Google has reportedly fixed the Google Maps pin attack exploit that has been lingering on with Google for several months. The exploit allowed one to move business locations to another location, making them disappear in the rankings and local pack for relevant searches.
Google now lets you add to your restaurant’s menu within Google Business Profiles. Previously, I believe you were only able to replace your previous menus, but now you can add to them by uploading the new menus.
Google seems to be testing a new local search feature that is categorized as “Places people are talking about.” It shows you local restaurants with social media information, like posts from Instagram and Facebook, in a carousel format.
Google Search is testing showing a “nearby stores” section that has an embedded map with a “more options” button that leads to a local pack. This is instead of showing the local pack immediately, instead you need to click on the “more options” button to have Google load the local pack.
Google has officially rolled out AI organized results for restaurants related queries. We’ve launched a new way to get dining recs on Search.
Google seems to be testing adding buttons/links to nearby hotels and restaurants directly at the top of a Google Business Profile listing. This may be related to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules in European regions or it might just be some sort of other test.
There are a number of reports of Google Business Profile listings in Google Maps coming up broken. Google seems to be showing half of the listing, with flickering maps portions, missing business names, blue maps and more issues.
The folks over at GMBapi have put together a large study on the topic of how and why Google removes reviews from Google Business Profiles. It looked at nearly 5 million reviews across 78 countries and over 19,000 locations.
Google is sending out emails asking business owners to add their social profiles to their Google Business Profiles. The email says, “Link your social profiles so customers can see your posts from Instagram, X, Facebook, and more when they search for your business.”
Several weeks ago, Google announced it would test changes to the search results for hotels in order to see how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe would impact hotels. Well, that test is wrapped and the results were not good for hotels, says Google.