Unicode used for Business Name

[AndySimpson]

A colleague spotted this yesterday while looking for a haircut in Florida

Note the three locations that all support the Unicode font.
1. search field
2. Business Name on the map
3. Business name in the main description

Nathan has also used this idea for his Instagram profile name:

I wonder if he did this first and thought "I wonder if this with work else where?"

He's definitely not trying to spam, he's just a creative business owner.

However the sad news is this is going to make listings look 🅣🅔🅡🅡🅘🅑🅛🅔 as users try and get "creative"

Unicode Text Converter

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Thanks for sharing Andy!

I think Joy made a good point about it in this tweet

 

[AndySimpson]

Thanks for sharing Andy!

I think Joy made a good point about it in this tweet

Yes...my intitial thoughts

Unless Unicode is recognized as a "normal" character? In the example the barbershop was recognized okay by Google... which means no negative effect when using, unlike emojis

 

[JoyHawkins]

@AndySimpson is right - I was thinking about emojis. I know @YanGilbert did a test here on how emojis impact ranking and they are like their own alphabet so they would cause you to rank higher if the searcher included an emoji (which I can't imagine anyone is going to do).

It looks like Google might be able to actually understand unicode. I found this thread that claims "all search engines understand unicode".

Would be a good thing to test. I'll add it to my list.

 

[JoyHawkins]

 

[AndySimpson]

Would be a good thing to test. I'll add it to my list.

The perfect way to end 2018...more GMB testing!

 

[BenFisher]

Added a Unicode to my profile description and got a soft suspension.

 

[AndySimpson]

Added a Unicode to my profile description and got a soft suspension.

Ouch!

 

[BenFisher]

Well, it was on a test listing, so no big sting lol.

 

[AndySimpson]

Don't use Unicode for Google Posts!

Testing, testing, testing

 

[AndySimpson]

Actually more testing required....Unicode worked for 1 client (I was more subtle with the code I used) BUT the emojis are no longer displaying in posts!

Can anyone else see emojis when used in Posts?

 

[brettmandoes]

Can confirm unicode is read by search engines. We had a minor issue with Google changing special characters like ampersand into unicode formatting in title tags and meta descriptions a couple years ago. Fun with custom CMS built on .NET framework.

 

[AndySimpson]

Ooops, sorry Nathan!

Perhaps edited by one of those dam local guides?

 

[djbaxter]

Google has removed the unicode in Nathan's Tonsorial Parlor:

Google Drops Unicode Support In Local Panel

now it is gone - it no longer shows up as unicode. I guess Google didn't like it.

 

[AndySimpson]

Unicode seems to be working well for Sterling Sky...dam there's a lot of GMB spam listings for "SEO Toronto"!

 

[Yan Gilbert]

I put some fancy stuff on my listing as well for a few days and had no ill effects. Took it down because I have a someone hitting my listing with constant edits and didn't ant to get caught playing around.

I'm just north of Toronto and I occasionally report some fake SEO listings, but it needs a good clean up. If I were hurting for clients I might be more inclined to focus on it. Everyone is waiting for everyone else to do it I guess. haha