google Places listings. Below the reviews by Google users, we may link “Reviews around the web” on third-party sites

- Reviews are removed from Google Maps because they exhibit spammy behavior

- They have data spread across multiple databases, and all that information is brought together to create your local listing. Reviews can sometimes be dropped from Place pages when they’re trying to reconcile all that information

While there are a few troubleshooting measures that can be taken, Google suggests in most cases that you sit tight because they are aware of and actively working on a fix.

If you have any questions about the new Google Places Page format let us know and we’ll add it to our list.

Google SERP Top vs. Side ads-Top is the top of the page, other is on the side or bottom of the SERP

To illustrate the effect of positioning on ad performance I’ve pulled data from 2011 for my campaigns. Brand terms were excluded because generally, brand terms are going to be in a high position with a high CTR and low CPC which would skew the data for non-brand terms.

The most impressive difference between the two groups is the CTR which is 9.37% higher when ads appear at the top of the page instead of in other ad positions. However, the average CPC for the ads in the top position is actually $.01 less than its other counterparts which disproves the theory that clicks in higher positions are more expensive than other ad positions. This means, in higher positioning you could potentially get more clicks at a lower cost per click than if you bid lower to try and reduce costs.

Once you have assessed the performance of your campaign using the Top vs. Side segment there are several optimizations available to increase your ad positioning in Google AdWords. The first is to improve your keyword Quality Score. Quality score is used by AdWords to assess how relevant your ads are to the end user and it directly affects your CPC and ad positioning. You’ll notice in the campaign data that the Quality Score for the Top is .2 higher than the Quality Score of the Other.

The second way to improve ad positioning is to increase your bid. Bid and Quality Score work together to determine an ad’s position. If you are seeing that you have keywords with the status “Below First Page Bid” you will want to increase their bids to give them a chance to be shown during searches. You can easily identify these keywords by creating a filter in the keyword tab.

For more tips on improving ad position you can use this Tips for Success guide.

Happy optimizing!

The recently announced AdWords Premier SMB Partner Program connects Google’s trusted and experienced AdWords partners with small- and medium-sized businesses that want expert help in creating, managing and optimizing their online advertising campaigns. In addition to in-depth AdWords expertise, PSP partners provide full-service campaign management, detailed reporting, one-on-one customer support, and broad marketing guidance to help advertisers make the most of their campaigns.

VP of Client Services Erik Whaley said, “Our focus as a company is on franchises and multi-unit businesses, which sets us apart from many of the other partners in the program. Franchise campaigns are dynamic and can be challenging to manage at our scale. We look forward to increasing our efficiency and effectiveness with the additional tools and support now available through the Premier SMB Partners program.”

Premier SMB Partners meet Google’s highest standards and criteria for qualification, transparency, and customer service, which includes completing extensive Google product and account management training. This ensures they can provide businesses with the most effective AdWords™ advertising solutions.

“We are excited to launch the Google AdWords™ Premier SMB Partner program with hand-picked, highly qualified companies like Local Search Traffic,” says Ben Wood, head of Google’s Americas channel sales partnerships. “Small- and medium-sized businesses will not only benefit from Local Search Traffic’s in-depth training, but from their years of experience in the local market.”

With more than four years’ experience in strategic local management for national brands, Local Search Traffic is an industry leader in the local search marketing and franchise marketing verticals. In July 2011, comScore reported in the Whitepaper State of Local Search that 13% of core search activity has local intent, a growth of 10% from the previous year, indicating that local search is becoming an increasingly important way for consumers to find businesses in their area.

For more information visit Local Search Traffic’s Premier SMB Partner page or  contact Angie Pascale (apascale { at } location3.com or @angiepascale).

1) Ads placement on Google Maps is not new. Ads already appear on maps.google.com and directly on Place pages as part of the Search Partners Network. This is just an extension of an advertiser’s reach

2)In our experience, the likelihood of an ad on a business place page being clicked on is small. For tests we’ve run with managed placements on maps.google.com, the CTR is around .13%. If this trend holds true for the bubble ads, they will not have a large impact on a business’s traffic

3)As an advertiser, allowing your ad to run in Google Maps gives searchers the option of going directly to a website instead of a Place page. It also means you are providing the freshest ad copy in maps

4)Ads can only show in the bubble if a campaign contains broad match keywords and is opted into the Search Partners network

It’s easy to create a Google+ page.  Go to http://www.google.com/+/business/ and follow the instructions. You will have to link a personal Google Profile with your page. At the current time, this is the only person that will have access to the page.

If none of the categories fit your business exactly, we recommend selecting a one that is relevant but not too specific in case you are unable to change this in the near future.  Complete the About section with basic information—introduction, contact info and website—and add some photos and videos when ready.

A few other things to keep in mind:

• Along with creating a page don’t forget to use all of the great options to promote your business using Google +
• Make sure you are engaging  your followers often using social media best practices
• Google+ Pages cannot follow personal users until the user follows the brand, nor can they mention a user unless they are connected. Additionally, Google+ Pages automatically un-follow a user if that user un-follows the brand. These rules were all created in an effort to reduce spam

You can check out our own Google Plus Page and add us to your circles! We’ll be using our page to help you stay current on all things local.

For small business owners this is a great upgrade to the SERPs because Google is using their data to make proactive changes to give you a better chance at getting clicks based on user behavior.  This allows you to spend your marketing dollars as effectively as possible so that you are reaching potential customers when they are looking for you.

Results from this placement can be tracked using the Top vs. Side segment.  Any placement not on the top of the page will now be labeled other.

Happy Analyzing!

1. Business listing marker is highlighted when a searcher scrolls over the marker on the map making it easy for searchers to see where you are located
2. Business details are projected on the right hand side of the screen making research a snap for searchers
3. The link to reviews is still prominent so searchers can find out what other people in the area think of your business
4. Instant Previews for listings that are claimed in Google Places (by you or a vendor) will include your website as well, providing searchers with even more details about your business
5. It encourages searchers looking for local businesses to engage with the local listings, giving you a better chance of being found

We encourage all business owners who aren’t managing their listings (through Google Places or through a third party) to claim your business listing so that you are putting your best foot forward on the Google SERPs.

• 74% of searchers are using Google to find a local business
• 14% of that 74%  use Google every day to find a local business
• Images help grab attention in local business listings according to 37% of respondents
• Engines are the #1 driver of local search growth because they continue to refine targeting options

Infographic by MDG Advertising

A few questions that we have heard so far:

Q: I didn’t change my listing, why am I getting this e-mail?

A: Google pulls from many sources, including user suggestions, to make sure that the information in the Place profiles is up to date.  If you have received an e-mail then Google has determined there new information for your business that should be included in your listing.

Q: I got an e-mail, what do I do?

A: If the information listed in the e-mail for your business is correct, you do not have to do anything.  If you feel the information is incorrect and you are managing your listing, you can sign into your Places account and make corrections.  If you have a third party managing your listings, you can contact them directly to help with any additional questions you may have.

Q: Is my business information going to get changed without my knowledge?

A: No.  The notification system ensures that you or the person managing your listing will be notified of any changes.

Google’s ultimate goal is to provide its users with the most up-to-date information so that we can have the best experience when we are looking for local businesses.  Automatic updates bring them one step closer to that goal.

With Timeline, users are able to create an ongoing story using elements they interact with on Facebook. Companies will want to find a way to be incorporated into users’ Timelines and become a part of their story. The goal will be to connect your brand with their story and become associated with that user. For example, if I’m watching a movie on my Netflix app through Facebook, my friends will know what movie I’m watching and that I’m using Netflix to watch it.

As the “Like” button becomes more irrelevant, marketers are going to have to do more than just getting people to “Like” their brand. Facebook’s new platform will allow users to view and share content without actually clicking “Like”. Marketers will have to focus on quality and not quantity to earn coveted space in news feeds.

Lastly, Facebook is giving its users more control over what they see in their news feed. Here’s Mashable’s take:

One big change is that Facebook has added a control in the top right of each story that users can check to unmark a top story. Facebook will use that information over time to automatically edit the feeds. Since users now have more control over their news feeds, brands with boring or irrelevant updates will have lower visibility. (They will still show up in the Ticker, however.)

Marketers, including local search marketers, will have to be publishers and not just advertisers. Relevance and interaction need to be key parts of their strategy in order for them to stay current and visible. It’s not just a matter of awareness anymore; it’s about the emotional connection people will make with your brand.