We hope you all are staying safe during these trying times. Our local SEO program works hard to ensure that your sites are well-maintained and, even with limited services or operating hours, that your customers and clients are able to find you online.
You may have noticed that your WordPress site has been updated to a newer version and that some bugs and security features have ben addressed. All WordPress sites under our management have been updated to WordPress 5.4.1 (security release). This particular version 5.4.1 addressed some security issues and fixed 11 bugs.
Other updates include an update allowing users to use "dark mode," popular for those who experience eye strain when browsing the web. Additional privacy updates keep your customers' data secure, as well. Overall, the updates will reduce security risks for all of you who currently have a WordPress business site. The user experience should be smoother, as well, with many plug-ins updated to load faster.
The best local SEO sites run with few user issues and are trusted by your clients to be secure.
We talked last month about the Google Local "three-pack," a feature that's part of the Google My Busines initiative from Google to highlight local businesses. Now, users are discovering a small icon for "top-rated" Google businesses. It looks like a blue star inside a square text bubble, and some of you may start seeing it soon beside your own business. It's not a paid ad through Google but rather indicates that users found the business highly rated in different categories.
Earning the star icon is based on the overall number of reviews that a business gets, which may vary by location and type of business. If you have 1,000 reviews and average 4.5 stars, you may see this icon, but a business with just 100 reviews, even with a 4.51 or higher average star rating, may not achieve the icon yet. Essentially, we'll all keep working to get more reviews for your business!
Speaking of things that we've mentioned the last couple of months, Google Reviews and Google Review Replies are both slowly reopening. The rate of Google reviews and replies posted is a slower rate than before the start of the pandemic, but new reviews and replies are allowed. Plus, some reviews that weren't published in the last few months may slowly trickle in. We still haven't heard about any updates from Yelp!, however, but we'll be sure to keep you posted.
Our commitment to you is to analyze these reviews and take into account the performance of your site and reputation management based on the new information. We're excited to see even a little more movement, and hoping to see great review responses from clients who have had positive interactions with you all during the pandemic.
Google is currently focusing on the accuracy of Google Maps and business availability. Obviously, some businesses have closed, and the company is focusing on giving users the most timely and updated information possible. Currently, review replies, user reviews, user photos, and Q&A are now available in all countries. However, other services are still unavailable, including reviews, photos, and Q&A for businesses in a narrow set of medical categories, such as hospitals and doctors' offices. These services include video uploads, Q&A via API, and the ability to claim new short names. See here for more information.
Some of you may notice other changes to the way Google displays search returns. The latest testing of Google SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) features results displayed in individual boxes. Some users may see them on their desktops, while mobile users aren't reporting seeing results displayed this way.
The boxes, whether they are plain boxes or have rounded corners and shading, don't seem to indicate anything stand-out about particular results. It may mean that Google is simply changing the way that results are displayed. We're keeping an eye on the discussion and press releases from Google about this, and will let you know if we find updates. However, right now it doesn't mean that your site is ranking any better or worse than usual.
Finally, we want to highlight one of our clients Karen Ha at imustaffing.com There is nothing more satisfying than building a brand new site and having it not only rank #1 quickly but also dominate the SERP. The 3rd result is IMU Staffing so she OWNS this!
A little more about Karen and IMU Staffing. They are a niche agency, focusing on medical staffing services, linking qualified job applicants with the right health care companies, including thorough vetting, pre-employment testing, and ongoing follow-up for client satisfaction. The website recently underwent a complete overhaul of layout and verbiage, helping both employers and job seekers quickly find the information they need. The site is rich with the right SEO and long-tail keywords, which has helped it quickly climb higher in search engine returns.
Way to go Karen!
To learn more about our local SEO program for your business go here → https://foamers.net/hire-us/
