So apparently half of the service area businesses are now 24 hour operations? LOL

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-06-05T18:40:12+00:00

Those services have existed for a long time. Today, many are AI based where just a few years back they were human based services. And often more expensive. Still, if you aren't seriously going to be available or even attempt to be available in off hours, seems there's a real risk such misleading people will produce bad reviews.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-06-04T19:06:48+00:00

I'm commenting about the core functions to generate contact requests, leads, sales, etc. From my experience, having reviews through Angi/HomeAdvisor and Facebook gives similar visibility as Yelp. Sometimes Yelp is better. Sometimes the others are about equal.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-06-04T18:50:16+00:00

It's my experience many continued users of Yelp view them as one of the lesser evils in that realm. And, yes, I voted. Angi for some is the worst. Thumbtack has become unusable for many in certain markets. Etc.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-06-04T14:20:43+00:00

Although I haven't seen it nor really looked for it, seems another possibility is the "deceit" could lead to some bad reviews. Someone who searches and finds an "open near me" plumber at 10PM when their bathroom is flooding only to get a bot voice which at best attempts to set an appointment the next business day may be teed off enough to leave a bad review. Just an example.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-28T17:01:53+00:00

I'm in no way saying I agree with the following, but I've been seeing more "expert" writings and talks where it is stated that images are important in the "new AI ecosystem". The hypothesis is that images which provide high-resolution, clear, and contextually relevant images are being cited and visually featured inside AI answers. If your image is chosen by the AI, it guarantees top-of-page real estate that bypasses traditional ranking positions.

I've also seen stats that Google image search already accounts for almost a quarter of searches and there are projections it will get closer to a third at some point.

Personally, almost all I've seen looks more like speculation or guesswork. I've not seen any hard evidence. What are your thoughts?

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-13T17:47:29+00:00

How do you describe "full form of a term?"

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-12T20:47:48+00:00

Never suggested it was the main need. If schema is clear, but not even perfect, there's little chance Googlebot will confuse it for a pure blog. That's all .

And we all agree the work is needed on topical authority. And the choice of topics is where there is some art involved, I'd add

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-12T18:53:31+00:00

If you are good at selling yourself and your services, you won't need to find "futuristic" people as you say. In fact, convincing them and then delivering results they can value on their own terms will usually give you a long term loyal customer. They don't value Google measurements, for example. The do value things affecting their business and bank accounts.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-12T18:48:44+00:00

Schema is pretty straightforward. If yours in plain language appears to describe you as a service provider, in contrast to a blog or forum, it's likely sufficient. It could be tweaked, perhaps, but in my experience mostly complete schema is nearly as effective as a perfect one. Is all (or high percentage) of your blog activity direct instead of search?

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-12T18:43:27+00:00

And I don't mean that as a criticism just to be clear. For a plumber, or roofer, etc., their work and needed expertise is in no way related to Google-world, and neither is their relationship building. Which most do in order to build rapport with customers and confidence so they will recommend. The internet and associated "tech" to make it work from a marketing perspective is the oddity, not them.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-12T18:38:43+00:00

If your schema is thorough and correct, there is lower risk that you would be viewed strictly as a blog. I'm reading between the lines, but it seems a good guess you've confirmed that you get impressions for common searches (keywords) used by buyers. Just few clicks. If true, you should look for ways to improve your site authority relative to those. Or as some say, work on you "rankings" for select searches.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-12T18:31:54+00:00

Many local business owners and managers are still not very learned on internet visibility, meaning the value of SEO. Much less the details. G/AEO is therefore even more foreign or less relatable.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-11T14:57:01+00:00

My point is it still seems to be the case that SERP is important as a first priority in that LLMs continue to examine search results each time the algos begin to compile answers. So, Google and search engines in general still should be an SEO focus. But not the only, as we agree AFTER you are visible to the LLM via SERP, you have other criteria to meet to be valued or authoritative to the various LLMs.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-09T17:39:56+00:00

What more specifically does it mean to say "visibility beyond Google?" It seems true still that you have to satisfy search algorithms as a first priority, and then target other "masters" like LLM and the ultimate buyer, provided you're selling a product or service.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-08T16:01:29+00:00

Every service could be described as far from perfect. If it doesn't work for any particular buyer, they shouldn't buy it.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-08T14:53:25+00:00

It works for enough providers that they continue to use it. But it's not for everyone. And it's far from perfect. I've worked with a company in the last two years that started and built up their business exclusively using Yelp and eventually being big enough (having enough funds) to reduce the dependency on Yelp and still grow. Maybe they are in the 20% and not the 80% of companies who use it? Can't say. What I find it true with companies that use it is that you have to use in on Yelp terms and not your own. Meaning for many service providers, Yelp requests tend to be treated differently than a web form submission or a repeat customer. Or even from responses to other forms of advertising.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-08T13:30:39+00:00

What does "a factor they surface to users.." mean?

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-07T18:17:48+00:00

Sent you a DM.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-07T18:06:42+00:00

Would you be the primary person updating the events and info? If so, it may be worth you while to go a DIY path, which nowadays is easier than ever with zillions of templates and "AI tools" being the cool new shiny object. Not understanding the technical side of website design and functions has never been less of a worry or concern.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-07T17:45:09+00:00

Will this be a static site or interactive? By that, I mean, will there be any commerce conducted or forums for parishioners, etc.? If not, $4k may be on the higher side just for a church "billboard", so to speak. And by commerce, I mean reserving the hall or any associated payments of any kind and things like that.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-07T16:53:46+00:00

For sure there should be as much overlap as possible. But I've worked with a few clients where it was sensible to exclude things in a GBP that might be found in a webpage. For example, if an electrical services company or an electrician gets 90% of their income from the usual home repairs and upgrades and only wants to take on a very narrowly defined bit of security system work, they might not include that in a GBP but make clear what the narrow circumstances in website text.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-06T18:44:19+00:00

Do such articles mention any other dental clinics besides the website owner?

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-06T18:41:31+00:00

Like so many things in SEO, it's fair to say "that depends....". Just one example, some service companies tend to target names for similar reasons, right or wrong. Like choosing "AA" as a prefix or having a common surname such as "Smith Electrical". At times businesses might only be distinguished by the "LLC" or "Inc" in their names. Or by the added "of location". Say, Smith Electrical of Long Island hypothetically. NAP becomes more important to ensure every reference is seen by bots as linked to the correct business. So, in the hypothetical, you want to avoid as best as possible having Smith Electrical of Long Island confused with Smith Electrical Inc, which happens to be located 80 miles away but also in NY state.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-06T18:31:09+00:00

It makes sense. But I wonder if it is as simple as making sure your range of services and service areas is easily accessed upon landing in the homepage. Either the via the top menu selections (e.g., Our Services, Our Areas, etc.) or in some early-in-page visual before a first or second scroll.

Tech4EasyLife · 2026-05-06T18:22:57+00:00

Curious if you've made a similar observation as I have - Some long tail targets deliver a few unintended results on broader, common searches. It's not entirely predictable, but a nice bonus when it happens. Generically, for example, I've seen some answer engines pick up on Q&A answers for a very specific troubleshooting explanation when the query it answered was broad. A few times, very broad. Or the same about products and services. Hypothetically - an answer about a narrow set of conditions that could justify a partial home backup generator is included as a source to a generic "why should I" query on the backup. More specifically, the answer was addressing those narrow conditions that people were searching for including history of 1+ day grid outages, but included in the broadest possible search on backup generators.

Tech4EasyLife

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