Local Memo: Facebook Launches Local Tab as Part of App Redesign
Local Memo: Google Publicly Shaming Review Spammers
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In this week’s update, we discuss Google Publicly Shaming Review Spammers, Geo-Tagging no Longer a Ranking Factor, and Amenity Highlights Appearing for More Business Types.
Google Publicly Shaming Review Spammers
The News
Since we reported on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new rules designed to combat fake reviews and targets several deceptive practices online we’ve gotten many questions about what Google plans to do in response to support these rules.
Google has already been enforcing its own similar set of rules for years, so we don’t expect any major changes to their existing guidelines on what constitutes a fake and/or incentivized reviews. Google has been continually refining their algorithms to identify inauthentic engagements, but until now, the customer would have no idea if a business was guilty of these deceptive practices. That is, until now.
Google has just released a set of new possible restrictions for those caught violating their review policy that include public shaming. Per Google:
- Business Profile will not be able to receive new reviews or ratings for a set period of time.
- Business Profile’s existing reviews or ratings will be unpublished for a set period of time.
- Business Profile will display a warning to let consumers know that fake reviews were removed.
Mike Blumenthal shared an example of the warning appearing on a business profile in the UK where this new policy was first observed.
Why This Matters
Google takes fake and/or incentivized reviews very seriously. Businesses must audit their current review acquisition practices to ensure compliance.
Google Confirms Geo-Tagging Not a Ranking Factor
The News
For those still clinging to the myth that Geo-Tagging images can help your Local SEO, Google once again confirms it does not.
Speaking at SMX Advanced in London last week, Martin Splitt from the Google Search team re-confirmed that Google Search does not use Exif data for ranking.
Gregg Gifford was the first to post the confirmation on X:
Why This Matters
Photos are still hugely important for Local SEO. Google has explicitly stated that photos help customers and their search bots “get a really solid idea of what the place looked like and the range of products you were offering.”
Instead of geo-tagging, use Google’s Vision AI to validate the keywords Google will apply to that image. In many industries, photos with strong keyword associations (80% and above), may create additional photo tabs highlighting that offering.
Google Adds Highlight To More Business Types
The News
In July Google finally added some amenity attributes for property listings, like “Pets welcome” and “Has swimming pool”. Now Google is finally highlighting these attributes prominently on Google listings alongside NAP (name, address, phone number) information.
Additional non-selectable amenity attributes, like “Has outdoor space” and “Has laundry room” are also appearing. They are likely driven by review text and/or photos.
Non-selectable departments and attributes have been appearing across other industries as well. For example, Grocery stores may now see a highlight for “Has bakery” (another attribute not available via API or in Google Business Manager). This particular highlight may be driven by nested department listings in addition to reviews and photos.
Why This Matters
Business owners wanting to trigger these non-selectable attributes may want to consider adding clear photos that indicate the amenity you’d like Google to highlight. Google’s Vision AI can help you determine if Google is correctly interpreting your photos.
