Local Marketing Source Blog

Local Marketing Industry Weekly Update – #171 – 7/29/15

Weekly Update Overview

This week’s agenda:

  • Google Removing All Non Verified Local Pages From Plus?

  • Google Testing Sponsored Home Services Marketplace Snak Paks

  • Google Alerting Accounts Deleted For TOS Violations

 

Google Testing Sponsored Home Services Marketplace Snak Paks

Dr. Pete Meyers of Moz posted this screen shot of a sponsored Snak Pak test displayed for the search “plumbers” in San Francisco. It was captured on a desktop search last night.

Reports of Google getting into home services first surfaced this spring with reports at  Inc. (h/t David Mihm) and Buzzfeed where they noted:

The product will be integrated into Google’s core search offering and is intended to capitalize on search intent, turning queries about home improvement tasks into engagement with home-service providers.

Essentially in this scenario captured by Pete, the Snak Pak becomes pay to play and the goal isn’t a website visit but a call for a booking. Although it doesn’t appear to go so far as to creating a booking, that would not be hard to imagine as a next step.

As Dr Pete noted at Twitter: potential game-changer, IMO.

I’ll say. We always wondered when paid listings would enter the pack. The time seems to be getting closer.

Google Alerting Accounts Deleted for TOS Violations

Google is apparently removing My Business accounts for TOS violations and sending along notices to owners and managers.

It is not clear to me the specifics of that triggered this action although clearly this has happened to more than a few accounts as there is at least one other report in the forum.

 

google-header

 

 

This message confirms that the Google Account – xxxxx@gmail.com – was deleted due to a violation of our Terms of Service that was left unresolved. To attempt to restore access to the account, please visit our password-assistance page immediately:Recover account Google Accounts can only be restored within a short period of time after deletion.

Sincerely,

The Google Accounts team

This email can’t receive replies. For more information, visit the Google Accounts Help Center.

If xxxx@gmail.com isn’t your Google Account, you can safely disregard this email.

You received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google product or account.© 2015 Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

The poster in the forum noted:

This has happened now to two of the companies that I assist with their SEO. They have not been active for awhile however, that doesn’t mean that we don’t still want the account. What terms of service were violated so I can find out what to make sure others watch for? This is unacceptable and without warning, years of emails are now gone. Please help me to understand what is going on so I can make sure that no other of us lose our accounts!!!

I received the notice for an account that I last touched almost 5 years ago. This was before managers were allowed. And I don’t think I have had any current relationship to this account although it is interesting that Google sent me the email.

I am at a loss to answer the poster’s questions although my assumption is that perhaps it was a duplicate, unused account that Google was cleaning up.

If you have more specific information about receiving the email and know the reasons, prey tell.

Google Removing All Non Verified Local Pages from Plus?

I have received a copy of a post made to Google Photographers’ forum. This was also recently posted at Linda’s forum:

Dear photographers and agencies,

In the past few months, you may have seen some changes in the look of Google+ pages that have been associated with Google My Business (GMB) accounts. These changes, including how we treat business pages without owners, are part of Google’s ongoing effort to simplify people’s experience with our tools. We are constantly working to provide only valuable and rich content to our users.

On July 28th, Google will begin shutting down those GMB–associated Google+ pages that have not been associated with user accounts and are also not verified. You may find that some of your Business View tours also sit on such pages, but note that after their removal of unverified Google+ pages, the Business View tours will still remain available on Google Maps and Google Search.

Essentially, it appears this means that if a page is verified it will also have a G+ Page and if it isn’t, its main presence will be through the Knowledge Graph in the main Serps or in Google Maps. It seems to me that this change was foreshadowed by the many recent minor changes we have seen with the inability to get to Plus from Maps, the removal of the Local search from Plus, the removal of the G+ Page link from search results that weren’t verified and the change of the name of the link on closed pages to Place.

Clearly this is a final step in separating local from Plus. Whether local will stay “debranded” or possibly take on a Local Finder essence beyond basic search and Map results isn’t clear. What is clear is that G+ and Google Local are no longer going to be bed partners.

As to what this means for G+, in my opinion not much. It appears to me that it is being lead down the path of sinking or swimming unaided by props from across Google.

The Local Marketing Industry Weekly Update, presented by Scott Gallagher. Scott is the co-founder of Local Marketing Source and has become the recognized expert in providing local marketing services to local businesses.

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