Search Results for: customer reviews

How to Minimize Your Damage From Google’s New Platform

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Have you noticed a new type of sponsored result on Google’s search results pages? These ads are for Google’s new platform, Local Services, which Google designed to promote local service providers like plumbers, electricians, handymen, cleaners, locksmiths, and the like.

According to the official website, “Local Services ads help you connect with people who search on Google for the services you offer. Your ads will show up for customers in your area, so you can keep your calendar full.”

Sounds fair enough at first glance. But, wait—doesn’t this description sound familiar? That’s probably because it’s virtually identical to the purpose of any local online directory already in existence, like HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, Porch, Yelp, and so on. So, why does Google claim Local Services ads are here to “help you connect with people” when such platforms are already doing just that? We’re not buying it. Instead, we have a different theory as to what Google’s true motive is…

Money.

Keep reading to find out how the Local Services platform further advances Google’s pay-to-play model, and how this may hurt small businesses like yours. But don’t panic yet: We also offer up a handful of ways you can counteract the negative effects of Local Services and keep your business in the game.

Let’s jump in!

Is Local Services Just Another Money Grab?

We aren’t here to hurl accusations around. However, given Google’s track record of monetizing everything, it’s not a stretch to come to this conclusion. You see, Google wants to be the main hub for any and all online searches—basically, any internet experience whatsoever—so it’s not surprising that Google is trying to steal this coveted traffic away from other local directories.

We would never blame a company for trying to make more money. However, that’s not the full picture of what’s happening here. The Local Services platform doesn’t just benefit Google at the expense of local directories—it also hurts small, local businesses like yours in several ways.

How does it hurt you? Well, before we dive into that aspect of Local Services, you first have to understand how the platform functions.

How the Local Services Platform Works

Local Services functions like many other online business directories out there: If you decide to sign up as one of Google’s “service providers,” you’ll have your own profile where you add details about your business, including your service area, services offered, and hours of operation. You can also manage leads and communicate with potential customers via the platform.

Mainly, though, Local Services is yet another way for Google to get money from businesses. First, in order to get the status of “Google Guaranteed” (see image below), you have to go through a comprehensive background and reputation check, which can be a costly and time-consuming process. And then, of course, you have to pay every time you receive a lead through Local Services. And this brings us to the biggest issue…

Local Services Runs on Ads

Google uses the information in Local Services profiles to generate paid ads. When people search for home services, they’ll see sponsored results advertising specific local businesses at the top of the page, above the AdWords results.

Google ranks and displays Local Services ads in order based on the following criteria:

Proximity to potential customers
Number of positive customer reviews
Overall “score” (star rating) on Google
Responsiveness to messages on the platform
Whether they’re currently open or not
Number of complaints about the business

Here’s an example of a local search for “plumber”:

As you can see, Local Services ads are nothing flashy—they merely show your business name, star rating, location, phone number, and hours of operation. However, they dominate the top of the search results page, even overtaking AdWords placement. Needless to say, businesses with Local Services ads are going to get A LOT more leads via Google search. But here’s the kicker…

Favoring Big Companies Over Small Businesses

Now, between Local Services AND AdWords, nearly half the search results page is taken up by paid advertisements. This only fuels the common criticism that Google is digging its heels further and further into a pay-to-play model.

In this way, Local Services is just the latest in a long line of grievances that small business can levy against Google. This is yet another example of Google favoring big businesses and screwing over the little guy.

First of all, as we outlined above, Local Services further alienates small businesses with limited budgets by making it virtually impossible to rank unless you fork over a substantial amount of cash. Plus, you have to pay for every lead that comes in through your ad.

But it gets worse…

Tanking Your Website Traffic

Not only does Local Services’s pay-to-play model prevent you from competing with your bigger competitors, but it also directly hurts your website traffic because your site is not as visible in search results. As a result of lower traffic, your SEO authority takes a hit. Moreover, you’ll look at your low visitor numbers and assume something is wrong with your site, even though your site has nothing to do with the problem.

We’ve already seen this happen with many website owners. They notice their website traffic and incoming calls have plummeted—and immediately blame their SEO provider. In reality, these low numbers are merely an unfortunate symptom of Local Services gaining prominence and siphoning off potential local customers. However, the website owner doesn’t realize this, and they get angry and fire their SEO provider.

These feelings of anger, fear, and frustration are a completely valid response to what’s happening here. But quitting your current SEO program will only lead to catastrophe. If you stop SEO, you’ll have to start over with nothing, now facing even stronger headwinds than you did before.

Your Solution: Adapt and Act!

If you’re not angry right now, check your pulse. Google has a long history of pushing this pay-to-play model, which naturally favors big companies and stacks the deck against small businesses. This isn’t anything new, per se. It always feels like Google ignores any harm done to small businesses, as long as it keeps raking in cash.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the power to tackle this Goliath head on. What we can do, however, is find ways to work around it and minimize the damage. Thankfully, the local search landscape is changing, and Google isn’t the be-all and end-all that it used to be. There are many other platforms that, when leveraged to their maximum potential, can be extremely effective at generating leads. You just have to get creative.

Here are some strategies you should consider incorporating into your marketing plan:

Facebook Ads: Target ads to put yourself right in front of local customers on Facebook. This has proven to be a very powerful tool for many of the local business owners we work with.
Word of mouth: Ask your existing customers to spread the word about you. Have them leave reviews on Facebook, Google, and any other directories you use.
Branding & reputation management: Be more intentional in how you present your company. By carefully planning your brand (e.g. logo, slogan, uniforms, signage, etc.), you’ll generate more familiarity and recognition among your local community.
PPC: Yes, we did just spend the better part of an entire blog post complaining about Google’s pay-to-play model. However, complaining doesn’t change the fact that Google is the prevailing destination for local search. You can still avoid the pains and costs of Local Services, though, by opting for an intelligently planned AdWords campaign, instead. When your campaign is designed and monitored by a savvy marketing specialist, you’ll be able to keep click costs affordable and adhere to a modest budget.
SEO: Do the opposite of quitting your SEO campaign—invest in SEO even more! Let’s put it this way: If the local search pie has gotten smaller, you need to at least make sure your share of the pie doesn’t shrink any further.
Community apps: There are free mobile apps like Houzz and Nextdoor where you can promote yourself to local customers who need your services. These apps will help local homeowners find your business based on what kind of home improvement project they’re undertaking.

So, the bottom line: Even though Google has made the playing field even less fair, you still aren’t powerless. Use that anger you’re feeling and funnel it into other channels. As we said above, social media platforms like Facebook are super-effective alternatives. And don’t be afraid to go offline, either: There’s plenty of real-world marketing you can do in your local community through good ol’ fashioned word of mouth and networking.

Any questions? Give us a call or fill out the contact form to chat with one of our specialists!

Top 3 Online Marketing Changes You Need to Know in 2018

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

New year, new internet?
Well, the internet’s changes may not be quite that dramatic. However, as we always say at the beginning of a new year, it’s smart to look ahead and see what you need to watch out for. The surest way to succeed is to prepare, after all.
From far-reaching Google updates to online behavioral trends, 2018 will see some major shifts that business owners will want to be aware of. While Prospect Genius doesn’t have a crystal ball and can’t make any guarantees, we’re pretty confident in our predictions for online marketing changes you can expect in the coming months.
So, ready to dive in? Read on for our list of the top three online marketing changes coming in 2018!

1. Google Launches Its Own Lead Generator for Local Services

Google has launched its own version of pay-per-lead directories like HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, and Angie’s List. It’s called Local Services.
When a service provider signs up for Local Services, their listing is displayed at the top of search results pages. A user clicks on the service provider’s name, and they see a profile page complete with contact details, customer reviews, and other pertinent details. Then, when a user decides to call or message the service provider, the service provider is charged for the lead. If you’ve ever used a platform like Thumbtack or HomeAdvisor, then you can probably visualize how Local Services works.
But how do budgeting and ranking work on Local Services? According to Ginny Marvin’s article on Search Engine Land:

Advertisers set a weekly budget determined by the number of leads they want to receive. Google won’t say specifically what factors go into the rankings in the ad unit, but [Product Director for Small and Medium Business Ads Kim Spalding] said there’s a focus on quality (ratings and reviews), the ability to connect right away, location and a number of other factors.

Currently, there are 17 confirmed cities with access to Local Services. Google announced plans to expand that number to 30 by 2018. The current 17 cities are:

Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Los Angeles
Miami
New York
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Riverside, CA
Sacramento
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose
Seattle
Washington, D.C.

And the service categories that have access to Local Services right now are:

Locksmiths
Plumbers
Electricians
HVAC
Garage door services
Handyman services
House cleaning services

Why you need to know about Local Services:

If you’re in any one of these service categories, your competitors might take advantage of Local Services and get more visibility on Google’s search results pages. Moreover, pay-per-lead services like Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor are about to take a huge hit as Local Services siphons off their user bases. Therefore, if you rely heavily on one of these services for the majority of your leads, you’ll need to diversify your marketing approach. Focusing on Facebook and SEO will be crucial.

2. Google’s Mobile-First Index Means Mobile Optimization Is a MUST

True, we’ve been saying “mobile optimization is a must” for years now. However, that’s because it’s been true for years, and the urgency just got a lot more real.
You see, Google has been slowly working on what it calls a “mobile-first index,” wherein Google ranks webpages based on the mobile version of their content, even when searches are performed on desktops. As Barry Schwartz, a renowned web consultant, explains, this is due to the majority of searches happening on mobile devices these days:

As more and more searches happen on mobile, Google wants its index and results to represent the majority of their users — who are mobile searchers.

Furthermore, Google won’t add pages to the index until its mobile and desktop versions are a 100% match in terms of content, links, schema, etc.

Why you need to know about Google’s mobile-first index:

This all means you not only need a mobile version of your website, but you need one that doesn’t lose any of your site’s content or usability. While the roll-out of the mobile-first index is expected to go “very slowly,” you’re better off optimizing your mobile site sooner than later. After all, Google is known to implement sweeping updates seemingly overnight, so Google’s idea of “very slowly” could mean anything. Your best bet is to make your mobile site a major focal point in 2018.

3. Live Chat and IM Will Be Everywhere (Thanks to Millennials)

You might have already noticed platforms like Facebook and Google My Business placing a larger emphasis on instant messaging. For example, Facebook’s business pages allow “Send Message” as a call-to-action option. In fact, it will even add a badge to your page if you have a fast response rate to messages. You can expect instant messaging and live chats to gain even more prominence in the coming year.
Why? Because this is how millennials prefer to communicate, and millennials are gaining more and more purchasing power. You may still think of millennials as a bunch of young, broke college kids, but the truth is, the oldest of them are actually in their early 30s now. This means they’re established in their careers and starting to own homes.
As they gain more influence as consumers, businesses must adapt to their preferred methods of communication. And, considering they grew up with the immediacy and convenience of email, AOL Instant Messenger, and texting, these are the types of communication methods they prefer.

RELATED: “Why You Must Market to Millennials (And How to Do It)”

Why you need to know about live chat and instant messaging:

Millennials are currently the largest living generation. You can’t neglect or ignore them. Therefore, make it a priority this year to reassess the media you’re using for communication. Have some sort of instant alternative to the phone available for convenience. Whether it’s an active Facebook page that you use for direct messaging or a live chat plug-in on your own website, it will greatly improve your appeal to millennials. Plus—let’s be frank here—millennials aren’t the only ones who appreciate convenience!
Interested in adding a live chat tool on your website? Let us know! Lots of small business owners and service providers enjoy how easy these tools are to use. Prospect Genius can install and implement a live chat plug-in on your site for only a small setup fee (with zero charges after setup).
Our clients may also like to know we’re currently developing texting capabilities via CallTrax™ lines. Stay tuned!
So, be on the lookout for these major online marketing changes coming your way in 2018! If you have any questions or concerns whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Happy New Year!

3 Errors New Businesses ALWAYS Make (And How to Fix Them)

Last Updated: November 16, 2017

For new businesses, there’s a lot to do when you first set out on your venture. Unfortunately, there’s no book or step-by-step guide that tells you everything you need. Sure, there are countless articles and e-books about the fundamentals, but the nitty-gritty stuff you have to do for your web presence often remains a guessing game.
That’s why it’s so easy for new businesses to make mistakes when putting your company out there on the web. You’re bound to hit some stumbling blocks as you go. However, Prospect Genius wants to help you correct those mistakes so you can keep forging ahead.
In this blog post, you’ll discover three of the most common, yet easily fixable, errors we see new businesses make. Are you guilty of any of these? Let’s find out!

1. Using Your Personal Cell Number as Your Company’s Primary Phone Number

When first starting out, many small business owners, particularly local service providers, use their cell phones as their main business phones. This seems logical when you first think about it. After all, you always have your cell phone with you, and it’s the easiest way to answer calls when you’re on the go.
However, as you continue on your journey as a business owner, you’ll come to realize how important it is to have well-defined boundaries between your company and personal life. Unfortunately (and, perhaps, inconveniently), using your personal cell phone as your business phone blurs these boundaries quite a bit. For example, you feel pressured to answer your phone when you’re out with your family because a customer might be calling.
Also, to be a little more frank, it creates a nuisance. Do you really want your personal cell phone ringing at all hours of the day and night? The answer is probably no—especially when you consider that a lot of those phone calls are spam.
You see, when you use your personal number as your business number, it will appear everywhere your business does. This means your personal phone number is all over the internet (on your website, Google, Facebook, Yelp, Bing, and dozens of other platforms). This also means the National Do Not Call Registry no longer applies to you. As a result, you’ll be getting solicitor calls nonstop.
Importantly, using your personal cell phone for business also prevents you from hiring a receptionist or answering service to assist you with incoming calls.

How to Fix It

As we see it, you have a couple of options. You can:

Go to your preferred wireless retailer and get a new cell phone dedicated exclusively to your business.
Add a separate, company landline for your home office (if you have one).
Get a metered, VoIP line (like our CallTrax service or something similar). This kind of phone line enables you to track all of your incoming leads, and it also comes with spam-blocking technology to limit how many telemarketers get through to you. Best of all, you can forward this line to any number you like at any time. This means you can forward calls to your personal phone, go on vacation, scale up your business, add more phones to the line, and so on.

2. Setting Up Facebook Incorrectly

If you’re not already an avid Facebook user, the platform can be confusing. Often, we see novice Facebook users accidentally put their business name on a personal Facebook profile, instead of creating an official business page. In doing so, it’s as if their account is for a person named “Mike’s Plumbing” (for example) rather than a verifiable business.
Why is this a big deal? It matters because Facebook treats personal accounts and business pages very, very differently. So, if your company is limited to a personal account on Facebook, it won’t have the same capabilities that most other businesses have. For instance:

Personal profiles don’t give you insights into your page’s performance, such as audience engagement with your posts and visits to your page.
Personal profiles don’t include important business information. People won’t be able to see vital details like your industry/category, phone number, street address, “About Us” description, products/services, and customer reviews.
Personal profiles don’t allow customers to leave reviews of your business. Without customer reviews, your business won’t have a star rating or any way to demonstrate value. People like to read reviews before choosing a business for their needs.
Personal profiles can only have up to 5,000 “friends.” If you want to grow beyond that, you need a business page.
Personal profiles can’t advertise with Facebook Ads. Therefore, your reach will be limited and you won’t be able to boost any of your posts, promos, or coupons.

Above all, having a personal profile for your business looks highly unprofessional. It instantly tells people you don’t know what you’re doing on social media. This doesn’t exactly instill confidence in your other skills.

How to Fix It

Thankfully, this mistake is easy to fix. There’s no need to delete the personal profile you accidentally created. Instead, you can follow the steps outlined here in Facebook’s Help Center: “How do I convert my personal account to a Facebook Page?”
If you’re confused by Facebook’s guide, you can always ask your marketing team for help. Prospect Genius offers assistance with this, as well.

3. Having an Unprofessional Email Address for Your Business

Are you using the same AOL address you’ve had since the early 2000s for your business? We hate to break it to you, but you need a new business email ASAP.
Your company’s primary email address must look professional. This is for two reasons:

Prospective customers want to know you’re a legitimate operation. So, if you list a wacky, personal email address under your company’s contact details, you might lose some business. Generally speaking, most people would rather do business with “mike@mikesplumbing.com” than “sk8rd00d99@aol.com.”
Dealing with Google is much easier when you have an email address on a corporate domain (like “mikesplumbing.com”). Whether you’re claiming a listing or assigning a new manager to your listing, the whole process is streamlined when you can email your authorization from a corporate domain (because Google sees this as a verification of your identity).

We understand the desire to simplify your life and only have one inbox to check, but having a separate, professional email address for your business is an absolute must.

How to Fix It

You have a few options here:

If you have your own website and domain, the process for setting up an email address on your domain is relatively easy. This is the ideal move because you’ll appear super professional and official. At the same time, it will make all your dealings with Google much easier in the future.
If you have your own website but can’t figure out how to set up your address, your advertiser should be able to do it for you. (For example, Prospect Genius offers this service for a small fee.)
Don’t have your own web domain? You can sign up for a Gmail address, instead. It’s 100% free, and the whole process is fairly simple.
For any of the above solutions, you can set your new business address to forward all emails to your personal inbox. This way, you don’t have to check two separate accounts, which makes life a lot easier.

Don’t Be Discouraged

For new businesses, getting yourself online for the first time without a single error would be unheard of. The opportunities for mistakes are endless. So, please, don’t feel discouraged if you’ve made any of these missteps. All that matters is you fix your mistake in a timely manner, learn your lesson, and keep moving forward. And if you ever feel lost or confused, reach out for help! Prospect Genius is here to answer any questions or concerns you might have.
Now get to work!

Why You Must Market to Millennials (and How to Do It)

Last Updated: October 19, 2017

Another day, another article about millennials, right? We get it. You’re sick of hearing about them. However, we ask you to bear with us this time—because this is directly related to your small business’s marketing efforts.
Millennials are the largest living generation today. According to the 2015 U.S. Census, our country has more than 83 million millennials right now, compared to 75.4 million baby boomers. That’s a lot of purchasing power! And thanks to rapid changes in technology, we’re seeing a sharp difference in the way they prefer doing business.
This means you’re going to have to adapt to millennial preferences soon, if you haven’t already. They’re becoming the next generation of homeowners, and therefore your target customers for things like electrical work, plumbing, home remodeling, appliance repair, and the like. So, if you’re a local service provider specializing in any of these services, you have no choice but to get on board with how millennials operate. That’s just reality.
Obviously, this begs the question: How, exactly, do millennials operate? And what will you need to change in order to accommodate them?
Keep reading to find out!

How Millennials Approach Local Businesses

A recent Goldman Sachs report calls millennials “the first digital natives.” That’s a fitting description, to say the least. Millennials spend a lot of their time online. Like, a lot. Here’s what you need to know about their digital habits and how they deal with businesses online:

They browse the web on their smartphones and tablets daily. Consumer Barometer (a Google partner) reports that 75% of millennials go online via smartphone at least as much as via computer. Moreover, roughly 33% access the internet on smartphones more often than on computers.
They Google *everything*: 55% of millennials use search engines to research products they’re interested in buying. More than 40% do this research on a smartphone. They demand and expect information on the spot.
Once they’ve heard about a local business, they typically look for its Facebook page to check out reviews, posts, photos, and more details.
They rely on customer reviews and recommendations more than other generations. They use social networks to get advice twice as often as Gen-Xers and baby boomers.
They don’t like making phone calls. In many cases, they’ll go out of their way not to talk to someone on the phone, even if that means working with a different company.
Their preferred methods of communication are text, email, and IM/chat. According to Forbes, 68% of millennials say they text “a lot” throughout the day. Compare this to just 47% of Gen-Xers.

The gist? Millennials love using their phones for everything except talking. Go figure.

How You Can Appeal to Millennials

Taking all of the above into account, you get a strong sense of what appeals to millennials. So, in your own marketing efforts for your local business, apply these three rules:
1.) Look good on their smartphones.
The majority of millennials are glued to their smartphones. They search Google, watch videos, go on social media, and text. If you want to appeal to millennials, your business has to be easily discoverable and accessible on their smartphones. This means having a strong Google Maps listing and an attractive, mobile-optimized website.
2.) Meet them on social media.
Social media is where millennials are spending their time. It’s how they connect and interact with the world. They rely on social media for recommendations, advice, and general information. If you don’t have an active page that millennials can check out, you’ll miss out on tons of business.
3.) Think beyond phone calls.
This one is huge in terms of closing jobs. Even if you have an attractive mobile site and engaging Facebook page, you could lose a millennial’s business simply by not having an email form or messaging option. You must provide a way to contact you that doesn’t require a phone call.
And if you DO have an email form set up, make sure it actually works! We can’t tell you how many businesses have an email address on their website and just never check their inbox. It’s as if all their prospective jobs jump straight into a black hole. Along those same lines, if you do have a Facebook page with Messenger enabled, make sure you’re receiving notifications so you don’t miss any messages.
Pro tip: Always respond in kind. In other words, if someone messages or texts you, use that same mode of communication when you reply. Do not return a text with a phone call, unless the customer specifies otherwise.

Resistance Is Futile

There’s nothing easy about upending the way you’ve done things for years. However, if you want your local business to continue to grow, rather than shrink, you must adapt to the youngest generation with the strongest purchasing power. That means you have to make it easier for millennials to find your business, learn about your services and reviews, and contact you—all from the smartphone in the palm of their hand.
By following our recommendations in this post, you’ll be well equipped to meet the expectations of millennials and turn them into your newest customers. Good luck!

Could You Be Targeted Next by Google's Aggressive New Filter?

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Raise your hand if you wish Google would stop making secret updates already! Just when you think you’ve mastered local search, Google launches a change that turns everything on its head. This time, it’s the Hawk update.
This latest update has serious, wide-reaching consequences for small, local businesses like yours. It’s crucial you understand the impact this update could have on your business. That way you can take steps to protect yourself. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know.

First, a Quick Summary of Google’s Hawk Update

At the end of August 2017, local SEO expert Joy Hawkins detected a change in Google’s local search filter. She noticed that Google’s search results had stopped showing certain businesses that used to rank locally. As it turns out, Google was bumping select businesses if they shared a similar category and street address with another business that had a higher ranking.
To be fair, Hawkins notes that this is an improvement on the update immediately preceding it. The previous update (known as “Possum”) applied to any businesses that were even *near* each other. So, if two plumbers were located on the same block, one of them would be filtered out of the results. Thankfully, the Hawk update seems to have rectified that.
Now, the local search algorithm narrows its focus on businesses that share the same street address and category. The intention, Hawkins explains, is “to help ensure that multiple listings for the same company don’t monopolize the search results.” However, it’s having a massively negative effect on many legitimate businesses.

How the Hawk Update Affects You

You might think, “Well, good. That means fewer spammers and impostors.” To an extent, you’d be right. However, lots of local businesses share commercial building space. Moreover, many local service providers (like plumbers, handymen, appliance repairmen, etc.) operate out of their homes and use P.O. boxes and UPS stores for their listings to avoid advertising their home addresses. They’re perfectly legitimate businesses, but their listings are now vulnerable.
In fact, we are seeing Google auto-suspend numerous clients with virtual mailboxes (especially UPS Stores) as soon as we try to verify their listings. This tells us Google is maintaining a database of virtual addresses so it can prevent businesses from using them. Ever since the Hawk update rolled out (and even a little earlier), we haven’t been able to use a UPS Store address for a new client without the listing getting suspended.
If that all sounds too technical, let’s boil it down. Here’s what you need to know: Google’s new update poses a major threat to any business that uses a virtual mailbox. If you use a UPS Store or a similar type of virtual address, Google could bump you from local search results while a competitor remains. According to Hawkins, when there’s more than one business at the same location, “Google picks the most relevant listing of the bunch and filters the rest. It’s very similar to what they do organically with duplicate content.”
But how does Google pick “the most relevant listing”? That, in keeping with Google’s m.o., is a mystery. However, based on past and current trends, we can assume Google makes this distinction the same way it assigns ranking: by looking at a business’s website content, customer reviews, backlinks, and other supporting data.
In short, you may be affected by this latest update if you:

Rent space in a commercial building that also houses similar businesses
Use a mailbox at a nearby UPS store to avoid listing your private residence
Do either of these two things and don’t have an established web presence yet

Needless to say, this applies to a lot of businesses. So, this begs the question: How can you prevent damage to your listing?

How to Protect Your Local Business Listing

There are no guarantees when it comes to Google. However, you can minimize the likelihood of Google filtering you out by making some changes. For example:

Just use your home address. This is the best option because, ultimately, this is what Google wants. It wants every business using a physical street address. All signs point to Google only becoming more aggressive with virtual addresses in the future. Biting the bullet and switching to your home address will cause less trouble in the long run.
If you really don’t want to use your home address, choose another virtual mailbox that’s not a UPS Store. (We can help you choose one.)
Start building your web presence and get more reviews on your listing. Lead Google to view your business as the “most relevant.” This way, it will be less likely to bump you from the search results.

Unfortunately, there’s no quick or easy solution here because every case is so different. Your chances of being filtered out of local search results go up or down depending on your location, industry, and competitors. In other words, the solution can only be determined on a case-by-case basis.
For this reason, our specialists are available to help any business owner who is concerned about the Hawk update. We’ll check out your web presence, analyze your case, and provide you with a sound strategy to minimize damage. Please don’t hesitate to call or email us for help.

Prospect Genius

3 Errors New Businesses ALWAYS Make (And How to Fix Them)

1. Using Your Personal Cell Number as Your Company’s Primary Phone Number

How to Fix It

2. Setting Up Facebook Incorrectly

How to Fix It

3. Having an Unprofessional Email Address for Your Business

How to Fix It

Don’t Be Discouraged

Contact Us

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