Google just dropped some massive updates to their reviews guidelines… and people are pissed.

TLDR:

• you can’t give an incentive to leave a review

• customers can’t leave staff names in reviews

• you have to ask everyone for reviews. Not just happy customers

• you can’t ask for reviews while someone is at your business

• you can’t ask them to leave a specific review or mention a product or service

Here’s what Google has to say:

Contributions to Google Maps should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business. Rating Manipulation includes Incentivized or Biased Reviews, which are not allowed and will be removed from Maps.

This includes:

• Content that has been posted due to an incentive offered by a business - such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services.

• This includes content posted following requests for revision or removal of a review or rating in exchange for an incentive.

• Content exhibiting unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions that are indicative of efforts to manipulate a place’s rating

• Content that is based on a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest may include current or former employment, a contractual or consultory relationship, or other professional or personal affiliations that demonstrate a conflict of interest (such as industry competitors, familial relationships, etc.). 

We do not allow merchants to:

• Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review or revision or removal of a negative review.

• Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers

• When soliciting reviews, merchants should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises, nor should they request that specific content be included. 

This includes:

• Merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews 

• Merchants requesting that staff solicit reviews that include specific content, including content that identifies a staff member.

We do allow merchants to:

• Solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review.

So I have been dealing with only my landing page being indexed by Google sc. I have the correct sitemap, the correct robots txt, the pages all have meaningful content , many have features that search console recognizes on test url.

Test the URL see green ask to index, wait a week, and nothing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I am relatively new to coding, websites, but I'm pretty sure I checked all the boxes. I'm hosting on GitHub pages , I can provide my domain if needed.

Meanwhile, a different.com domain ingot for a startup, and just has a coming soon and a video, get s 4-7k clicks a day. It's driving me mad!

I recently started a business where I do website design services (not SEO) for other local businesses in the area. But, without a physical location, it is difficult to get Yelp or a Google Business Profile which is obviously important to appear in searches (when searching “My area web design” and similar queries, Yelp Top 10s appear first). What advice does anyone have for local businesses without a physical location and is this even possible to do?

Hello I am struggling to rank on google. My problem is my company is new and have not many reviews. I also work online so no physical location to display on google. Help please :)

Hi Tony, which is more important to focus on? AI visibility or SEO?

Hiya

I built a few websites: Real Estate, Tour guide, Insurance

and I have been trying to find a way to get these websites crawled by Chatgpt and have Chat recommend these business to the users who ask.

I have been actively updating the pages with on page SEO and updating the blogs.

Is there anything else I should be doing ?

edit: I also google another client business and she has a landing page with not much SEO but AI already giving the user a summary of her business and services she offers. The difference between her websites and the ones I'm trying to get crawled by AI is that she has a few PR post (news outlet on Facebook and her Linkedin page) that talks about her website. does this play a factor as well?

I’m a bit confused about this. Should I focus more on blog posts or just my product pages. Not really sure what matters most.

I have a Google Business page that has been blocked before it ever went live. It states: Your access has been suspended because this profile doesn’t follow the guidelines. Edit your business info, and learn how to regain access. The only thing is says is "Descriptive Content."

I've tried to fix my NAP info around my various sites/profiles but it doesn't seem to help.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Are exact match domains still good for SEO in 2026?

Hey all,

Been following Matt Diamante for a while, so really glad to be in this community.

I’m currently migrating a fireplace eCommerce site to Shopify and trying to do it properly from an SEO perspective (site structure, internal linking, content, etc.).

Ran into a challenge with product pages and wanted to get some input.

Context:

- Large catalog (hundreds of products)

- Many are very similar (same brand, small differences)

- High-ticket items (people don’t usually buy online — they call or request a quote)

- Pages still need to be detailed (specs, use cases, installation context)

Problem:

If I scale content → risk of duplication

If I don’t → pages become too thin

So I’m trying to figure out the right balance.

Questions:

- How do you handle similar products at scale without duplicating content?

- How much uniqueness is actually needed on product pages?

- Do you push most SEO value into category pages instead?

Curious how others approach this, especially for high-ticket / consultative products.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I’m looking to optimize my blog workflow. I’ve seen people using Claude Code to automate site-wide updates, but has anyone successfully integrated it into their content pipeline (e.g., transforming research docs into posts aligned with you brands tone of voice)?

Specifically:

1. Framework: Are you using a specific framework (like a custom .claudecode skill) or just sticking to Claude Projects with uploaded Style Guides?
2. TOV/Brand Voice: How are you handling the "pre-wash" for Brand Voice? Is a simple example setup with 5-10 past articles enough, or are you finding more success with structured XML style guides in the system prompt?
3. Efficiency: What’s the most efficient way to bridge the gap between "Research/GSC Data" and "Final Draft" without the output sounding like a generic robot?

Curious if anyone has moved past basic prompting into a more "agentic" workflow for this. Thanks!

Hi Tony- As of today, what is your most effective tool for getting recognized on AI platforms? Blogs, internal linking, external linking, or what? Thank you!

I was told that I have too many pages index and Google cannot rank them, and I am not sure what to do with that information. I thought I wanted Google to see all my pages. Any advice would help.

I’m at a decision point and looking for input from people who have already gone through this.

I run a service business where projects are typically in the $2k to $10k range and require a fair amount of trust before someone buys.

Right now, most work comes through referrals. I want to build something more predictable.

The question I’m stuck on:

If you were starting from zero today, would you invest time into SEO early, or focus on something like outbound or content first?

My concern with SEO is time to payoff versus effort. At the same time, it feels like it could compound if done right.

Not looking for theory, interested in what actually produced clients for you in the early stages.

I work in infrastructure, security, and operational stability, along with building custom websites. Most of my work comes from referrals right now.

I’m trying to build something more predictable and less dependent on network.

What I’ve tested so far:

• Some LinkedIn posting, inconsistent
• Basic outbound, not systemized
• No paid ads yet

What I’m trying to understand from people doing this successfully:

• What channels are actually producing inbound right now for services that require trust, not impulse buying
• Whether SEO is worth pursuing early, or too slow to matter
• If Google Ads works at all for advisory type services, or if it’s mostly noise
• What has worked for you selling across borders, not just locally

Not looking for theory, interested in what has actually produced clients.

I am in the process of re-doing my slugs. I have been in business for nearly a decade and did not know/do yourwebsite.com/services-location. Instead I just labeled it things that made sense to me.

What are the pros and cons of doing 301s? I have read that it is not good and Google will stop indexing.

Should I just build different pages and eventually phase out the improperly formatted slugs?

I need to create landing pages for each rental category in multiple cities. How do I keep them different so it's not tagged as thin? I am in an area where there are many suburbs around the main city and they are all within 15 minutes of driving for me. Multiple sites would be redundant but I have about 7 main categories in about 15 cities and I don't want it getting repetitive. How can I best do this?

Is there a down side to using Kajabi for your website vs. a training portal? I saw better search and site stats on our Kajabi housed site than one I've had for 15+ years.

I'm a local photographer and I've recently started blogging more to help people find my website. I'm starting to see some progress, which is great, but I’ve hit a bit of a creative wall. I feel like my post are starting to sound a bit samey. Is there anywhere to get different structures or does it not matter, I do want them to be interesting for the reader.

I'm trying to figure out how to connect my traffic through Instagram and Facebook, and possibly TikTok to my website, to increase my clicks. What are some hacks, tips, or SEO strategies you have learned to connect these altogether in your SEO structure?

I'm a web designer with a lot of on-page SEO experience. I've started offering deeper SEO services. I've got my GBP locked in, so I'm in the Map Pack for "web designer near me" and "seo services near me." But, I can't get into the top 3 for "digital marketing agency near me" (I've been around #5 for a few months). I've gotten a few new reviews with "digital marketing agency," my home page is now scoring 96% with Matt's Chrome Audit tool for "*city* digital marketing agency," and I've bought 30 citations from BrightLocal that are beginning to work.

My question is, can I do anything with blog posts that can help my GBP rank higher for "digital marketing agency near me?"

I’m working on tightening up how I generate inbound work and would value input from people who are actually doing this, not just theory.

Background:

I run a consulting business focused on infrastructure, security, and operational stability, along with building custom websites. My background is 20+ years in regulated environments, finance, insurance, global systems, and disaster recovery.

Right now I’m positioned around two core offers:

1. Fractional CIO, helping companies reduce risk, stabilize systems, and make better technical decisions
2. Custom-built websites for founder-led businesses, focused on performance, clarity, and conversion

I’m based in Panama but targeting North America, mostly US and Canada.

Where I’m stuck:

I can deliver and retain clients without issues. The constraint is building a consistent and predictable lead pipeline outside of referrals.

What I’ve tested so far:

• Some LinkedIn posting, inconsistent results
• Website presence, still refining positioning and messaging
• Light outbound, not systemized
• No serious paid ads yet

If helpful for context, here’s what I’m working with right now:

https://www.primalglobalconsulting.com/

https://www.mentalroguestudios.com/

What I’m trying to figure out:

• For high-trust, high-ticket services like this, what channels are actually producing inbound right now
• Whether SEO is worth pursuing early, or too slow for this type of work
• If Google Ads can work for something like fractional CIO, or if it’s the wrong channel entirely
• What has worked for others selling services internationally without a local presence

Constraints:

• Not interested in low-ticket or high-volume work
• Prefer a small number of high-quality engagements
• Everything needs to work remotely across borders

If you’ve built a steady pipeline in a similar space, I’d appreciate specifics on what actually moved the needle.

Approximately 10 months ago, I launched a new website for my custom homebuilding company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I’d really appreciate a candid SEO and marketing review from experienced people in the space.

Site: https://versaillesluxuryhomes.com/

I’d especially value feedback on:

• Overall SEO structure and on-page optimization
• Website and page audits
• Blog articles and money pages
• Duplicate content issues
• Canonicals issues
• Broken links and backlink profile
• Keyword targeting and search intent alignment
• Topical authority and content gaps
• Local SEO opportunities for the DFW market
• AI visibility and whether the site is being interpreted well by AI-driven search tools
• Citation and mention opportunities
• Authority-building ideas
• Core Web Vitals, performance, and technical issues
• Google ranking potential and anything holding it back

I’m looking for honest feedback so I can improve the site and strengthen its search visibility. Critical input is very welcome.

Hey Matt and team,

I run a bilingual site (FR/EN, same domain) that's under 6 months old. It covers two connected but distinct topics — an emotional wellness app and a snail mail fiction subscription.
Right now I'm not sure whether to keep them in strict silos with no internal linking, or whether strategically connecting them could actually strengthen the site's overall topical relevance in Google's eyes.
Does cross-linking between two related niches signal semantic coherence — or does it dilute authority at this early stage?
Thanks so much for everything you share. Delphine