Joy Hawkins talks with Jason Barnard about dissecting the GMB panel. Joy Hawkins is the owner of the Local Search Forum, LocalU, and Sterling Sky, a Local SEO agency in Canada & the USA. She writes for Search Engine Land and is a widely known Local Search speaker and has spoken at dozens of Local SEO conferences over the years. Google My Business panels are ever-increasingly important to the success of local businesses since Google local search is the dominant trusted source customers look at before visiting bricks-and-mortar businesses. Keeping it up-to-date is the minimum investment for local SEO, and managing the ever-expanding range of information it shows is the next step up if you want to increase foot traffic to your store :) But how much control and influence do we have on our own GMB panels? Jason Barnard quizzes the delightful Joy Hawkins as she walks us through the local knowledge panels of several different business types to know which information and features we can control, which we can influence and which are off-limits! They cover dozens of GMB items, from the most common (reviews, primary category, opening hours…) to the less obvious (descriptions, popular times, events, new features added recently because of health restrictions, Q&A…) and even delve into GMB as part of Google’s role as an assistive engine. Joy also gives Jason a free consultation on the images he’d like to rectify on his GMB panel ;) This is a super groovy chat. And if you’re a local SEO or a local business owner, you'll be glad you listened. What you'll learn from Joy Hawkins 00:00 Joy Hawkins and Jason Barnard01:01 International Brand SERP for Joy Hawkins03:33 Dissecting Oxford Cheese Co’s GMB Panel04:40 Selecting a specific primary category and generic categories in GMB08:09 Evolving GMB attributes caused by Covid restrictions13:41 Popular times - where does the data come from?14:44 3 visible reviews in GMB rarely change17:13 How much GMB control does Google give restaurants?23:33 Why are doctors' GMB panels so sparse?24:42 Can a local business owner post a question and answer it themselves?25:28 Google as an assistive engine26:08 Setting the reservation button and business hours29:05 Adventure Land have a hybrid GMB / Knowledge panel 31:21 Why Google shows Jason’s photo instead of Kalicube’s logo on its GMB?35:07 GMB posts and events: Does it show up anywhere? Helpful Resources About Dissecting the GMB Panel How to Succeed With Google Posts: What We Learned From Analyzing Over 1,000 Google PostsHow to Get a Place Label on Google MapsGoogle My Business Category Changes by Month This episode was recorded live on video September 7th 2021 Recorded live at Kalicube Tuesdays (Digital Marketing Livestream Event Series). Watch the video now>>