Hey @Jatinder Garg addressing your comment/question of "I noticed that when we run ads, sometime it shows in the local pack or sometime it shows in the map page only." Any ads that show within the 3-Pack or in maps appear via Location extension in a Search campaign. Unfortunately, other than setting up the Location extension with your campaign assets there is nothing you can do to specifically target 3-pack or maps. It's insanely frustrating because in my experience they drive lots clicks/calls and I would happily increase my bid on those placements if it were an option.

@Caleb Ulku I've been lucky to dodge this bullet thus far, but really thankful for the best practices you shared because I know it's bound to happen soon. When using an alternative account to suggest the edit, do you worry about sharing an ip, network, or location with the primary account? Also, do you notice success of the re-edit (i.e. the one your team makes) being dependent on the location of the person making the suggestion?

I completely agree with you Caleb. EMD's are a relic of the past and don't move the needle like they used to. I do think having location or service in the actual business name (not just domain) can be beneficial, especially for GBPs, but I prefer to build a brand as you suggested. The tactics you recommend in your course (both on-page + off-page) are more than enough to establish local relevance and prominence.

Hey @Arturo Tinoco since you asked about events as a post type, I do think they can be useful brand-building tools. I don't know if this qualifies as "secret sauce" or just regular "public sauce" (haha) but it has worked for me. The reason I like Events is that they can lead to actual engagement, which can be quite challenging to achieve with regular posts. Let's be honest, when was the last time any of us commented or engaged with a GBP post that wasn't directly related to one of our clients? Why do we want to focus on engagement? Google loves people engaging on its platform and rewards creators that boost dwell time and other user metrics. My short SOP: 1) Pitch the client on a website. I'm sure you already have, but keep whispering in their ear. Even a 1-page site is better than no site. The steps below can still be used without a site, but one of the big benefits of this tactic is that you'll gain links in the process, and without a site, we lose that benefit. 2) Create events that blend your niche with the local community. It looks like your client is in the security niche. A potential event could be "5 Simple Ways To Keep Your Family Safe When On Vacation" or "DIY Home Security Hacks". Since we are in an AI-focused community, I'm confident our good friend GPT has loads of great ideas for you! These events can be webinars or in-person events at a local community center or their office. 3) Create a blog post/page on your site for each event. It can share more details and link back to the GBP. **If you don't have the site, you can still do the steps below, but they won't be as beneficial** 4) Promote the event. In each community, there are locally focused blogs, sites, newspapers, social media accounts, etc that are always looking to highlight local events. Reaching out to these folks results in links to your website, social media shares, and actual engagement with your GBP and website. It's super easy to scale and doing 1 of these each month or quarter goes a long way to keeping your brand the most relevant in your area.

@Laureen Czemerda Of course!

@Steve Mizer I've long been an advocate of your suggestion and have done it myself many times, but I'm always sure my clients are aware that it isn't without risk, especially in high competition niches. One of the first audits I do for my clients is to identify all of their competitors that are abusing GBP polices, particularly location abuse. I know that many other SEOs do the same thing and have abuse reporting built into their SOPs. In the home service niches that I typically work with, this list is often substantial because very few service businesses actually have locations that meet the specific guidelines that qualifies them to show their address (most are just places with trucks/equipment and no places for clients to conduct business). Whether we report the businesses is up to the client. In some cases they are friends with their competitors and would rather not open up that can of worms. I'll also note that even when reports are submitted, the success rate from Google actually taking action is hit or miss, but when it hits it can be a massive win for our clients. I know of law firms that pay for full time receptionists and office spaces big enough to house a "client conference room" just so that they can pass strict video profile reviews at any time. They do this because their competition will have their staff physically go to each location and file reports at the first hint of abuse and include video evidence of their findings.