TL;DR: Branded Google Maps pins are a paid advertising feature tied to Performance Max campaigns. The branded pin may appear in Google Maps but not always on desktop. Branded pins are paired with purple ads in the business’s Knowledge Panel.…
TL;DR: Google Business Profile no longer offers a dedicated phone number for customer support. The main support option is Google’s contact form, which can connect you with support by email. Social media and the Google Business Profile Forum offer additional…
TL;DR: Google does not appear to favor the newest reviews simply because they are recent. One-star reviews in the study were much longer on average than five-star reviews. Longer reviews showed a strong correlation with staying near the top of…
TL;DR: Google Business Profiles can show customers how busy a business typically is and when it is busiest. Google uses anonymous location data from users who have enabled Location History to generate this information. Profiles may also show real-time visit…
What if your business was disappearing from Google—and your rank tracker didn’t even notice? Local SEO and AI are becoming increasingly connected as AI changes how Google displays local search results and how customers find businesses. A new feature, the…
TL;DR A Google Maps CID number is a unique ID for a specific Google Business Profile listing. Knowing your CID can help identify duplicate, merged, or newly created listings. You can find a CID using Chrome extensions, Google Maps,…
A few weeks ago, an SEO named Schieler De’Land messaged me and said he was seeing something very odd. He found people searching the exact same keyword at the same time were seeing different results on Google. A thread over…
Have you ever felt like you're doing everything right, but your business still isn't showing up in Google’s local results? You are not alone. Sometimes, even the smallest oversight can cause big issues with ranking and visibility when it comes…
SEO is dying! Well, not exactly, but there are some major shifts that happened in 2025 that should actually change how you approach your marketing for 2026. Key Local SEO Trends for 2026 Local SEO trends in 2026 focus on…
We are hearing lots of stories where Google is suspending Google Business Profiles for real estate agents working for eXp Realty. In this Google support thread, this individual was told by Google that "our guidelines currently restrict us from working…
Google Business Profile (GBP) relationships are entity connections that define how distinct business listings are physically or organizationally nested within one another. Because Google now views the world as a map of entities rather than just addresses, defining these relationships…
If Google has asked you to complete a video verification, you are not alone. This is now the only method of Google Business verification, and passing this can be confusing if you are not sure what to show. To be…
Grapevine, TX
A full day of education from the best in local search. Your $299 ticket includes breakfast, lunch, and on-demand video after the event.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
8:45 AM – 5:00 PM CT
We’re partnering with State of Search on October 19. Attend both events for $500.