🔍 Google adds local business capabilities worth watching

Dec 03, 2020

Good morning, Search Marketer, Google's making more investments in local business search and engagement.

Google has made two interesting updates for local businesses this week. One is a new "community feed" in Google Maps which features Google Posts content and links curated by Local Guides. The other is Google is building out more messaging capabilities for local businesses via GMB. Google users can now message businesses via their business profiles on Google Maps within the updates section and via Google Posts.

The messaging features are particularly interesting with the backdrop of Facebook's own efforts to make business communication a key function of its messaging services (underscored by its acquisition of Kustomer this week, a platform that unifies customer conversations across channels including messaging).

And PPC marketers and SEOs, take note, you might want to use GMB as a query data source. Google is giving local businesses access to more details on the queries that lead users to find them in Maps and Search by device within GMB's Business Profile Performance report.

Ginny Marvin
Editor-In-Chief

Social Short

Reddit says it now reaches 52 million daily users

Reddit has shared its daily users for the first time, claiming an averaged 52 million daily active users in October, an increase of 44% year-over-year. The social networks' Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong, told the Wall Street Journal, "We're focused on daily usership and increasing this number as we continue to grow our community and scale our advertising business" Wong also said Reddit's ad revenue topped $100 million in 2019 and is expected to increase by 70% in 2020.

Why we care. In comparison to the other major social media networks, Reddit remains minor. Twitter claims 187 million daily users, for example. We've talked about Reddit for years as seeming to be just on the cusp of scaling its ad business. That time may finally be here. Wong told the WSJ it is looking to expand its business internationally and build its sales team. If you're looking for new channels or ways to diversify, it might be time to look at Reddit for 2021.

50 Local Marketing Ideas

Developing a well-balanced, holistic local marketing strategy is key for local businesses to be able to compete with large national brands. What does a successful local marketing strategy look like? Download this guide for 50 ideas to increase your online visibility, lead generation and ROI.

Get your copy now »

Search Shorts

December 1 unconfirmed Google search update

December 1 Google search update. There are unconfirmed reports of a Google Search ranking algorithm update that touched down on December 1st. Google has not confirmed it.

Google doc on crawl budget. Google released a help document on how large sites can deal with managing crawl budget. It is a very useful read.

Ignore spammy links. Do you ignore spammy links or try to disavow them? SEOs seems somewhat split based on this Twitter poll, but John Mueller from Google says you can ignore them.

Google News Showcases new features. Google is updating News Showcase, which lives within Google News and ultimately Google Search. Currently live in Germany and Brazil, new features include a publisher-curated carousel and limited access to paywalled content.

Think marketers don't need to know about cybersecurity? Think again

Sponsored by Lumina Communications

Security threats are increasing and attackers are becoming ever more resourceful in finding weaknesses to exploit. More troubling is a shortage of cybersecurity professionals, making it hard for organizations to defend themselves. That's why businesses are increasingly turning to expert partners to provide security capabilities, from threat intelligence to defenses powered by AI, ML, and much more. Not only do security breaches require fixes costing substantial time and money, but your brand is at stake, too!

Famed Alabama head football coach Paul Bryant once said, "Defense Wins Championships". But you also need a good offense to defeat potential adversaries. Join Lumina Communications and our distinguished panel of security experts who will discuss this and more, including the key trends that the industry continues to face head-on and a few best practices for how consumers and organizations can better prepare for the most pressing security issues that we will face in the year to come.

Read More »

Don't miss out on actionable search marketing tactics

Join 1,000+ search marketers online next week, Dec. 8-9, for SMX! Expert-led training, community networking, forward-thinking keynotes, and more — just $249

Secure your spot »