Google Business Profile news
What changed in Google Business Profile, what it means for a small business, and whether you need to do anything about it.
Can AI tools actually read your website?
Search Engine Journal reports on what stops AI systems reaching local business pages — blocked crawlers and stale old URLs. What owners should check.
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Google emails when it spots a spike in spam reviews
Search Engine Roundtable reports Google is emailing business owners when it removes a spike of spam reviews — and pausing new reviews for a few days.
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You get four days to reject edits to your profile
Search Engine Roundtable reports Google's help docs now say you have four days to accept or reject a user-suggested edit to your Business Profile.
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ChatGPT's local answers skip Google reviews, study finds
Near Media reports a study finding ChatGPT's local recommendations drew on Bing, Yelp, Foursquare, TripAdvisor and BBB — not Google reviews. What it means for you.
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Map pins in the ocean for service area businesses
Search Engine Roundtable reports a Google Maps bug putting some service area business pins out at sea. What it means and what to do.
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Google adds a rule on misusing profile support
Search Engine Roundtable reports Google has added a "Misuse of support channels" policy. Repeated unfounded complaints can get all future ones rejected.
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Google Maps now asks for sign-in to read all reviews
Search Engine Roundtable reports Google Maps is prompting people to sign in before they can read every review or sort them. What it means for your business.
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Survey: most people check you elsewhere before calling
Near Media reports on a SOCi survey suggesting most customers verify a local business across reviews, search and social before making contact.
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AI search is 1–2% of local calls, CallRail reports
Search Engine Journal reports figures from CallRail and consultant Steve Wiideman on how many local leads actually come from AI assistants — and what to do.
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Fake Phone Numbers in Google Maps Photos
Search Engine Roundtable reports scammers uploading photos with fake phone numbers to Google Business Profiles. How to check yours and what to do.
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Google Brings Back View Counts For Profile Posts
Google says view counts are returning to Business Profile posts, covering updates, offers and events from the past 18 months. What it means for your business.
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Google's review rules and 'mention my name' cards
A Search Engine Journal webinar recap reports Google changed its Maps content policy in April, ruling out review requests that name staff. What to check.
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Google Confirms Local Service Ads Bug Affecting Profiles
Search Engine Roundtable reports some Local Service Ads accounts were unlinked from Google Business Profiles. Google says a bug is being fixed.
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Near Media: Reviews Decide the Click Without a Brand
Near Media's study of legal search found that when a searcher doesn't recognise any business, reviews become the single biggest factor in who gets contacted.
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