Google Maps adds products nearby for product searches

Google Maps now will show you products from nearby stores if you search Google Maps for product related queries. Google wrote, “Now, you can search in Google Maps for items like pickleball rackets, board games, ice cream makers and more to find nearby stores that have them in stock so you can pick up what you need, stat.”

What it looks like. Here is a screenshot of the new “Products nearby” section within Google Maps:

How it works. GoogleMaps lets you search for items and find nearby stores selling them. Simply open Google Maps, enter the item name in the search bar, select a store from the results, and get directions to pick it up. Inventory includes home goods, electronics, apparel and items from grocery stores.

Here is a video of it in action:

Why we care. If you sell product, using Google Merchant Center and product feeds can help you get business directly from Google Maps. Your products will not just show up in Google Search and Google Shopping but now also in Google Maps.

Google recognizes content creators: A breakthrough for E-E-A-T and SEO

Google is explicitly identifying people it understands to be content creators. 

This article explains how we know that Google is recognizing content creators, why it’s important and what SEO professionals need to do in response.

Google’s growing recognition of content creator entities

I recently discovered Knowledge Panel subtitles like “Content Creator (Medicine)” and “Content Creator (Travel)” in the SERPs.

This shows Google’s explicit identification of individuals as authoritative content creators within specific fields.

This is a significant E-E-A-T development for content creators as it gives visible and meaningful proof that Google has recognized them as credible sources of information on a specific topic.

It’s also a huge advantage in modern SEO, since the person’s content is more likely to appear in today’s search results and tomorrow’s AI-powered assistants.

Here are some examples from the Kalicube Pro dataset (tracking over 17 million person entities) for content creator topics:

• Agriculture, Animals, Art, Automobiles.
• Baking, Baseball, Beauty, Bodybuilding, Boxing.
• Camping, Cats, Coaching, Cooking, Cosmetics, Cricket, Cryptocurrency.
• Dancing, Dogs. 
• Fashion, Fashion, Finances, Fishing, Food.
• Gambling, Games, Geography, Gymnastics. 
• Health, Hiking, History, Humor.
• Interior design, Investing, Jazz, Law. 
• Magic, Markets, Martial arts, Medicine, Mental health, Music. 
• Nutrition, Painting, Parenting, Physical fitness, Politics, Psychology. 
• Racing, Real Estate, Religion.
• Science, Shopping, Skincare, Soccer, Stand-up comedy, Surfing.
• Technology, Toys, Travel, Vegetarianism, Video games, Volleyball.
• Weather, Weight loss, Wildlife, Wrestling.

Google is looking for content creators

This focus on identifying content creators is a recurring theme at Google. 

Three events in 2023 and 2024 demonstrated that identifying content creators is a major focus for Google:

• The Killer Whale Knowledge Graph update in July 2023.
• The March 2024 E-E-A-T update. 
• The Google leak in May 2024 confirmed that Google explicitly associates people with their profile pages (isReference) and articles they have written (isAuthor). 

Our Knowledge Graph monitoring tool shows small updates every 1 to 2 weeks. In 2024, they have mostly affected person entities.

While these updates may seem random and impact around 10% of entities, they are typically minor “recalibrations” rather than strategically significant changes. 

The key takeaway is that Google is increasingly focused on identifying trustworthy person entities and connecting them to the content they create.

Why this is important to E-E-A-T in SEO

E-E-A-T takes on real (measurable) meaning when Google identifies people it considers authoritative on a topic and can confidently link them to the content they create.

This places us firmly in the era of what I call modern SEO, where, in addition to optimizing the content (traditional SEO), optimizing the content creator and website publisher entities is necessary.

The logic is simple and irrefutable, given the data and the Google leak.

In order for Google’s algorithms to apply any E-E-A-T credibility signals, they need to understand the entity and the relationship between that entity and the web pages it creates or that provide information about it.

This is a zero-sum game. Without explicit understanding, the entity’s E-E-A-T credibility signals (links, awards, qualifications, reviews, testimonials, media coverage, etc.) will have no effect.

How to optimize content creator/author for SEO

To achieve optimal SEO results, you need to focus on optimizing both the content creator and website publisher entities. However, if you have to prioritize one, choose the content creator.

Google is increasingly focusing on individuals and optimizing content creators will likely provide the most value to your clients right now.

Optimization passes through three phases:

• Understandability.
• Credibility.
• Deliverability.

Understandability

Create clear relationships between the content creator and reference pages that Google can use to verify facts about the person. Ideal reference pages include:

• The creator’s personal website.
• The “About” page on their employer’s website.
• Social profiles.
• Trusted third-party sources like Crunchbase, Wikidata, etc.

Credibility

Establish connections between the content creator and relevant content. This includes:

• Articles they’ve written.
• Videos they’ve produced.
• Podcasts where they’ve appeared as a guest.
• Interviews they’ve participated in.
• Articles written about them.

Deliverability

Expand the content creator’s digital footprint by creating new content, getting content published about them and controlling all information strands. Ensure all content is:

• Clear.
• Consistent.
• Relevant.
• Topical.
• Factually accurate.

Use the creator’s personal website as a central hub in a hub-and-spoke model, linking all content to help Google and other AI systems connect the dots.

A simple, DIY method to check if Google recognizes the author

To see if Google recognizes an author, search for the title of one of their articles. In the SERPs, click the three vertical dots next to the result.

If Google shows the author’s name and a brief description, it means the relationship between the author and the content has been established in Google’s algorithms.

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The person entity and URL relationships evolve over time

This strategy is not a “set-it-and-forget-it” approach. Over time, a person’s digital footprint expands, their niche evolves and Google’s dataset and algorithms continuously change.

For example, during the Killer Whale update, the number of person entities tripled in a single day, drastically altering the landscape for most entities overnight. 

Even smaller updates can accumulate into significant changes:

• Seven minor updates In August and September led to the deletion of 19.21% of person entities and the creation of 21.26% new ones.

There is a constant risk of losing critical elements such as entity-to-reference relationships, author connections, specific facts about the entity and relationships with other entities. 

The daily risk of losing their Knowledge Panel is particularly high for less established person entities.

Tracking these elements is essential, and ongoing maintenance is crucial.

We consider an entity to be established only after two years of presence in Google’s Knowledge Graph, as reflected in its entity home.

Entities that depend on sources like Wikipedia, Wikidata, Google Books, Crunchbase or other third-party resources for their existence in the Knowledge Graph remain vulnerable to changes in those sources.

How to plan a website to maximize SEO success

Many redesigned websites fail to improve SEO, often damaging existing rankings and creating challenges for SEO teams trying to recover lost traffic. This can severely affect business visibility, lead generation and sales.

I have been handed many a brand new website and asked to “SEO it” when untold damage has been done and significant time and effort must be spent just to get traffic levels back where they were before the redesign. 

Many articles help with website SEO and how to retain SEO traffic during a redesign. There are also helpful books and frameworks for website planning.

Yet, seemingly no resource combines a sensible approach to planning a new site with the retention and improvement of SEO. 

This article will outline how to plan a new website effectively to retain existing traffic and create a platform to improve your SEO. 

To make following along easier, you can fill out the steps in the template below:

• Website planning to maximize SEO [Template]

Website planning and SEO 

To ensure your new website retains and improves your SEO, it is helpful to ensure you have a clearly defined SEO strategy and you have articulated this in a simple SEO plan. 

The worst thing in any website design project is when unexpected problems or changes arrive during development. 

A well-developed plan that has input from all stakeholders helps ensure less of this. More importantly, if the customer changes their mind or the scope creeps (the scope always creeps), you have the document to show the original scope and justify the necessary fee increases. 

I wish I had a dollar for every time we were asked to review a new site that was almost finished – only to find that SEO hadn’t been considered, putting its success at risk.

We recently worked on a six-figure project for a business that thrived on organic traffic. The project would essentially destroy all the hard-earned SEO. 

This took several months and probably another six figures in PPC spend (to replace what was free SEO traffic from an SEO vs. PPC perspective), as well as further SEO time and redevelopment. You want to avoid that if at all possible. 

We have also seen other sites that had so comprehensively damaged SEO traffic that the only sensible approach was to roll back to the previous site. 

Suffice it to say that ensuring you retain SEO traffic and set the scene for improvements is not something you can leave to chance. 

The approach laid out here combines a fairly standard approach to website planning, which, done well, will save much time, money and pain, with the kind of jobs needed to retain existing SEO traffic while building a furtive platform for further SEO development. 

The output of this process should be a document that either acts as the foundation of the website brief or is integrated into a traditional brief. 

Note: Where the SEO brief and website brief are separate entities, I always recommend reviewing the final website brief to ensure the SEO brief has been incorporated before the project kicks off. 

There are five key steps to work through to create your SEO-friendly website blueprint:

1. Existing rankings and traffic 

Your must understand your traffic and where it comes from.

To do this, spend some time in Google Analytics and Google Search Console to identify:

• High-ranking keywords.
• High-traffic keywords.
• High-traffic content.
• High-opportunity pages.
• High-opportunity keywords.

Your goal is to clearly document what works currently. These must be included in the new site.

If high-traffic content is removed, not correctly optimized, or lost in the new site’s hierarchy, then you are inviting problems. 

The latest jobs in search marketing

Looking to take the next step in your search marketing career?

Below, you’ll find the newest jobs at brands and agencies in SEO, PPC and digital marketing – as well as positions we’ve shared in previous weeks that are still open.

Newest jobs in SEO, PPC and digital marketing

SEO Manager, Newfold Digital (Remote)

• Salary: $80,000 – $110,000
• Develop, implement, and manage comprehensive SEO strategies for multiple brands within Newfold Digital.
• Conduct keyword research and competitive analysis to identify growth opportunities and improve organic search performance.

Senior Specialist SEO, SHRM (Hybrid, Alexandria, VA)

• Salary: $83,000 – $95,000
• Develop and implement a comprehensive SEO strategy to maximize website performance, improve rankings, and drive online revenue.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of search engine data to develop strategic plans that align with business objectives. Analyze and leverage data to provide insights and identify new opportunities for growth.👆

SEO Director, Ayima (Remote)

• Salary: $110,000 – $130,000
• Lead and manage multiple client accounts – across different industries
• Help define and execute SEO roadmaps and strategy

SEO Manager, Taskrabbit (Hybrid, Greater Philadelphia)

• Salary: $106,000 – $148,000
• Create a comprehensive global SEO strategy to increase Taskrabbit’s traffic and searches from organic search engine rankings across programmatic and editorial content as well as technical improvements.
• Set and manage measurable goals to demonstrate an increase in visitors and recos YoY and against targets and regularly dive into channel metrics.

SEO Manager, HawkSEM (Remote)

• Salary: $75,000 – $90,000
• Overall SEO strategy and efficient day to day management of assigned client accounts, focusing on client gross profit growth.
• Understand business objectives (e.g. increase profits, generate leads/sign-ups, increase sales for key products, etc.) and be able to translate this into SEO strategy and action plans.

Sr. PPC Manager, Grey Matter (Remote)

• Salary: $75,000 – $85,000
• Develop, implement, and manage PPC campaigns focusing on the B2B industry across various platforms, including, but not limited to, LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Facebook Ads.
• Craft compelling ad copy and optimize ad creatives to improve click-through rates and Conversions.

Sr. Demand Generation Manager, Converz (Remote)

• Salary: $135,000 – $145,000
• Develop and Execute Demand Generation Campaigns: Design and implement comprehensive demand generation programs that drive brand awareness, generate leads, and nurture prospects through the sales funnel.
• Performance Analysis: Analyze campaign performance using marketing analytics tools. Provide actionable insights and optimize campaigns to improve ROI.

Sr Marketing Manager, Paid Search (SEM) , Amazon Music (Culver City, CA)

• Salary: $112,800 – $186,500
• Take a leadership role in the planning, management, and execution of all Amazon Music SEM campaigns, including but not limited to account setup, development and implementation of strategies, campaign structure, budget management, daily bidding and invoice management
• Mentor team members to achieve targeted performance KPIs (CAC, conversion) including optimizations and campaign troubleshooting

Paid Media Manager, JX Strategy (Draper, UT)

• Salary: $70,000 – $110,000
• Develop, implement and optimize strategies for clients.
• Create marketing proposals for new or existing clients.

Search Engine Marketing Manager (SEM), Yelp (Remote)

• Salary: $89,000 – $150,000
• Manage the day-to-day operations for our paid search marketing strategy, setting up campaigns, optimizing bids, ad copy, landing pages and more.
• Monitor and report on daily SEM portfolio performance using our in-house SEM systems and conduct analysis and investigations using Excel, Tableau, and SQL.

More SEO jobs

Senior SEO Strategist, Webify (Remote)

• Salary: $70,000 – $90,000
• Client strategy planning and prioritizing, including: technical roadmap, content strategy, clients’ competitive landscape, link building/data-oriented PR, product/features – including building specs
• Client engagement growth and extension

SEO Specialist, ABA Therapy Industry (Remote)

• Salary: $130,000 – $200,000
• Develop and implement SEO strategies to improve organic search rankings.
• Conduct keyword research and analysis.

Associate Director, SEO, 85Sixty (Remote)

• Salary: $90,000 – $110,000
• Managing client portfolios across Travel, Tourism & Hospitality to targeted goals and objectives.
• Cultivating and maintaining successful client relationships through progressive SEO strategies, quality deliverables, insightful reporting and engagement of team members where applicable to drive cross-functional opportunities.

SEO Account Manager, Location3 Media (Remote)

• Salary: $60,000 – $70,000
• Responsible for determining client SEO strategy and identifying tactics across multiple search engines to ensure client goals are met and exceeded
• Daily monitoring and management of SEO campaigns

SEO Manager, Orderful (Remote)

• Salary: $107,000 – $132,000
• Utilize SEO tools and analytics platforms to monitor daily, weekly, and monthly performance metrics, including organic traffic, rankings, click-through rates (CTR), and conversion rates.
• Perform competitor analysis to understand market trends, benchmark our performance, and identify opportunities for growth.

SEO Manager, Honeybook (New York, NY)

• Salary: $140,000 – $160,000
• Develop and implement comprehensive SEO strategies to increase organic traffic and improve keyword rankings across major search engines
• Influence cross-functional decision makers to drive an impact on growth. Present growth opportunities to stakeholders and decision makers and improve processes to maximize growth impact from SEO activities.

SEO Strategist, Scaled Agile (Remote)

• Salary: $90,000 – $115,000
• Develop and execute successful SEO strategies to increase the visibility and effectiveness of Scaled Agile’s digital content across multiple business segments.
• Conduct keyword research to guide content teams and ensure alignment with SEO goals and business objectives.

SEO Engineer, Pulumi (Remote)

• Salary: $170,000 – $190,000
• Develop a strategy and create content for the most valuable search terms.
• Execute projects that can expose and scale with the exponential surface area of Pulumi’s supported cloud and language ecosystems

Senior Manager, Search Engine Optimization, Macy’s, New York, NY

• Salary: $100,900 – $168,200
• Develop and implement comprehensive PPC strategies for retail products to drive sales and revenue growth, leveraging industry experience
• Manage and optimize campaigns, including feeds across various platforms, including Google Ads, Bing Ads, with a deep understanding of each platform’s unique features and nuances

SEO Analyst, Greenlight (Remote)

• Salary: $80,000 – $100,000
• Perform comprehensive keyword research and identify high-value keywords relevant to our industry and target audience to guide content and optimization strategies
• Partner with SEO Manager and Content Manager to create a always-on content calendar to teach kids and parents about the world of money & beyond

SEO Manager, Upgrow (Remote)

• Salary: $70,000 – $80,000
• As an SEO Manager, you will be the main point of contact for 4-6 client accounts, handling account management, strategy, and project management. 
• After studying each client and their industry, you’ll develop a strategy to achieve their performance goals, not just traffic but, more importantly, conversions.

SEO Content Manager, Black & White Zebra (Remote)

• Salary: $90,000 – $100,000
• Meticulously plan and prioritize the cluster development for specific publications
• Develop, execute and map keyword plans for those clusters that map to our internal customer journeys

Search Engine Optimization Manager, Covert Recruiting (Remote)

• Salary: $110,000 – $130,000
• Drive the SEO program including the strategy, implementation, reporting, consulting and daily communications.
• Develop and execute comprehensive SEO strategies that drive consistent revenue growth through organic search.

Digital Content Strategist – Ads Expert, Cornershop Creative (Remote)

• Salary: $65,000
• Google Ads management, specifically the nuances that come with managing Nonprofit Ad Grant accounts to optimize their spend within the limitations of the grant
• Create and implement SEO strategies, including performing keyword research (using Moz and other tools) to optimize web content for SEO

Sr SEO Specialist, Winston Digital Marketing, (Remote)

• Salary: $65,000
• Independently execute strategies, deliverables, and communication for client accounts.
• Collect and analyze website data to create campaign insights based on client goals, resources, and SEO best practices.

Search Engine Optimization Manager, Previsible.io, (Remote)

• Salary: $85,000
• Identify site opportunities and potential limitations impacting organic search performance
• Prioritize SEO initiatives and work hands-on with companies to implement

SEO & Social Content Manager, Bloomfield Growth Agency (Remote)

• Salary: $65,000
• Technical SEO: Must hold relevant certifications from Google and have a strong grasp of technical SEO to draft clear requirements for technical changes that developers can implement.
• Keyword Strategy: Ability to conduct in-depth keyword research, analyze current keyword performance, identify high-impact keywords, understand competitive keyword landscape, and provide actionable insights on client ranking within the industry.

SEO Account Manager, Clearscope (Remote)

• Salary: $60,000 – $80,000
• Quality content is the cornerstone of a winning SEO strategy. You will walk prospects and customers through how to make the most out of the Clearscope platform to create and maintain content that meets searcher needs.
•  We believe all Clearscope customers should have a point-of-contact when Clearscope or SEO-related issues arise. You will build customer trust with your in-depth knowledge of search trends and our platform.

SEO Manager, Zocdoc (New York, NY)

• Salary: $100,000 – $145,000
• Leading a continuous process to identify product, content, UX, and technical SEO projects to grow Zocdoc’s organic search audience
• Conducting audits and research to pinpoint growth opportunities

SEO Consultant, Botify (Remote)

• Salary: $130,000 (annual)
• Engage in discovery sessions to learn about customers’ businesses, their strategic initiatives, goals, and progress towards achieving the goals
• Carry out detailed site audits and propose and present SEO strategies and roadmaps

Principal SEO, GoodRX (Remote)

• Salary: $135,000 to $288,000 (annual)
• Influence the SEO strategy for the business at large and generate buy-in from executive leadership.
• Highlight trends and competitor movement within the rapidly evolving health vertical.

SEO Specialist, Pure Visibility (Remote)

• Salary: $58,000 to $65,000 (annual)
• Work with the SEO director to perform in-depth visibility audits for new clients and compile the results along with prioritized recommendations.
• Work with the SEO director to analyze and create action plans around common technical SEO components (canonicalization, sitemaps, crawl budget, schema, hreflang).

More PPC jobs

Lead Performance Marketer – Well-Funded Consumer Startup, Stealth consumer startup (Onsite, Solana Beach, CA)

• Salary: $100,000 – $150,000
• Strategically manage large-scale Google Ads campaigns across various campaigns.
• Analyze campaign performance and adjust strategies to maximize conversion rates and ROI.

Senior Paid Search Manager, Gusto (Hybrid, New York, NY)

• Salary: $140,000 – $180,000
• Bring your successful experience growing businesses through advertising and innovative thinking together to create break-out successes
• Scale and optimize best-in-class paid search campaigns to drive high-value customer acquisition across brand and non-brand keywords

Digital Paid Media Manager, 24 Seven Talent (Remote)

• Salary: $80,000 – $90,000
• Be the in-house search, social, demand-side platform, and Google Tag Manager expert.
• Owner and executor of platform strategy development, setup, technical implementation, and campaign stewardship.

Paid Search Manager, Realtime Agency (Hybrid, Denver, CO)

• Salary: $70,000 – $75,000
• Oversee the planning, execution, optimization, and reporting of large-scale paid search campaigns across multiple platforms, targeting client KPIs.
• Manage client communications across key accounts, and effectively present the current campaign performance and strategic vision at regular client meetings.

Digital Paid Media Planning Manager, Sud Recruiting (Hybrid, Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex)

• Salary: $100,000 – $150,000
• A pivotal member of the Digital Marketing team: responsible for spearheading paid media strategic planning and enhancing the performance of paid media campaigns
• Develop a performance based digital media strategy

Manager, Paid Search/SEM, Digital Matter (Hybrid, New York/NY)

• Salary: $87,000 – $106,000
• Manage execution and performance of search, shopping, display, and video advertising campaigns through the full account management life cycle.
• Serve as a supporting player in kick-off meetings, client relationship management, ad-serving, tech stack implementation, campaign optimization, and quarterly business planning.

Senior Paid Search Manager, MVF (Hybrid, Austin, TX)

• Salary: $135,00 – $150,000
• Line managing a team of Paid Search executives and specialists. You will be responsible for the personal development of the people you manage, including performance management and salary review and will provide ongoing feedback and support as required.
• Hands on campaign management of some of our highest spending campaigns, working closely with the strategy team to grow your own portfolio and deliver against US growth plans.

Paid Media Manager, Qualcomm, (San Diego, CA)

• Salary: $125,000 – $187,000
• Strategy Development: Align with various business stakeholders to understand the business need and craft a well thought-out media brief for media agency.
• Campaign Management: Oversee the entire campaign lifecycle from concept to execution, including media brief development, user journey mapping and budget management.

Sr. Manager, Performance Marketing, CLEAR (Hybrid, New York, NY)

• Salary: $120,000 – $150,000
• Develop and implement comprehensive performance marketing strategies to achieve CLEAR’s business objectives.
• Manage and optimize performance marketing campaigns across platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn, and others.

Search Engine Marketing Manager (SEM), Yelp (Remote)

• Salary: $89,000 – $150,000
• Manage the day-to-day operations for our paid search marketing strategy, setting up campaigns, optimizing bids, ad copy, landing pages and more.
• Analyze performance metrics from internal database tools, third party systems, APIs, and data feeds to drive growth in profit.

Paid Search Marketing Manager, Vanta, (Remote)

• Salary: $105,000
• Analyze global paid search campaigns and drive daily optimizations as needed across bids and keywords.
• Drive short, medium, and long-term workstreams to optimize ad copies, sitelinks, and landing page content for evergreen campaigns and product or campaign expansions.

Sr. Marketing Manager, Paid Search, Search Marketing, Amazon, (Seattle, WA)

• Salary: $114,300 – $212,600
• Develop deep search channel insights and understanding in partnership with retail teams, other marketing channel teams, and international stakeholders
• Translate channel insights into test plans, product/feature proposals, and opportunities for optimization

Director, Paid Search, GroupM, (New York, NY)

• Salary: $100,000
• Act as the chief architect of the delivery strategy, testing strategy, forecast, and plan for key accounts within your category, ensuring all search deliverables are met on time and of the highest quality.
• Develop strong relationships with the search community, vendors, Group Directors and Digital Leads.

Senior SEM Strategist, NKP Medical Marketing, Inc.

• Salary: $65,000 – $80,000
• Strategic SEM Development: Collaborate with the NKP Leadership Team to create a scalable SEM process for our agency and clients.
• Client-Focused Solutions: Translate clients’ business goals into measurable paid media strategies, driving leads and patient acquisitions.

Paid Search Marketing Manager, Vanta (Remote)

• Salary: $109,000 – $128,000
• Analyze global paid search campaigns and drive daily optimizations as needed across bids and keywords.
• Drive short, medium, and long-term workstreams to optimize ad copies, sitelinks, and landing page content for evergreen campaigns and product or campaign expansions.

Digital Marketing Manager (Paid Media / SEO), Creative Circle, (New York, NY)

• Salary: $90,000 – $110,000
• Manage paid media + SEO channels to reach small business owners across the US
• Develop / execute digital ad campaigns across Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.

Director, Paid Search, Digital Matter (New York, NY)

• Salary: $136,000 to $165,000 (annual)
• Manage execution and performance of search, shopping, display, and video advertising campaigns through the full account management life cycle
• Serve as the key player in kick-off meetings, client relationship management, ad-serving, tech stack implementation, campaign optimization, and quarterly business planning.

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