Both reviews and Google business profile images are now moderated via AI, for better or for worse.
In 2022, some interesting new features appeared for local SEO, marked by the end of Google My Business, now Google Business Profile, or the arrival of “Live View”, which allows your smartphone to report precise things thanks to augmented reality .
Some of these changes can improve your visibility in the SERP. Which is quite something, for example for companies with a physical store. For the record, research from Brightlocal shows that in 2020, 93% of consumers searched online for a local business. About one-third of the respondents did this survey daily and more than two-thirds weekly. Here are three ways to take advantage of these new features…or not be bothered by them.
How do I still get reviews despite Google’s new review filter?
In recent months, Google has been filtering reviews through its AI. This includes reviews that violate the rules, as well as some legitimate reviews. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in reviews not appearing on a profile, reviews removed, and entire categories of businesses no longer eligible to receive reviews,” SEO consultant Mike Blumenthal told Near Media. This can be detrimental to your business, as 87% of consumers read reviews, according to a recent Brightlocal survey.
How to explain this? Mike Blumenthal thinks it’s hard to pinpoint the cause of reviews being removed. For him, the AI does indeed use learning data that Google fed in via spammy advice. This creates an internal logic on the models of these opinions that is difficult to understand. However, Mike Blumenthal notes that as with all AI, there are “false positives” i.e. Google can make mistakes, which he says can be as high as 30%.
Many companies feel powerless because of this, especially in the United States, where the legislation around fake reviews is less draconian than in France. Especially since the lack of help from Google is palpable. According to a study by Mike Blumenthal, review removal would be influenced by factors such as the category of the business, real estate, and the legal industry being more affected than others; or on the date of creation of the company’s incorporation file, the most recent being those most penalized by the AI.
What must we do ? If reviews that are considered legitimate have been removed, Jamey Lee, CMO and co-founder of LocalRanker, advises contacting Google, providing screenshots of the affected reviews, and attempting to demonstrate their legitimacy.
Mike Blumenthal suggests approaching Google with caution. He says it might make sense for companies with few ratings to try to recover them here. He also advises making a copy of your reviews to return to Google in case of deletion deemed incorrect. To make the US search engine less important, he also recommends using a tool like GatherUp, which can ask users to leave reviews on sites other than Google.
How to submit images not filtered by Google?
According to Mike Blumenthal, the American search engine is increasingly using images and videos in local search results. “Google has doubled the inclusion of images in search results. In fact, 36% of mobile search results are images, up from 0% just four years ago. Google now shows images that match the searcher’s intent.
To avoid having to filter through the AI due to images that do not meet Google’s standards, various actions can be taken. To understand the image’s content, “the photo’s Alt attribute is no longer enough for Google,” Jamey Lee exclaims. “Now it knows how to recognize photos. Just look at Google’s photo API to see that.”
In order not to fall into the trap of Google’s filter, Mike Blumenthal explains: “It has become essential for companies to regularly upload images that reflect the products and services they offer. And before doing so, to check or Google the content of the image properly.”
The watchword to overcome the obstacle of the filter therefore seems relevant, both in terms of content and form. “We also ask our customers not to post a photo from an image bank,” adds Jamey Lee. “It’s about prioritizing real photos, of good quality. Also avoid screenshots, GIFs, photoshopped images, blurry images, or images with text on them. There should also be consistency between photos on the business listing and on the site. For photos of for example, a burger restaurant should appear on the listing and on the site.”
How can you take advantage of Google Maps’ Live View feature?
Thanks to augmented reality, the Live View function of Google Maps makes it possible to display items in a close environment while you walk around with your smartphone. For example, the user can display the opening hours and the degree of prosperity of the place. Note that this feature has been rolled out to London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Paris, and Tokyo since last November.
While live view is pretty limited at the moment and doesn’t necessarily play a huge role in terms of SEO, trying to take advantage of it isn’t off limits. “For that, the most important thing is to make sure his location marker directs people to the right place to enter his business,” says Mike Blumenthal. “The company should also verify this information on other mapping services such as Apple, Here and Uber so that customers can find it easily. Indeed, there is no worse customer experience than ending up in the bin in the alley behind the store, with no way to get into it. come.”
At the level of the information stated by “Live View” about the company, “if things are well optimized at the level of the founding sheet, the collection of opinions or even photos, there should be no problems.”, Jamey Lee launches .
It remains to be seen whether “Live View” will become a leading navigation tool. “It is currently limited to major metropolitan areas e.gyou requires the user to give Google access to their privacy to use it,” says Mike Blumenthal. “These two issues may limit its adoption in the short term.
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire