GBP categories

• event fabrication service
• smoothie shop
• home care service
• dance instructor
• gemstone dealer
• karaoke event service
• “childcare” was changed to “babysitter”

Google Local Service Ads

• Transitioning to Pmax, so everything will be in one dashboard
• GBP integration
• The targetting will continue to remain keywordless
• Manual bidding and industry level target CPA depreciated
• Migration timeline (for Canada is 2027)

GBP Review Management using Gemini

• Not multi-locational, only good for one business profile
• can use it to create posts, update business details, things like that
• The account can still become suspended making changes through Gemini (it isn’t a protected way to make big changes)

GBP Reviews Policy update

• Google does not allow business owners to use incentives to post a review
• They do not want you to mention specific content because it can imply the customer was pressured to leave a review
• So, reviews with names are getting flagged more often and go missing because of this
• You can still get reviews with staff member names in them, but its more of a grey area. Like, if every review said “Crystal L was great” then it looks suspicious

GBP and GA Integration

• You can now connect GBP to Google Analytics
• It isn’t very good, only 6 month retention and very basic features
• It would have been helpful 10 years ago, now its just kinda like “what?”

Search Console

• Social media accounts can be connected to GSC now
• Measures things like clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, queries
• You do not need a website to connect to social media accounts

Ford and Apple Maps

• Ford signed a deal for their new electric vehicles. The dashboard will use Apple Maps going forward.

Yelp Partners With ChatGPT for Reviews

• Planned “request a quote” button
• Yelp is already used in Bing, Apple Maps, and Yahoo+
• Google’s ecosystem is a bit “closed” so these other places are integrating wherever they can, so now it is getting a bit of a boost.

Consumers are searching differently

• 700M+ weekly chatGPT usage
• 53% of users use it to compare products, services, etc, and have relatively high intent

ChatGPT ads

• dba platform is offering to help with this
• reach customers during high-intent conversations
• its a complement, not a replacement, for Google Ads
• it targets users that do not pay for premium ChatGPT (free tier)
• early adopters have the ability to develop a presence before it gets competitve

Sales listings optimized by nesting

• dba platform pitch about how they make mini GBPs and know how to connect them all to a main one properly, so nothing gets flagged.
• For example an autodealership has a main profile, then sub profiles for parts, service, tireshop, etc.

GBP Q&A API Depreciation
– Google is changing things, likely adding AI
– It might disappear for a bit
– AI generated Q&A and search bars on the FAQ section have been tested. It looks like we won’t have direct control.
– Want something specific to show up? Make Google Posts to showcase certain things.

GBP Bugs/Issues
– appeal delays
– verification processing delays (including videos, even up to 2 weeks)
– missing reviews

Google Posts Scheduling
– You can now schedule your posts (well, it’s rolling out)
– They are trying to make it more like a Social Media thing
– Don’t know how many you can post at a time, but they have discussed adding more robust features

GBP What’s Happening for Multi-Location
– Grabs event info from third-party areas
– Used to be just one location, now its multi-location
– its an event listing on the GBP listing

Google removes param &num=100
– No longer formally supported
– in response to AI system scraping
– effects rank trackers
– impressions go down, rankings go up, because now we are looking at page 1 instead of first 100 hits

Cookie Consent Banners
– when visitors decline consent tracking, GA4 will not collect data for that session
– If they click “no” and click around, their hits get lumped together into “Direct”

GatherUp Local Business Q3 Review
– not searchable, just from Yan’s secret stash
“how do you usually search for local businesses when you need something?”
most people still “I type my query into a search engine or maps” 75%
i use voice search on my phone or smart speaker 15%
ask AI 10%
personal recommendations under 10%
– so 10% of people now go to AI to find a local business

“how often do you click through on the links for AI responses”
– most people do not trust ai directly (only about 10%)
– 30% always check, 20% frequently, 25% sometimes, 7% rarely
“how often do you read online reviews before choosing a local business?”
– always 40%, frequently 35%, sometimes, 20%, rarely 5%, never 2%

The Customer Journey Tracking is Becoming More Complex
– AI Discovery search (awareness) to Google Brand Search to read reviews (Consideration) to Click to website/call (conversion)

Better Lead Tracking
– use UTM parameters on all links shared online
– implement call tracking software with dynamic number insertion
add “how did you hear about us” field to your contact forms
-train staff to ask every new customer “how did you find us today?”
– use a QR code on in-person materials to track offline-to-online traffic
– set up Google’s Consent Mode to model data from users who decline cookies

Google verification criteria for videos
– prooving the business exists (showing office or truck with signage)
– prooving you are the owner of the business (key to unlock vehicle or house)
– prooving where you are located
– support agents will literally go to google maps and look around and see if it matches
– the video you take may be cropped, so ensure the video is super clear
– for the locked door, you have to show its locked first and that your foot isn’t holding it open or anything
– don’t pan too fast

More channels, more visibility: apple integration (dba platform thing)
– seamless analytics and content opportunities agross google and apple
– apple has become more important, google has lost 30% of its search traffic in the last year probably due to apple and AI, so dba is in the process to integrate apple so you can see google and apple side by side
– dba platform has a beta available soon, if you’re interested contact Luke Luke@dbaplatform.com

New GBP categories

• RV repair and maintenance service
• probate attorney
• bilingual preschool
• donburi restaurant

GBP bugs

• Review attacks on the rise (they get a bunch of 1-star reviews, then a message to WhatsApp saying “I left bad reviews, give me money or I’ll leave more”). Do not respond, take a screenshot, flag the review, respond professionally, and escalate if needed. Google link: https://support.google.com/business/workflow/9945796

August 2025 spam update rolled out. The last one was rolled out in December, usually takes 1-2 weeks. Targets low-quality content & link manipulation (buying links). Mostly impacts informational sites/blogs.

Google Posts Central Dashboard

• You can see a new screen that shows your previous posts with info about when it was created, the picture, etc.
• It’s an extra step to post now.
• Doesn’t look like much now, but it’s likely it’s going to be something later because Google is putting effort into something.
• Right now there doesn’t seem to be any help for posting with keywords. Not top of the priority. But that might change in the future since Google is spending time on this feature.

Google changes things all the time

• Menu link instead of website link
• website link might be cut off
• it changes depending on your category
• in this example the place saw a decrease in clicks, so the reason was the layout on google maps and on SERP made clicking the website button less accessible

ChatGPT

• still says it uses Bing as the default search partner
• Tests show ChatGPT results align more with Google results than Bing
• Free version and paid version of ChatGPT access differently. Free version may not have updated as quickly, or the paid version might be more robust so it checks more things.
• So, most users likely use the free version while marketers might be more likely to use the paid version. Need to be careful when testing for clients, as they might not representative of the “real world.”

Google AI Overview

• There was a study “how much do you trust AI Overviews compared to regular search snippets or links?”
• 40%, about the same.

• “Do you still click on website links in the search results after reading an AI Overview?”
• The click-throughs look like they have increased based on the study, but in reality, we are seeing drastic drops in clicks.

Google AIO

• We’re seeing in the overviews that when you click the button to see the sources the info was pulled from, Google is pulling from itself sometimes via shopping tabs. So, having your products in the Merchant Centre is important.
• The way AI works is that if I do a search for air conditioning in a town, Google would just give me those links. But AI takes “best ac in city”, and makes lots of versions/questions to send to google and Bing. So, instead of 1 query, it’s more like 20. Not just the best, but the associated questions, like repairs. It looks at who gets mentioned the most often and likely lists them closer to the top.  AI fans out their queries, then aggregates what is the most mentioned option. So, are you mentioned in every type of search variation you can think of?

My Question

Does AI like long, informative website pages or more “to the point”? You mentioned multiple queries, so not sure if just having a short and sweet answer is good, or if there’s benefit to telling a bit of a story. Like, for exterior cleaning in Nanaimo, do I want my gutter cleaning service page to be worshipping “Nanaimo Gutter Cleaning” in every aspect I can think of, or is it too much?

More straightforward is better. The narrative content isn’t as good. AI is like the Vulcan, the logic and basic facts matter. I do this, I’m good at this, why am i good at this? here’s proof i’m good at this, i won an award so I’m the best at this. Tell the AI you are the best. FAQ is good. Why should I hire you? why should I trust you? Less keyword stuffing, although we are kinda inbetween right now. What would convince a person? That’s what we want to go for. Don’t fluff, don’t add extra stuff. People want to call, they don’t have much time reseraching. Show your proof right away. 10 employees, 5 trucks, we sponsor little league, i’m a family business owner -> those are keywords AI like to see.

Other questions

Im in the self storage industry. We see 2 different primary categories- Self storage facility vs storage facility. How do we know which one is the best for the primary?

You have to test it, but changing category can risk suspension. What’s the primary category of your competitors? It can help guide what Google might like the best. If you have a secondary category like “luggage storage” then have a page on your website that talks about this. Your listing should have things that your website can support/backup.

What are the three most beneficial actions, and at what rate, one can take to improve maps ranking?

Reviews, content on the website, and pictures/posts (the easy stuff). Backlinks from local places, like other companies you’ve worked with strengthens the local linking to show a stronger connection.

New Google Business Profile categories

• None

New GBP Bugs

• None

Suspicious Review Message

(the message appears in the circled area on affected profiles)

“Suspicious high-rated reviews were recently removed from this place.”

• This message has been appearing on some GBPs in the UK.
• Along with it came a deletion of the suspicious reviews.
• It is now being seen in North America.
• Reviews are deleted and no new reviews can be submitted for 30 days.

GBP Products

• While you can add products manually on GBP, Google is shifting away from this.
• Merchant Centre is the best place to put products, as you can link it to GBP.
• You cannot link GBP products to Merchant Centre.
• If your company has a product, just put it in Merchant Centre. Google is shifting towards MC so best to have it there already.

AI Overviews

• Yan did the same search a few times and compared the overviews to look for patterns.
• He found long-tailed keywords are doing better, as they are more specific.
• More variety in your ideal keyword phrases helps the AI understand and reply to varied queries
• You can do this with competitors, run tests to see what is showing up and where on the website it is pulling from. Then, use that info to your advantage.
• Yan suggests overtly mentioning important info (like award winning) on these pages:
  • Website Homepage
  • GBP Description
  • Bing Profile Description (chatGPT looks here)
  • Yelp Profile Description (chatGPT looks here)

Bugs/Issues
– side panel missing on dashboard
– school reviews being removed inconsistently

GBP Categories Added
– bartending services
– esthetics service

GBP Q&A going away?
– no, no official announcement
– but its missing on most desktop knowledge panels
– it still shows on Google Maps results
– keep using it

Google Search Is Declining
– Ai and in-app search (like Apple Maps) now account for a big chunk of the total search volume.
– Nearly 40% Gen Z users start product or local discovery on platforms like TikTok or Apple Maps rather than Google. (Google 2022)
– It is forecasted that Google’s overall serach ad share could fall below 50% by 2026 (Insider Intelligence, 2024)

Citation Management
– backbone of local search visibility
– it is critical for local search because consistent and accurate business information across the web directly affects your local SEO performance, trust with customers, and visibility in search engine results (especially Google)
– clicks to websites are going away, so we need more citations
– Google uses citations as trust symbols, especially if they are consistent
– Online directories don’t matter as much to Google, but Bing and Apple are a bit behind. They are getting more important again because Google is falling and Bing/Apple are rising.
– Consistency matters, things like 123 N street is different from 123 North Street.
– Smart assistants (Siri, Alexa, etc) rely on citation data

Citation management local search
– is it working?
– are there errors?
– how do i fix them?
– am i better than my competitors?
– how do I prove it?

dba platform accuracy report (in beta)
– a clear quantifiable snapshop of how your listings appear across top platforms

dba account activity report
– every change, every sync, every action is documented and searchable
– good for holidays and things where you have to temporily update store hours across multiple platforms
– google does not have this yet (who did what on my account?)

dba sync issues report
– see whats blocking your listings and how to fix it

dba platform new audit tool
– type in a business name, connect to google places api. Run scan.
– pulls from search results; google, apple, bing, FB down the line
– shows every location, easy fixes

the increasing importance of apple
– a new powerhouse in the making
– Apple Maps is no longer a background app, it’s a major player in local serach.
– the default navigation app for iOIS devices, viging businesess listed on Apple Business Connect direct access to over half US smartphone users.
– apple maps drives 10% of phone calls and 5% of website visits that GBPs do not (NearMedia.co, 2023)
– Apple Business Connect is like GBP but a huge pain. Search the business on Apple Maps and “claim this place”. All businesses should be claimed.

Bugs

• delays in GBP reinstatements
• Google Posts missing (some have come back already)

GBP removed categories

• school (there are more specific ones available)
• home hairdresser
• mobile hairdresser
• accounting software company
• curtain and upholstery cleaning
• garbage dump service
• junk store
• traditional restaurant

Misc

• No reviews are allowed for GBPs that are for schools, due to spam. A lot of this spam was from students. This will come into effect April 30, 2025
• New: Messaging for WhatsApp is back, you can track clicks
• When doing the video verification process, you can now watch your video before submitting it. Ensure no other faces are in the video and it helps to show you unlocking the door into your business while showing the address.
• 4 updates from Google in April. This indicates that they are changing things up, so some features might look a bit odd
• Map packs are being experimented with. Instead of the usual 3, Yan had an example where it showed 10 listings. It took up most of the SERP

Q: Can Google detect AI content?

A: Yes, but it is ok if the voice and content is good. You don’t want the content to be too generic. The algorithm looks for the most info (most robust). AI content can only use what already exists, so add your own touch. Examples are unique ways to make your content more robust. Images, too!

AI Overview Feature

• pay attention to directories to ensure you are on there
• Microsoft can’t read Google reviews, but Gemini can. But, everyone can read directories like Yelp. So, make sure you’re on these universal directories.
• Exact match domains are doing well (i.e. the keyword is in the domain)
• there are variations and they change quickly. Your AI overview may look different if you search the same phrase again minutes later, or someone else’s browser will have different results.  This makes it more difficult to track.
• Some results are linked, some are not. We don’t know why the AI chooses to link some phrases and not others.
• AI is inserting descriptions into GBPs so pay attention. How do you fix it? You have to contact Google support. This is usually a one liner description by the reviews.

Google Business Profile Categories

New:

• Data Center
• IV Therapy Service

Removed:

• Interior door shop
• commercial refrigeration
• electrical equipment manufacturer
• building design company
• commercial cleaning service
• evening dress rental service
• and more

Bugs

• Delays in GBP reinstatements
• review reporting tool not functioning properly
• lost reviews after a suspension
• Q&A turned off for some south Asian countries

Reviews

• Google Local Service Ads had their own reviews which will now be merging with GBP reviews in November.
• The “Top Quality Score” is a page that shows reviews if there isn’t a GBP or if the store sells physical products. The page now pulls in videos and other assets from social media.
• Try to have consistent ratings across review platforms. If you have 100 reviews on GBP and they are all 5 star, but your Yelp profile has a few reviews that are 3 stars or less, then work on gaining more 5 star reviews on Yelp to keep your average the same across most platforms.
• Some reviews don’t go through as they are flagged for content (e.g. “blown away”) or the user leaving the review has a suspicious profile.
• If a listing gets flooded or attacked with large numbers of fake reviews, Google will usually automatically filter them out. However, Google may then turn off the ability to leave reviews for a set time as to wait for the negative attack to dissipate. The downside is that the listing owner isn’t notified and doesn’t understand why people can no longer leave reviews on their profile.

Misc

• New “shop nearby” link on SERPs
• on-page SEO is becoming less important. Expanding your brand’s reach across social media platforms is becoming more important.
• Add keywords to your profile name on social media websites. For example, “Aladdin Plumbing Corp – Plumber & HVAC NYC”
• Businesses that have an address in a coworking space are very hard to verify and keep live. If suspended, it is much harder to reinstate the profile. Avoid using PO Boxes and coworking spaces as addresses.

Q: Is it better to repeat the same posts across social media, or use unique content? Probably not an issue for AI. It likely won’t penalize you. If you can, make your descriptions or bios different.

Q: How does Google differentiate between fake and real reviews? Not sure, but countries probably have a role to play. If someone in another country leaves a review for a business is another country, it is likely to be fake.

Q: Does Google know if I use AI to respond to reviews? It probably isn’t checking that. It checks for the filter, such as offensive language.