Q2 left us with many new online features to promote local search results for businesses and provide online viewers with more information about your business. Here are the main local search developments to take note of from Q2:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New statistics show that 8% of unhappy customers will write another negative review if their first one is removed. 40% of those reviewers will even make that second review worse, so it is very important to carefully monitor your reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yelp has debuted a set of searchable, eco-friendly terms like \u201cEV charging,\u201d \u201cplastic-free packaging,\u201d \u201ccompostable containers available,\u201d and \u201creusable tableware.\u201d Google is also rewarding eco-friendly businesses by including sustainability details in business reviews. These details include the location of nearby recycling centers and recycling attributes for various goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is narrowing in on review platforms that publish fake reviews. As a precaution, Google has started to take down a significant number of reviews, but they may also be targeting legitimate ones alongside the spam. Because of this, local SEO industries have noticed a significant rise in complaints about review losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Businesses can now improve their local search rankings by including the products or services they sell in their Google business profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trusted store badge is a new icon introduced by Google to reward visibly trusted stores with good shipping and returns services. These badges are not just given to large corporations, but also to smaller businesses that could greatly benefit from a boost in traffic brought about by this badge of trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google has started testing a new feature that highlights smaller businesses located within large venues. For example, if your practice is located within a large office building, people will see your practice under the \u201cAt This Place\u201d tag when they look up that office building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Complaint forms have been around for a while to flag fraudulent businesses, but now you can finally report if \u201cthis business doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d This will help Google separate which businesses are real but have incorrect information and which ones are completely incorrect in that they do not exist. Clearing the search page of businesses that do not even exist leaves more room for your practice to be highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To promote the updated listings search in Maps, the Google My Business app is being terminated. It is a good reminder to not base your entire local marketing strategy on new Google features since they are often experimental and might not stick around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you ever noticed the \u201cPeople often mention\u201d feature that lists topics and keywords related to certain businesses? This feature has now been given an update with the addition of an up or down thumb so that viewers can see not only whether certain keywords are associated with that business, but whether those keywords have a positive or negative association. For example, if your practice is handicap accessible, your \u201cAccessibility,\u201d tag should be given a thumbs up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n