Joy Hawkins
Search Engine Land
Toronto, ON, Canada
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Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Joy:
2 free tools for tracking your Google reviews
Monitoring reviews is a must for businesses with an online presence. Here are a couple of tools to include in your local SEO toolkit. → Read More
Case study: Are indented search results on Google actually hurting your business?
Most businesses might think having two search results on Page 1 is a good thing. This is not always the case. Here's why. → Read More
1-star review attacks plague restaurants on Google
Google is aware of the issue and has advised business owners to flag the reviews or contact Google support to get them removed: → Read More
To Post or Not to Post: 7 Quick Tips for Google Posts
Local SEO expert Joy Hawkins joins us for a special edition of Whiteboard Friday, giving you a sneak peek at her MozCon Virtual 2021 presentation: To Post or Not to Post: What We Learned From Analyzing Over 1,000 Google Posts. → Read More
4 Google My Business Fields That Impact Ranking (and 3 That Don't) — Whiteboard Friday
Joy and her team at Sterling Sky have come to the conclusion that there are only four things inside the Google My Business dashboard that a business owner or a marketing agency can edit that will have a direct influence on where they rank in the local results on Google. → Read More
How Does the Local Algorithm Work?
Driven by proximity, relevance, and prominence, Google's local algorithm plays by a few different rules. Get the scoop on how it all works from local SEO extraordinaire, Joy Hawkins, as she offers a taste of her full talk from MozCon 2019. → Read More
The majority of listings for car accident attorneys on Google are fake
Google’s ranking algorithm has a huge flaw in its local results that lead generating companies have been using for their own profit. → Read More
Google My Business messaging problems continue
When messaging is set up in the GMB app, it doesn't work for listings that belong to location groups in the dashboard. → Read More
6 things you need to know about Google’s change for service area businesses
Google's new service area business set up cleared addresses. If you're a service business, don’t try to add it back. Here's why. → Read More
Google My Business messaging via SMS to end, but where is the alternative?
The end of SMS messaging on the GMB dashboard will have a sizable – and negative – impact on marketing agencies and large enterprises. Here's why. → Read More
7 things you might not know about Google My Business categories
I have found that Google My Business categories are often an overlooked tactic by many people that work in the Local Search space. According to Moz’s Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, proper Google My Business category associations are the #3 search ranking factor for local packs. It has been one of the top ranking factors … → Read More
Google Posts decline in traffic leave many to wonder if strategy is worth the time
After Google Posts moved to the bottom of the Knowledge Panel in September, many are reevaluating the strategy as low-impact. → Read More
Massive fake review attack has big impact on small businesses
Business owners and Google product experts could not easily find all the businesses impacted during the recent attack because the profiles selected to hide their reviews. → Read More
Yelp vs Google: How do they deal with fake reviews?
I recently heard a story of a business that got caught with fake reviews on Yelp. They were also an advertiser spending thousands of dollars a month on ads. When they got caught, Yelp canceled their ad account and told them they would be demoting the listing’s ranking for 6 months. After that time, they … → Read More
3 reasons why Google My Business search queries don't match Search Console
If you work in local search, are you regularly checking the Search Query report in Google My Business Insights? Here's why you should be. → Read More
6 ways the August core algorithm update impacted local business
Was your site affected by the recent core algorithm update? Here's a look at the changes made to local and small business sites after the update. → Read More
5 local SEO myths and misconceptions that Will. Not. Die.
Like a bad penny, there are certain local SEO myths that keep turning up. Contributor Joy Hawkins lists a number of misconceptions and explains why things like bogus suite numbers will not work. → Read More
Do Google reviews impact local ranking?
Based on her research, contributor Joy Hawkins thinks reviews may play some part in how a local page ranks. Here is a case study that shows her findings. → Read More
How does Yelp’s review solicitation penalty work?
Contributor Joy Hawkins provides an overview of how Yelp's review solicitation penalty works and explains why you should not ask for reviews. → Read More
Better Business Bureau reviews are complex. Here's what you need to know
Contributor Joy Hawkins hires a pool company and finds that the BBB's site isn't as simple as she previously believed. → Read More