Our Hot Take on the 2 New Google Updates
We've got two hot takes on two new Google updates we want to cover this week. One you have likely heard of since it's a core algorithm update (which typically shakes the world), and the second you likely have not.
As you may have heard, Google announced a core algorithm update last week that will crack down on AI-generated content and ban all websites that use AI. Wait... no, that's not right. We actually took the time to read the entire release, not just the headlines, so we will tell you what it really says, unlike pretty much everyone else out there who made assumptions off headlines and then wrote their own incorrect clickbait style articles.
Here's what's really happening! Some people use AI to create hundreds or thousands of near-duplicate pages on their websites, all targeting the same keywords. This website ranking strategy has been around for years, but AI makes it much easier to do at scale. Google is trying to fight websites that are doing this, regardless of whether they're using AI. So as long as you're not a programmatic SEO growth hacker, don't worry. AI-generated content is OK. So, now that we have cleared that up, let's go on to topic number two for this week.
Google may start showing your social media posts from platforms like Instagram on your Google Business Profile to get more content onto Google Maps. This is a clear indication that Google really values SMBs posting content regularly and shows that they wish it happened more, so they are going to start showing your content from other platforms to fill that gap. It's a sign that Google is not pleased with how little business owners post updates directly to their GBPs and that they feel they need to invest in making Google Maps a more lively place full of user-generated content.
This is great news for you since all you need to do is regularly post to your GBP in SEO-optimized ways, and you'll make Google happy, which in turn will likely rank you higher. If you're using ProfilePro you've got this covered. If you're thinking to yourself: "Great, I no longer need to post on my GBP because on I post on FB", not so fast!
Social media posts on Facebook and Instagram are not typically written in a keyword-heavy or SEO-optimized way, which means your authentic Google Business Posts will have a leg up on these ones. Plus, it's likely Google will reward the business owners who are active on Google itself. This has not been rolled out widely yet, so don't be concerned if you don't see it.
Finally, last week, we invited you to join the beta waitlist for our super secret new automated GBP optimization platform but accidentally didn't make the waitlist form public in time. Whoops! Thanks a lot to those of you who let us know! I'm excited to say we now have 750+ Google Business Profiles registered. If you like the sound of automating your Google Business Profile optimization, sign up for our waitlist HERE ASAP since we're giving users access based on the order in which they applied.
ProfilePro tip of the week:
Use ProfilePro to publish a Google Business Post today! You should be doing this weekly.
Wondering how well your Google Business Profile ranks on Google Maps for different keywords? We built a free local ranking audit tool you can use to quickly find out!
Check out our guide on every possible ranking strategy for Google Business Profiles!
Google Updates You Should Know About
Google updates their algos regularly, and we check and then digest them for you. Here are the latest ones local marketers should know about:
You can find details on all algo updates here.