#gmb

#gmb

Grokipedia might be dropping more with the March 2026 broad core update. The decline seems to be continuing with the latest broad core update.

Google has been removing the call button from local packs dramatically over the past year. This study of 2,580 search results showed that only 510 had a call button. This means, 4 out of 5 searches in the map pack have no call button.

In this test, there is a huge section of sponsored products in a double-rowed carousel along with some cards from individual websites (organic).

"People talk most about": In several examples, this is just a straight-up list of exactly three menu items. For one spot, it was literally just: omakase, sake, nigiri. "People love to order": This section gets a star icon and goes deeper than just listing names. It includes brief descriptions of specific dishes, like noting a Michigan Roll has a "generous portion of tuna."

Just a couple of months ago, Google had ads on the local pack for less than 3% of tracked keywords; now it's up to about 22% of tracked keywords. This was data posted by Joy Hawkins on X she got from Places Scout. Joy wrote, "Just had Places Scout re-run the data to see how this looks in January so far (we're tracking across 1200 mobile ranking reports). The increase isn't slowing down yet."

Pablo Sanchez, a manager of the moving company ServiMoving , noticed something strange online: a one-star review on their Google Maps page. We checked with the team to find out what had happened, which customer was unhappy, he explained to EL PAIS. A little while later, another one appeared, then another we started to get alarmed, he added. They quickly realized that the reviews weren't being written by real customers. We were baffled, he sighed. Shortly after, they found out what was really going on.

"The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is an open standard designed for the future of commerce, empowering you to turn AI interactions into instant sales. Adopt UCP to enable agentic actions on Google AI Mode and Gemini, starting with direct buying," as Google defines it. It basically gives merchants a way to allow their products to be sold directly through AI experiences like Gemini, AI Mode and other AI engines.

As search optimisation becomes more complex - with AI overviews, LLM citations, and zero-click results reshaping the landscape - choosing an agency with genuine consulting depth has never been more important. In 2026, the most effective consulting agencies combine deep strategic thinking with advanced technology, data-driven decision making, and a thorough understanding of how software businesses acquire and retain customers through organic search.

Our client was charged $400 for a current client to call their Google Local Services Ads profile. direct business search was not turned on. I thought, ok no big deal, I will escalate this and they will obviously rectify the situation since this was a mistake. I went back and forth with an account manager over there who denied it. I escalated it further and they are not refunding it even though they clearly know its a current client call.

There has been an uptick in complaints from businesses around Google local reviews disappearing or being removed. We had something similar last October and it was fixed in December and now I am seeing more complaints about reviews going missing. There are many many threads with complaints about this across the Google forums and in the Local Search Forums - I'll embed them below.

AI visibility means your content is included, cited, and recommended in AI-generated answers. If you think ranking at the top of the SERPs is still the way to go, think bigger. AI has become a primary factor in online search strategy. If AI systems can't read your brand, you could become invisible. Below, I share how AI visibility differs from SEO and five strategies to make your brand AI-visible.

This redesign shows your "business goals" such as ad dollar spent, product adoption goals, recommendation trackers, and your points, plus messages and more. The tabs at the top left include "my accounts," "points activity," and "FAQ." As you can see in the screenshot, the portal says: Welcome to the new Google Partners Rewards experience! We've made it simpler to understand your goals and to track all your points activity.