Recent content by theitsage

This announcement is what happened when the bean counters made the engineers close technical loopholes then had the lawyers write copy. As more game and software developers create AR experience, they heavily tap into the rich yet free resource that is Google Maps API. Google doesn't like very...

Page load speed is one of the many ranking factors. You're overthinking this. When in doubt of what to in terms of improving your website, ask yourself how the changes you're doing help the user experience.

This is an extension to Amazon Local Services. It has been terrible for service providers because the inquiries through this program are generic and low value. Also, you get to deal with people who planned on DIY but were curious if the pros would do it for some extra change. Let's dissect the...

Hidden address and 24/7 Open is a blackhat technique to rank well in Local. I hope Google fixes this soon.

I'm familiar with the area and he got the wrong target. Plymouth is a 20-30 minute drive from Minneapolis. The population is much younger and less well-off than Plymouth. I'd ask him why people in Minneapolis would want to make the drive to his office. In my opinion, Plymouth and the...

I didn't mean to do this for free when you have a client in a vertical with lots of spam. I was making a point about doing this more often every time you see spam regardless if you have a client in that vertical or not. The serps have gotten so ugly with spam in the Local Pack and optimized...

I totally agree with Joy about how out-of-control spam is in the Local pack. SEOs should do more to not only help their clients but also the consumers in general. It's understandable these tasks take time and may not be billable. I can tell you first hand how satisfying it is when you suggest...

These are the few key phrases that I checked (with city modifier): tattoo removal data recovery computer repair ad agency law firm All showed fewer results in maps.

Thank you James! Google has certainly narrowed Local Pack results to a smaller geo area. I ran searches for different keywords in Minneapolis/St Paul and saw very similar changes.

Thank you for your post! Very similar results around my area as well. Local Map Pack is definitely getting more hyperlocal with these results.

Thank you for the post! This news concerns me and I'm sure many long-time Angie's list paid subscribers would understand. A main selling point of Angie's list from a customer perspective was that one could trust the reviews from other paid subscribers. This was a great deterrent to spam and...

I wonder how Angie's List will protect its most valuable asset, integrity and quality of reviews. The selling point for many paid members was the fact that the reviews can be trusted. Are the free accounts limited to read-only and no-write permission?

@valesence great advice!

There are a few competitors in my area who use this same tactic. What would Google do if they find out? They can claim they are SABs and use UPS boxes to receive mail and admin stuff.

Eric and Greg got most of the technical points covered. I would add the human element which is the least discussed yet most penetrable part of the equation. My approach is to start with whom and how the site was built. You'll be surprised by the number of people and companies involved. The...