Last month, a story broke about a hotel, the Union Street Guest House in Hudson, New York, that was fining brides and grooms if any of their wedding guests posted a negative review on a site such as Yelp. Not surprisingly, it generated a huge amount of negative publicity for the hotel. This week, Governor […]
Yelp Uses Private Yelp Messages to Find Paid Reviews Evidence
Yelp announced that they have released 61 new “Consumer Alerts” on the Yelp pages of businesses who have been found to be spamming the review system through either multiple reviews from the same IP address or who have been found offering payment or discounts for fake reviews. The businesses are flagged with alert notices for […]
Google Testing New Mobile Looking Local Desktop Search Results
Google is testing yet another new local search result style, this one looking much more mobile-esque than previous tests we have seen. Andrew Shotland from Local SEO Guide was the first to spot the new style. Here is the initial screenshot of the search results. Then if you click through on the “More movers” link […]
Should Yelp Flag or Remove Listings Where Owners Fine for Bad Reviews?
A story broke about a hotel that caters to wedding parties would fine the bridal couple a $500 fee for every bad review left by a wedding guest on Yelp or another review site. This fine would be taken from the deposit the Union Street Guest House in Hudson, New York collects when a couple […]
Huge Google Local Algo Update Shakeup – Pack Drops 62%
There is a brand new Google local update and it is definitely getting some major attention from those in the local space in the US. Local pack results have been reduced dramatically, spam is being targeted and Google is trying to reduce the number of duplicate local listings on a single search results page. Here […]
Join the Google My Business Feedback Program
Google My Business, (the name of the new dashboard for local businesses for Search, Maps and Google+), is soliciting feedback from businesses and local SEOs, and if chosen, it could even include a trip to Google for in-person interviews. The new program, called the “Google My Business Feedback Program” wants feedback to help shape the […]