Google is now explicitly forbidding the following when requesting reviews in their latest terms of service update: 1. Asking for specific content in reviews. When requesting reviews, you should no longer be asking for specific services to be mentioned or anything relating to the specific contents of the review. 2. Requiring employees to reach a quota for reviews. 3. Offering incentives of any kind in exchange for a review or updating the contents of a review. 4. Pressuring customers for reviews while on-site. Ask once, and if they don't say yes, let it go. You may still ask for the review to represent their genuine experience. Reference: https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?sjid=6748835730443386304-NA#zippy=%2Cfake-misleading-content-reviews%2Crating-manipulation%2Cfake-and-misleading-content-and-reviews

Ever wondered how I learned so much about local SEO? I started with Darren Shaw's Maps Ranking Factors almost a decade ago. Darren has been researching and practicing local SEO pretty much since the beginning. These are the factors that I consider when I'm building action plans for ranking local businesses on Google Maps. https://whitespark.ca/local-search-ranking-factors/#pack-maps You'll see a lot of common themes in what I talk about. GBP category, proximity, keywords in the business name, business hours, and REVIEWS. So if you're planning on getting into it yourself, this is a great place to start!

If a competitor is outranking you on Google Maps by breaking the rules, here’s how to fight back: 1. Click the 3 dots next to the business name 2. Click Suggest an edit 3. Select the field containing the incorrect information. - Fake addresses: If they list a home as a public location, flag it. They’re not accepting customers there and Google Maps favors businesses with physical locations. - Keyword stuffing: Check corporate records for your state (PA Corporation Search). If “Joe’s Plumbing” suddenly calls themselves “Best 24/7 Emergency Plumbing Near Me,” and that doesn't line up with reality, that's a violation. Suggest an edit to match the real business name. - Business hours: A business is more likely to get calls when they're open. But a lot of companies will just list themselves as 24/7 and let after hours calls go to voicemail. You can flag their hours as "Don't know, but this is incorrect" to trigger Google to call and check their hours. Unfortunately, some companies use software to lock their listings, so all suggested edits will be blocked. You can use Google’s Business Redressal Complaint Form with proof (screenshots, zoning, state filings) to convince Google to take action in accordance with their Guidelines. There are rules for every field; many of them do impact rankings. 👉 Spamfighting isn’t dirty. It’s leveling the playing field to make room for honest companies.

Most business owners don’t realize this: your Google Business Profile categories matter more than almost anything. While keywords in your real life business name, review generation and responses, and being searched by name matters, the categories are much easier to control! Make sure your primary category reflects the service that you want to be known for the most. Then add secondary categories that match your services. So if you're an HVAC contractor, that should be your primary category. And you should also have these secondary categories: - Heating contractor - Furnace repair service - Air conditioning contractor - Air conditioning repair service - Air duct cleaning service Why it works: it’s one of the fastest ways to show up for more searches in just a couple of minutes! 💬 Have you checked your categories lately?

Word of mouth is a great place to start, but it's not the be-all-end-all of small business growth. I can't tell you how many times somebody told me their whole business died because word of mouth dried up. You should be doing one of the following every single day: - 100 minutes calling people you know - 100 minutes cold calling - 100 minutes creating content - $100 on ads If you're not doing at least one of those, you need to start. And if you're following that advice and your business still isn't growing, either: - Your offer sucks - Your execution sucks (get better at whatever it is you're trying to do or pay somebody to do it for you) No excuses. Thanks to Alex Hormozi for that nugget of wisdom!