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🔍 Did you know Google has two local services badging programs?

Good morning search marketers, soak up this last Monday in August.

If you're confused by the different badging programs Google has for local businesses, you're not alone. In a breakdown of the Google Guaranteed and Google Screened programs, Greg Sterling says "there's a very close link between the Google badging programs and Local Services Ads." 

Google Guaranteed debuted a few years ago as it was getting its Local Services Ads program going. It is available to a range of home services providers such as HVAC, plumbing, locksmiths and others. The businesses go through a background check process and have a license and insurance details verified. Google offers a money-back guarantee to consumers who book through the program. When you search for one of these services in your area, you'll likely see a block of Local Services ads, each with the green Google Guaranteed badge.

The newer Google Screened program is still in testing and is limited to a few sectors (financial planners and estate planning and immigration lawyers) in San Diego and Houston. These businesses must have a Google star rating of 3.0 or higher.

An interesting area to watch is how these listings are treated in Assistant. In order to appear in Google Assistant results on smartphones and Google Home devices, home services must be Google Guaranteed or screened by Google partners HomeAdvisor or Porch. Google has decoupled the Google Guaranteed badging and ad results for Google Home, in part to keep the company from running run afoul of FTC ad disclosure rules.

The AMP team has added a new component to support custom JavaScript . It is aimed at giving developers some more flexibility and the ability to incorporate interactive features on AMP pages without compromising site speed. It works by running a page's custom JavaScript in a separate Worker thread and is compatible with React, Preact, Angular, Vue.js, JQuery and D3.js frameworks. The component can also be used to share code across AMP and non-AMP pages. 

Keep reading for a Pro Tip on Amazon reviews management and more.

Ginny Marvin
Editor-In-Chief

 
Pro Tip
 

Here's how retailers can win on Amazon

"Managing your customer ratings and reviews on Amazon is essential as well as far-reaching in scope. They are building the cornerstone of your reputation," explains Adam Dorfman of Reputation.com. "A pattern of reviews over a period of time gives you valuable unstructured data that you can and should use to improve your service, whether you need to price your products more competitively, carry a better selection of inventory, or improve your fulfillment practices. When people come to your page on Amazon and see those reviews, they are more likely to buy what you are selling. The reviews, in turn, also give you feedback to help you improve your products and services, which leads to more positive reviews."

Learn More »

 

Compare 15 top SEO software solutions

Learn what to look for in a SEO solution. MarTech Today's "Enterprise SEO Platforms : A Marketer's Guide" examines the market for SEO software platforms. This report includes profiles of 19 leading vendors, capabilities comparisons, pricing information, and recommended steps for evaluating and purchasing.

Read More »

 
Search Shorts
 

Google case studies, reviews and tests.

Reply to reviews on Google Maps Android. Business owners can now also reply to customer reviews directly in the Google Maps Android app.

Testing. Google is testing that featured snippet anchor and highlight also on desktop now, not just on mobile.

Google case studies. Gary Illyes from Google wrote Have you ever used the case studies @LizziHarvey  put up on the devsite? What else should be in the case studies? Let him know on Twitter.

 

 
What we're reading
 

We've curated our picks from across the web so you can retire your feed reader

16 Things That Can Hurt Your Site Rankings (SEO Checklist) – SEM Rush

Filters now available on the Overview page – Google Ads Help

Goodbye, Generic SEO Audit – Say Hello to Customization & Prioritization – Whiteboard Friday – Moz

Google News inventor Krishna Bharat returns after four-year hiatus – CNBC

Google Photos now lets you search for text in pictures you've taken – The Verge

Google Still Sending Unnatural Links Manual Actions & It Can Hurt Bad – Search Engine Roundtable

Why creating complete content helps you rank – Builtvisible

 
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