Google Reviews Hit with Massive Spam Attempt

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Google reviews, increasingly essential to the online search presence of brand and SMB brick-and-mortars alike, were hit by a massive spam attempt last week. At least 2 million fraudulent reviews were posted, according to ReviewFraud.org.

2018 Ranking Factors Report Emphasizes GMB and Reviews

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Damian Rollison: The annual report’s main takeaways are clear: to rank competitively for local searches today, you must focus your attention on three areas: one, providing Google with as much relevant local content as possible; two, pleasing your customers, pointing them to where they can review your business, and responding to their reviews; and three, creating a useful, relevant local landing page or website with authoritative backlinks.

Review Strategy Is Key to Restaurant Success, Says TripAdvisor Restaurants Marketing Leader

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What’s one of the secrets to a coveted top spot on a TripAdvisor Restaurants list? Respond to every review within 24 hours, said Mark Goloboy, the marketing leader for TripAdvisor Restaurants, at a panel during Brandify’s 2018 conference. Responding to reviews effectively can make the difference between showing up on the first and fourth pages of the site.

A Dozen Takeaways and Follow-Ups from the Bright Local Review Study

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David Mihm: BrightLocal’s study of reviews is interactive, digestible by the average small business, and useful for agencies and resellers, too. In this column, I provide some of the highlights and pose questions for further research in the reviews space.

Street Fight Daily: Boosting Sales with Google My Business; Battle Over Yelp Reviews May Go to Supreme Court

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Heard on the Street, Episode 14: Boosting Sales with Google My Business… Battle Over Negative Reviews on Yelp Could Go to Supreme Court… Apps Downloaded on Millions of Android Phones Tracked Users in Ad Fraud Scheme…

Street Fight Daily: Unstructured Data A Big Local Opportunity; Small Businesses Need Cybersecurity Help

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Not All Burrito Eaters Are the Same: Why Advertisers Need to Think Local… Report: Half of Very Small Businesses Suffer Financial Losses from Website Hacks… Why I Love First-Party Reviews…

Heard on the Street, Episode 12: How Important Are Online Reviews?

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Considering the level of influence that online reviews can have on any given business, it’s become increasingly important to optimize them in various ways. How is that done? There are lots of tactical ins and outs we highlight on this episode of the Heard on the Street Podcast.

Street Fight Daily: Google Cedes Some Control of AMP, How Important Are Online Reviews?

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Google Is Giving Up Some Control of the AMP Format… Heard on the Street, Episode 12: How Important Are Online Reviews?… After Amazon Storefronts, A Self-Service Suite of Ad Tools…

TripAdvisor Wants to Become Your Social Media Network for Travel

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What started as a site for travel reviews is pivoting to become a social media hub for travelers, providing a personalized travel planning experience that combines reviews and recommendations from friends, publishers, and influencers, the company announced Monday.

GetFiveStars Expands Its Capabilities, Rebrands as GatherUp

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GetFiveStars, which helps businesses generate feedback from customers and capitalize on that feedback to better serve them, is rebranding as GatherUp. The name change intends to convey an increasingly holistic approach to customer engagement.

The Quantitative Evidence That Reputation Management Works 

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At times, the research findings published in our industry seem a little suspect. But in one vertical in particular, there’s a body of academic research that speaks to exactly the kinds of questions we want answered about reputation management—namely, does online review monitoring and response really make a difference to a business’s bottom line?

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Delivers Much-Needed Ad Context, The Numbers on Reputation Management

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Facebook Gives Advertisers More Info on Where Their Ads Are Running… The Quantitative Evidence That Reputation Management Works… AI: The New Force Multiplier for Your Sales Team…

Yelp, Google Reviews, and Antitrust

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Forcing Google to split Maps-related business into a standalone “geo” unit would foster a more diverse technology ecosystem. But as far as Google’s review practices are concerned, regulators should not be convinced by an irrational argument that indexation of Google reviews has any bearing on the harm created for, or benefit gained by, consumers.

Uberall Partners With TripAdvisor for Multilocation Reputation Management

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While it has become commonplace for hotels and restaurants to check their TripAdvisor ratings on a regular basis, the process breaks down as the size of the business grows, causing brands with hundreds of locations to struggle. The digital location marketing platform Uberall is trying to change that.

Street Fight Daily: Best Practices in Reputation and Review Management, Ad Tech Consolidation

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING… Survey: Identifying Best Practices in Reputation and Review Management… As Duopoly Reigns, Ad Tech Industry Consolidates… Happy Returns Expands Into College Market…

Heard on the Street, Episode 8: ‘Engineered Casual’ with Broadly CEO Josh Melick

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Word of mouth has been a leading form of local marketing for more than a century. But in a digital age, the name of the game is harnessing it by combining “IRL” chatter with the power of software and network effect. This is the bread and butter of Broadly, whose CEO and founder Josh Melick is our latest guest on our podcast Heard on the Street. 

How Business Reviews Contribute to Local SEO

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Local businesses need to pay attention to the reviews that they are getting to make sure that they have an optimized online presence. Reviews definitely play a part in a business’ local SEO, and they also help improve customer interaction and CTR.

Street Fight Daily: Prime Day Undercuts Brick-and-Mortars, Google’s Local Staying Power Supersedes Social

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IN THE HALLS OF SILICON VALLEY: AMAZON, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK… Prime Day 2017 Marked Week of Lowest Foot Traffic for Retailers Last Summer… Does Google Really Need a Social Network to Succeed at Local?… Facebook Is Finding New Uses for Instagram…

Street Fight Daily: A Major Ruling on Online Reviews; Local Publishers Bet on Marketing Services

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yelp Can’t Be Forced to Take Down Allegedly Libelous Reviews… Amazon’s Will Supersize Its Second Grab-and-Go Grocery Store in Seattle… Programmatic Guaranteed: A Chance to Rethink Publisher Growth…

#SFSNYC: Kevin Clark of Synup Talks Better Reputation Management and Listings Updates

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What the public sees and hears about a company’s brand can make or break its overall success. That makes the services Synup offers relevant to many businesses, said Kevin Clark, vice president of sales for the company, at Street Fight Summit West in Brooklyn Wednesday.