SEO
3. Google Maps changes its manual verification process for businesses. You will now no longer be able to call the
Google Maps team and have them manually verify your business over the phone. You’ll be instead directed to
the normal verification methods.
4. A long tail search indicates that a customer is close to a point-of-purchase; hence it creates excellent
opportunities for local businesses. Here is the complete study from BrightLocal.
5. Now business listings will show verification check-marks in Google maps.
6. Bing started showing reviews in its results exactly when Yahoo stopped it. Coincidence? Maybe!
7. Google will not force a new user to make Google+ account to sign up for Google services. *Sigh. Here is the
official statement from Bradley Horowitz – “We want to formally retire the notion that a Google+ membership is
required for anything at Google… other than using Google+ itself.”
8. Google will take down unverified and inactive plus pages associated with business listings. So make sure to get
your business pages verified and keep them active by sharing content regularly.
9. Google has introduced a feature that will inform you about the peak time of the business so you can avoid the
rush. But many have doubts about the usefulness of this update.
10. Updating a new address in Google Maps can be tricky especially while displaying driving directions. To
understand why this happens and how to fix it, you can simply refer this guide.
11. Google is testing out a new feature that will connect people who are looking for home service professionals in
their area.
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