UK Lead Generation Podcast

Craig Campbell says:

One of the major changes that I've faced is accounts that are being used consistently not being able to make the edits or make adjustments which previously were. There are a lot of myths and a lot of people talk about stuff that maybe worked two or three years ago. Can you tell us some of the stuff that was working that's not working now.

In terms of things that were working, one of the biggest mistakes I see is people missing what I would call the basic essentials. I see it all the time. I want to know more about the country dancing knockbacks, like what was your approach.

I was an ugly duck, I've had a lot of work. So today's podcast I'm going to be joined by Mark Slorance, a good friend of mine. Known him for a number of years now and we're going to talk about local SEO, getting reviews and a bunch of other interesting stuff. So listen in and make sure you do like, comment and subscribe.

So another video and in this video we're going to be talking about review cards which I've got here, GMB listings and local SEO. I've got my good friend, well I use that term good and friend very loosely, but Mr Mark Slorance.

Probably a nice thing you've ever said to me. Good to see how it changes. No thanks for having me on. Great to be here. Loving the new podcast studio. Very fancy. Love the new chairs. Looking great.

Yours stable enough. I built it myself. Hopefully no guarantees but it's took my weight.

So if anyone isn't aware who Slorance is, a few years back we done the video in the graveyard where you had your x amount of phones and we were running around doing direction requests and all that to map listings. Obviously you have been messing around with map listings for a number of years now and taking them abroad with you to try and boost your GMB or GBP listings.

We done that stuff three years ago. People were doing things three years ago whether it be direction requests, reviews, or whatever else. I'm curious to know, because you clearly do a lot of testing, playing around, blowing things up, what sort of things have you seen change even over the last three years.

Mark Slorance says:

Probably the couple of main things I've seen change is it's become harder, especially to fake stuff. One of the big issues I had, you spoke about the phones earlier on, was the stage that worked really well for me where I would age personas which weren't being used regularly. I would take them doing walks at a time, doing direction requests to places, trying to age as many accounts as possible.

One of the major changes that I've faced is accounts not being used consistently not being able to make edits or adjustments which previously were possible. One of the things people mentioned before was the holy grail like local guide score. I say it's a lot of nonsense.

If I've got a local guide who's level eight or nine, if the account hasn't genuinely been used, has no history, isn't performing searches, isn't sending emails like a regular account would, a lot of stuff that I would try to do previously just doesn't work now. It's disappointing to say but things have got a lot harder to mimic real interactions.

For manipulating GMBs, fake reviews not sticking, accounts being pulled, edits being submitted, all manipulation tactics have become harder. Certain CTR tools maybe don't work as well as they did. It's been a challenging couple of years trying to manipulate Maps.

I even had a few emails yesterday saying because you've not logged into this email for two years they're wiping it. Unactive accounts are just getting killed straight away by Google.

Craig Campbell says:

When you talk about making the persona and activity look like a real person, what does that actually mean to the layman. What level of activity are we talking. Every week, every month, every day.

Mark Slorance says:

Thank you for exposing me. The sad fact is the reason I would do that is because going for walks, doing direction requests, dwelling in a location, that's real activity from a real persona. Google knows if you log in for five minutes a month that's not natural.

If I don't log into an account for two weeks, Google knows. I can't take the benefit of that account if I'm not genuinely running it.

Craig Campbell says:

So let's say you've got Willie Pearson's phone. What are you actually doing on it.

Mark Slorance says:

This is going to put a bad light on me but one of the things I like to do is have 50 Uber Eats accounts. You get credits. Just Eat discounts. That's what a real person would do.

I do 12,000 steps a day so I take phones out, put them in a backpack, do direction requests while walking. That's how I age the account. It's phone activity and Gmail activity combined.

Accounts with ad spend help. Even small App Store purchases help. Google sees credit card details, transactions. Have I cracked the exact formula. No. It keeps changing.

Automation didn't work for me. Being human did. Walking, doing stuff, being that sad person. That's what works.

Craig Campbell says:

All these phones have individual SIM cards.

Mark Slorance says:

Yes. Real SIMs. O2 classic SIMs work best for me. They cost about £2 a year per phone. Real numbers. Real data. I do it properly.

Craig Campbell says:

I've seen you acquire GMBs with these aged accounts. How much does it increase your chances.

Mark Slorance says:

It's significant if other factors are in place. Citations indexed. Real IP. Real location. Not hammering the account. Maybe one or two locations only.

Being physically close to the location helps massively. Longitude and latitude matter. Spoofing alone isn't ideal. IP mismatch kills it.

Search Console ownership helps too. Domain property linked to the account builds trust.

Craig Campbell says:

What about G Suite accounts.

Mark Slorance says:

I don't use them. Too tight. But spending money on the account helps. Workspace would probably help but I prefer layering trust signals.

I build foundations first because I want longevity. Each map has its own account. I've seen people lose entire accounts. I don't want that.

Craig Campbell says:

People watch this, set up a GMB, it pops, then gets suspended. What does Google ask for.

Mark Slorance says:

Two forms of documentation. Utility bill. Council tax bill. Names must match exactly. That's where people fail.

Verification is different. Video, phone, email. Suspension recovery is strict.

Craig Campbell says:

Donald Duck Limited example. What happens next.

Mark Slorance says:

There are ways. Not white hat. Thinking outside the box. You give Google exactly what they're looking for and it sticks.

Craig Campbell says:

What worked two or three years ago that doesn't now.

Mark Slorance says:

Posts don't move rankings much. Good for maintenance, not ranking. Linking to posts doesn't move the needle.

CTR tools with bad IPs don't work anymore. Good mobile IPs might. Needs testing.

Mobile proxies help. Best is real SIM mobile proxies in the same country.

CID links might work again. Needs retesting.

Craig Campbell says:

Images. Links. What do you say.

Mark Slorance says:

Test it yourself. Things flip.

Biggest mistake is missing basics.

Craig Campbell says:

What do you mean by donor.

Mark Slorance says:

A map ranking 15 to 20. Test on that. If it works, free SEO for them.

Craig Campbell says:

Basics. What are the basics.

Mark Slorance says:

Fill the profile properly. Embed the map on the website. Contact page. Footer. Builds trust. Displays reviews.

Correct main category. Look at winners. Use exact category. Keep details updated. Hours. Phone. HTTPS. Unique description. Not copied.

Posts for activity only. Accuracy matters. Wrong hours cause bad reviews.

Get fundamentals right before fakery.

Craig Campbell says:

Tracking.

Mark Slorance says:

Local Falcon.

Craig Campbell says:

Reviews. Fake reviews getting wiped.

Mark Slorance says:

Inactive accounts got nuked. Genuine reviews lost too. Fake reviews do work if accounts are solid. Longevity matters.

That's why I moved to NFC review cards.

Craig Campbell says:

Shows NFC card demo.

Mark Slorance says:

Real reviews from real people on real phones. Massive difference. Review velocity matters. Asking by email fails. Face to face works.

That's why I sell them now. They work. I've tested them. Rankings move.

Craig Campbell says:

Does GPS matter.

Mark Slorance says:

Yes but strength of account matters more. Tradesmen move locations. That's natural.

Craig Campbell says:

Price.

Mark Slorance says:

£14.99. Unlimited usage. Packs available. Each card programmed to one location.

Craig Campbell says:

What should people write in reviews.

Mark Slorance says:

Five stars alone helps. Keywords and location help more but don't overcomplicate. Get the review first.

Craig Campbell says:

Country dancing knockbacks.

Mark Slorance says:

I was ugly. School was brutal. Constant rejection. Reminds me of asking for reviews. Same pain.

Craig Campbell says:

Fair enough. Thanks for coming on.

That was Mark Slorance. Links below. Review cards linked below. Handy for getting real reviews.