Sayonara May, Hola June! Here’s a quick roundup of what you might have missed this week, in case you’ve been stuck in Memorial-Day-beach-mode.
Say Hello to Google+ Local
Google is shelving Google Places in exchange for new Google+ Local pages. The new Google+ Local pages are integrated with Zagat reviews (now that Zagat acquisition finally makes sense), and will allow businesses to connect better with customers. SEL has a great comprehensive guide about what to expect when you’re expecting Google+ Local.
Haters Gonna HateImage may be NSFW.
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In lieu of the new Google+ Local business pages, Socialnomics published a great blog post about how to deal with negative reviews. Here’s a hint: Don’t flip out! I will say though, I’ve seen some businesses use those “People Hate Us On Yelp” stickers and pull it off with a we-don’t-give-a-flying-monkey attitude. That won’t work for everyone though.
Facebook Says No to GM’s Request for Page Takeovers
At the risk of beating a dead horse with the Facebook/GM news, AdAge reported this week that, shortly before GM pulled their Facebook advertising dollars, Facebook refused to allow GM page takeovers; another puzzle piece enters the mix!
New FB Advertising: Promoted Posts
Facebook, no doubt responding to worldwide criticism of their adverting setup (partly our fault), released a new advertising option called “Promoted Posts.” It is what it sounds like—you pay some extra green stuff to promote one of your posts so that it reaches the news feed of more Facebook users than usual. Nothing revolutionary, but it’ll be interested to see the effects of this. It certainly shows that Facebook is willing to re-think their advertising position.
Image may be NSFW.
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Google Embracing Paid Inclusion? Say It Ain’t So!
Despite condemning the practice paid inclusion in the past, Google is tinkering with the Dark Side as it begins implementing paid inclusion in its Google Shopping service. Paid Inclusion is when advertisers pay to be included in search results, although paying does not guarantee you’ll necessarily rank better for certain terms. Danny Sullivan of SEL explains Google’s transition from Google Product Search to Google Shopping, and how paid inclusion will affect advertisers.
Did we miss anything exciting you want to add? Comment below and let us know!
And what do you think of Facebook’s promoted posts? Will Facebook totally revamp their advertising setup? Should we expect businesses to start paying for Facebook pages? We want to know—what do you think?
And lastly, because this is just plain adorable:
This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.