When Will Your Local Business Show Up In Google's One Box?

 

Joy Hawkins asked another excellent local SEO question in the Local Search Forums the other day. She asked why do some business listings get a local one box result, while others return the three-pack?

The example she gave was searching for [State Farm Boulder CO] gives you a local one box. Here is a screen shot:

Compared to searching for [state farm boulder] which just gives you the three-pack. Here is a screen shot:

She asked, does having a ton of good reviews give you the one box? The example above, that company has tons of awesome reviews. But most of the local SEOs there say no, reviews are not what give you that one box.

Some believe the one box is based on other SEO factors such as your links and PageRank. While other SEOs say it has to do with how specific the query is. The more specific the query is and the more it matched your business, the more likely you will see a local one box.

I think the one boxes for generic terms are way more unlikely to show than the three pack. Searching specifically on the company name is when most of the one box results show. But to come up for a generic search term in a one box, I guess that takes some fancy SEO work.

Forum discussion at Local Search Forums.

Read More

Google Now Notification For Indoor Map, Store Inventory, Return Policies & Coupons

Google Now is powerful, it is very powerful and the power keeps growing (scary ehh?). Google Now is capable of detecting when you are going to a store, such as Home Depot and when you get there, it may show you information relevant to the store.

This includes showing you the indoor map of the store, the ability to search the store's local inventory, their return policy, and even see their special deals for the week. You can of course also see their web site.

But how cool is that?

Here is a photo from Google's Erin Pierce showing off this feature.

She posted this on Google+ and called it "brilliant." Indeed.

Forum discussion at Google+.

Read More

Google Adds Hotel Reviews From Other Sources

A Google search for hotels brings up hotel results in Google Maps. When you click on a hotel listing, it will show you a ton of information, including the reviews. The reviews come from Google but now there is also an additional section that shows you reviews from third-party web sites including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda and more.

Brad Brewer, who tracks this stuff closely, posted about it on Google+. He said "Google now displays deep-linked reviews from the around web. The review sites appear to be limited to Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, and for the first time 3rd party platforms ...no Expedia or TripAdvisor. This suggests TrustYou is the primary data provider, with platforms like Bazaarvoice powering 3rd party sites from Marriott to Starwood and IHG reviews."

Here are some photos showing this in action:

Forum discussion at Google+.

Read More

Google Testing Shadow Effect On Star For Local Reviews

Brian Barwig spotted a subtle test in the Google search results where Google was adding a shaded, gray background shadow effect to the review stars in the local pack in the Google search results.

He posted this picture on Twitter and asked why would Google do this:

It does look off and weird, and it doesn't seem to be adding much to the design or interface of the search results. I personally cannot replicate it but those who saw it don't seem to like the look.

This is one of many many Google tests they try out daily.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

Read More

Google Updates Bulk Upload Addresses Global Format Requirements

Last week, Google has updated the address formats used for bulk uploads of your Google local listings. Google called this "improve data for your worldwide locations by following the new address guidelines and sample spreadsheet."

Over the weekend, Elisabeth from Google announced it in the Google Business Helpforums saying:

Address formats are quite different depending on your country. We have made some changes to address format fields for the bulk upload template that are required, optional, or not allowed in different countries based on the format that is used locally. Read more about the new updates here, and check back regularly to our updates page to find all of the latest information on Google My Business features.

You can see the full help document on those format requirements over here.

If you do bulk uploading, you want to make sure your formats are set properly.

Forum discussion at Google Business Help.

Read More

Now Control Google Maps With Your Keyboard

Google announced on Google+ that you can now control and navigate around Google Maps with your keyboard. You can pan and zoom as well as find and learn more about specific places like neighborhoods, transit stations and shops and restaurants.

Here's how it works:

• On your keyboard, press Tab to focus the map. An area of the map will be highlighted with a square.
• Below the square, there will be a numbered list of places in that area.
• To move around the map, use the arrow keys. To move the map by one square, hold down Shift while using the arrow keys.
• To zoom in or out of the map, press + or -
• To learn more about a place, press the number associated with the place. 

Forum discussion at Google+.

Note: This post was scheduled to be published today and was written on April 28th.

Read More