Cape Cod SEO at Port & Starward

01/10/2024

https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.seroundtable.com/google-shutting-down-google-business-profiles-websites-1704736864.png?fbclid=IwAR0u2CRbgErJVnD3kkHlTlgtGS_PxlD4e_AZ9uMLusc8hgt5oUxB-Ybrupw

Attention business owners, this is an important announcement!

If you have been using the "free" website provided within your Google Business Profile as the website for your business, Google is getting rid of those as of March 1, 2024. Any site/link you have for that site will be redirected until June 10, 2024, to your Google My Business listing instead (whereupon that link will no longer work and show as broken/unavailable).

At Port & Starward Digital Marketing, it has always been a primary rule of ours to strongly recommend business owners to OWN the properties they use for SEO wherever possible.

We have been aware for years now (and as we have told others) that this is a temporary and ultimately a waste of time to have one of these sites for your business website.

SO, as a New Year's offer to small business owners: If you are currently using one of these "free" Google My Business websites for your business, now's the time to upgrade to a new site!

And we will offer a SIGNIFICANT discount to the FIRST 10 who reach out to us for your new website! So don't wait, lock in with us NOW by calling us at (508) 681-3050 or email [email protected]

We look forward to helping you get a professionally optimized website for your business before Google pulls the plug on their "free" Google My Business website platform. First come, first served...these will go FAST!

12/25/2023

We here at Port and Starward Digital Marketing want to wish you all the merriest of Christmases and happiest of holidays!

11/22/2023

From all of us at Port & Starward Digital Marketing, we want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving with family and friends!

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas to all, from all of us at Port & Starward! May your day be spent with loved ones in celebration!

11/25/2021

We at Port & Starward Digital Marketing would like to wish you all and to your family and friends the happiest of Thanksgiving this year!

03/28/2021

Great news for businesses! Google just released a new tool to help report fake review violators and keep track of their progress:

Previously, there was no real way to see the status of reviews you submitted for a takedown in an organized fashion

03/08/2021

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/google-puts-lid-on-cookie-jar-and-ends-an-internet-era-commentary/

Google said that it's done tracking us as we skate around the web, but that doesn't mean the company won't continue scooping up info it collects directly from users when they visit sites and services it controls, columnist Timothy L....

02/04/2021

Business Owners Beware!!! Someone may try (or is currently trying) to steal your Google My Business listing. This is not fear-mongering...this is really happening, and here's how to prevent it:

This week, several of our clients received email notifications from Google that 'someone' had requested ownership of their Google My Business (GMB) listing.

If you don't respond to this email within 7 days, you run the risk of losing access to your GMB and it will be a serious hassle to get it back.

For many businesses that rely on Google for free search traffic in their area, this could be a major loss!

So, here's what you need to do:

1. Monitor the Gmail or G-Suite account that's tied to your GMB listing. You can also search your email for any emails coming from: [email protected]

2. If you receive a similar message, click the 'Review Request' button in your email.

3. Select 'Reject request' on the page that you're taken to and leave a note such as "this person is not affiliated with our company" and then click the 'Reject' button.

This is everything that you can do to prevent the theft of your GMB listing and to protect your business's #1 free digital marketing asset.

If you have any questions please reach out to us at Port & Starward Digital Marketing and we'll do our best to help. Also, if you have any business contacts that would benefit from this information make sure to pass it along and spread the word!

12/14/2020

Be advised that although it is coming back up slowly, a worldwide outage hit Google and its services this morning.

Per Downdetector, the Google outage affected YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, and more, and began at roughly 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

06/09/2020

ATTENTION ALL RESTAURANTS: Google has now fully enabled the "Dine-in" attribute in both Google Maps and Google My Business.

Which means if you're now able to offer dine-in (even outdoors), be sure to update this ASAP:

1. Go to the info section on your listing

2. Click the pencil next to Accessibility

3. Scroll down to service options

4. Choose "Dine-in"

5. Click until it turns blue

Updates may take anywhere from several minutes to several hours to implement.

This is a great time to check your Google Maps/Google My Business overall...some restaurants that are now back in business in Massachusetts with both takeout and outdoor dining are still listed as Temporarily Closed!

Please fix those ASAP (let us at Port & Starward Digital Marketing know if you need help with those) and share with anyone that owns and operates a restaurant!

04/07/2020

Be aware that there are new features available from Google My Business for coronavirus (COVID-19)! Google just added new functionality which is critical for your business to have so that your clients, customers, patients etc., are aware of any changes or special situations with your business due to the pandemic.

For example, you can let customers know that you will be temporarily closed. Or you can let clients know that you are still open but not physically in the office. Or for restaurants, you can let customers know that you are still open for takeout and they can order online with a link to your menu with an order online button.

Please make sure to share this so that other business owners know about this as well! If you need any assistance feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] or through our website at https://portandstarward.com!

Rob Cushing, Founder