Google Reviews From Around The Web Feature Gone
-
Hey All My Favorite Local Community Members!
I think we might start having questions come up about this, so I thought I'd do a quick post. Google has just confirmed that they have removed the 'Reviews from Around the Web' feature that has so long been a part of their local SERPs display. Mike Blumenthal confirms that this is official, here:
http://localu.org/blog/google-more-reviews-links-removed-from-knowledge-panel/
Apparently, you can still see your reviews from around the web in your Google My Business dashboard, but they are gone from knowledge panels, etc. This may not be a feature greatly missed by many, as the business owner had so little control over what was displayed in this section.
So ... upshot is: if you've just noticed that this feature is gone, it's official - it's gone.
-
That is very interesting William, I personally loved Yelp's idea hated the execution. They are now borderline black mailers IMO. I hope others will respond so we can see some actual data.
Nice post Miriam!
-
Just that one significant change in my client pool, but it's also the only client that had a large discrepancy between Google reviews and Yelp. My other clients have consistent averages, and it seems like there would only be a noticeable spike if there was a discrepancy.
-
That's really interesting regarding your client, William. Too early to say if there's a connection there, but it would be cool if you could find other similar examples in your client pool. Now, common sense would say that if Google is downgrading the visibility of third party reviews, this could indicated that they are placing less trust in them, and perhaps, relying more on a Google-centric representation of user sentiment, but there is nothing to confirm this, at this point. Third party reviews have long been considered an important ranking factor, so it would surprise me to see their value totally vanish in that regard. And, of course, review diversity is important for more than just rankings. I think it will be some time before we understand the shakedown from this small but significant move on Google's part.
I'd be glad to hear any theories about this from the community!
-
Any word on if Google is using those reviews less in the local ranking algorithm?
I have a client who has an average 4 stars on most sites, but had a much lower score on Yelp. Last night, he spiked in maps for some big keywords, almost like Yelp wasn't being considered anymore.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Best address to use on Google business listing for youth sports program
Hello, Moz Community! I'm helping a friend with some local marketing for his youth sports program. He trains his kids at a community center and a public park where court times are managed by the city. His address in his Google business listing is currently the community center, but that is shared with multiple businesses including the community center itself. I know he needs an address that is unique to his business, but he lives outside of the city in which his program is located. Our goal is to boost exposure in the city in which his program is located. Since 1) his business address is located outside of the city in which he conducts business and 2) the addresses at which he conducts his business is utilized by multiple businesses including the actual property owner, what options do I we have for an address that Google will recognize as valid and won't cause ranking issues? If there is nothing we can do in the current situation, what are steps we can take to address this issue for his business? Thanks a lot!
Local Listings | | Tony_GP0 -
Has anyone tried using AMP links in Google Business Listings?
We have a client with multiple locations, and Google Business listings for each location. We've also created AMP pages for each of those location landing pages, and they're ranking on page one of their main queries, just below the local pack. We're wondering if anyone has tried pointing a GMB website listing at an AMP page, or if there are considerations to keep in mind before testing it out. So far, we've discussed whether to use the AMP url (amp.domain.com) or the Google viewer url (google.com/amp/s/amp.domain.com), and potential concerns for desktop users.
Local Listings | | WompM0 -
Children's club Google My Business conundrum
Hi there I have been contacted by a small business to help them with their <acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym> effort.
Local Listings | | coolhandluc
The business is a children's club offering drama classes, music classes etc... Looking at their online visibility shows they don't even have a Google my business profile which is where i was going to start however, they operate from a local school after hours. The local school already has a GMB profile, obviously with the same address and postcode. Is it possible to set up a GMB for the children's club anyway? Many thanks0 -
Improve Google Business ranking
While my client's websites have been ranking well in SERP for their keyterms I'm at a lost on what I can do to improve their Google business/map presence. I'm referring to their listing where the top three come up or when you search on Google Maps.
Local Listings | | FPK
https://gyazo.com/26ec78ed7f712157ec72492199545431 Ex 1. Several months ago my client was ranked #1 both for SERP and maps until they dropped to 2nd on maps. Now they're ranked 1st in search yet 2nd for local business rankings as you can see from the screenshot above. At one point my client's business did have more reviews than the 1st ranking business yet they still weren't 1st. Ex. 2. Client(s) is ranked 4th in search and doesn't show in the top 3 map listings for their search term. If you click on More places to view Google Maps they're listed all the way down as the 15th listing or worse can't even be found when searching by their main SEO key term . Of course they are found by searching for their business name so it's not like there is a problem with the listing. I make sure to: Completely fill out their Google Business profile(NAP, hours and add pictures) Have my client try to gain positive reviews Manage and respond to reviews(mainly the negative ones) Add map and Google business link to their website Can anyone offer any other insight on what else can be done to improve their local presence on maps that I might be missing?0 -
I have 2 locations and 6+ Google Business pages... How can I combine the duplicates without losing maps rankings?
I have 2 locations and 6+ different Google Business pages due to a company merger and automatic page creation. Some of the GMB even pages rank in maps above the ones we use for certain terms and most bring traffic to my site, but I know the dupes are hurting our maps rankings. Is there a way I can consolidate these pages by combining them? Or am I better off just biting the bullet and deleting the pages I don't want to use?
Local Listings | | formandfunctionagency0 -
Relocating a Business location on Google My Business
Hello, One of our clinics is moving a couple of miles away from it's current location. Does anyone know the proper steps to take to make the change in Google My Business. I know I can go in and edit all the details, but what becomes of the former listing? If someone were to search by our name and the former street address, is Google going to be smart enough to deliver our new location as the search result? Also, I know there's a Mark Permanently Closed feature, but that's not exactly true. That location didn't "close," it relocated so I'm assuming I should stay away from that feature. Thanks in advance for any insight. Erik
Local Listings | | SmileMoreSEO0 -
Google Places & Google My Business
Hoping a local biz expert can help ... So all these Google business listing solutions are confusing me. I have Google Places and had been told for several months I would have a new dashboard. I assume I have it now because the interface is different now when I log in. I've noticed missing pictures, descriptions from some of our 70 locations, but so far that's it. But I also see a recommendation for Google My Business. Am I supposed to migrate over there or am I fine where I am. I just want a place to manage my G+ business pages. Thanks!
Local Listings | | SSFCU
Sarah1 -
Problem Shooting with Google authorship
The following two photos show the problems that we are having with setting up our Google authorship. What steps would be necessary to correct these errors? abyP0Vg db4ZOgA
Local Listings | | Dynamo-Web0