Google 'Pardon', Avoiding GBP Mistakes, Google UI Box

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Will Trump 'Pardon' Google?

Just as Trump will now escape criminal liability, Google appears poised to avoid any "structural" remedies for its anticompetitive search behavior. As you recall, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering seeking a breakup of Google to "prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features ... over rivals or new entrants." It was actually Trump's DOJ that initiated the antitrust case against Google, partly because Google was seen as "unfair." More recently, however, Trump has signaled he won't pursue a Google breakup because that would somehow help China. But Trump's inconsistency and unpredictability is a wild card. Google's Sundar Pichai (and other obsequious tech executives) are doing all they can to curry favor with the President-elect. Pichai knows Trump's favor/disfavor will have very real consequences for Google. This is almost exactly what happened to Microsoft when George W. Bush took power in 2000. Microsoft's earlier antitrust trial resulted in a breakup order. But Bush's DOJ settled with Microsoft and the company dodged a major bullet.

Our take:

• Trump still thinks Google is unfair (to him) and wants to see "something" done to make Google more "fair." But he will steer clear of divestiture.
• Trump's election may also impact its second antitrust suit over its ad-tech. (Red state AGs are also involved in the litigation.)
• The new administration is poised to gut corporate regulation. And Trump will undoubtedly fire Lina Khan (FTC) and Jonathan Kanter (DOJ), who was the architect of the successful antitrust suit against Google.

Top GBP Mistakes to Avoid

There are many mistakes that local businesses, franchises and multi-location brands make with local SEO and managing their Google Business Profiles. Miriam Ellis has cataloged many of them in an excellent new article for Whitespark. She provides a list of 16 common local SEO/GBP mistakes that businesses often make. Here are the Near Media consensus top 5 mistakes to avoid:

• Misunderstanding the Market: you need to understand your customers and competition. You also need to understand Google search radii (plural form of radius), when you'll be seen and when you won't in Google SERPs.
• Poor Biz Location Choice: there are many considerations in choosing a physical address. But being too close to competitors or in the wrong location can impair online visibility.
• Incorrect GBP Categorization: choosing the wrong categories for your GBP will limit your visibility and ranking. GBP primary category is a major local ranking factor.
• Minimal GBP Profile Effort: invest in your Google Business Profile. Many consumers will make buying decisions after only consulting the GBP.
• Neglecting Reviews: everyone reading this already understands that reviews area critical ranking factor and one of the top two buyer decision criteria.

For the full list and discussion check out the article.

Our take:

• Avoiding these mistakes maximizes your local SEO ranking chances.
• In a 2024 SMB survey I conducted, only 43% of 1K US small businesses (including some well over 100 headcount) were managing GBPs.
• Local SEO is also influenced by organic SEO, your brand and consumer engagement (e.g., clicks). Offline marketing and engagement matter too.

Google UI's Limitations

In the latest edition of the Near Memo (episode 182 coming this weekend) we discuss the competitive outlook for ChatGPT/SearchGPT vs. Google. David is very bullish on ChatGPT and so am I. Many people have quickly criticized ChatGPT search results and largely dismissed it as a significant Google competitor. However David rightly makes the point that results will only get better and people should focus on the user experience, which is more engaging, and the interface, which is cleaner and ad-free (though it won't remain that way probably). ChatGPT has massive awareness and growing distribution. Two superior features of ChatGPT are its long context window and conversational UX, which offers quicker and easier refinements than traditional Google. Google Gemini has some of the same features as ChatGPT; Google search doesn't really yet, although it's working toward more conversational interaction. Google's AI Organized Pages don't really do the trick either. Google SERPs are now cluttered with all kinds of modules and features. And Google is also kind of boxed in by the need to drive ad clicks and grow quarterly revenue. So it can't really do anything radical to the SERP.

Our take:

• Facing intensifying pressure from ChatGPT, Google is increasingly shoehorning AI into search results with mixed results.
• David argues Google should start from scratch with Gemini and build a totally new search experience.
• I agree Google needs to develop a very different UX than what it offers today, which is cluttered, often spammy and increasingly inefficient.

Recent Analysis

• Near Memo episode 181: AI in local SEO, Siri finally gets local search, ChatGPT's growing user base.
• Way-Too-Early Thoughts on SearchGPT for Local, by David Mihm.

Short Takes

• How local SEO differs for SABs vs. brick and mortar.
• Nextdoor Q3 active users and revenue numbers improve.
• Perplexity raised its profile on election night.
• AI Overviews appearing in People Also Ask.
• Review platform Sitejabber, charged by FTC with consumer deception.
• ChatGPT is not a keyword research tool.
• ChatGPT paid millions for Chat.com; will this be the new brand?
• Court: Google has no duty to victims in Google Play gift card scam suit.
• More AI features coming to some iPhones with iOS 18.2.
• Publishers don't count on Google Discover.
• Google explains the tech behind NotebookLM "podcasts."
• Amazon's virtual Beyond showrooms emulate physical retail.

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