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Darren Shaw

@whitespark.ca

1.7K followers 680 following 990 posts

🔹 Founder of Whitespark.ca: local SEO software and services. 🔹 Local SEO educator with 36,000+ newsletter subscribers, 8,000+ YouTube subscribers, and 2,000+ email course sign-ups. 🔹 In charge of the annual Local Search Ranking Factors Survey

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Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 31m

Here’s the first page of the table as a gesture of goodwill 😁

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 31m

Can an e-commerce business have a Google Business Profile? What about a practitioner in a multi-practitioner business? Or a business within a business?

@miriamellis.bsky.social’s new guide gives you all the answers. Get the full guide, the GBP Eligibility Summary table, and more below! 👇

Can Your Business Be on Google? A Guide to GBP Eligibility by Business Type

This guide will help you discover which model your business falls under according to Google, and whether it's eligible for a Google Business Profile.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 1d

It’s basically a combination of “chunking” + “ranch SEO”: You blow some chunks onto the main page (inside podcast joke with @clairecarlile.bsky.social - E4), and then build out your ranch with the dedicated pages: “Chunk Ranching”

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 1d

5️⃣ Bonus tip: If you’ve got 20 FAQs, don’t drop them all at once. Publish ~8 at a time, then cycle them weekly. For example, remove 3, add 3 new ones (it keeps your content fresh, and Google likes that).

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 1d

Why not both?! Here’s a strategy we’re calling “Chunk Ranching” 🐄:

1️⃣ Figure out the common questions around your topic.
2️⃣ Add them to a FAQ section on your page.
3️⃣ Answer each question *briefly* right there.
4️⃣ Then link each question to a dedicated page that answers it in depth.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 1d

You do some query fan-out research and end up with 10+ sub-questions. But now what?

👉 Should you cram all questions into one mega-page?

👉 Or create a separate page for each question?

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 1d

I don't know what you mean by "carewords"

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 2d

You can also listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

And please leave us a comment or a review wherever you listen to it — we highlight some of your wonderful feedback in this episode, and we really appreciate everything you say ❤️

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 2d

Apparently, businesses can now LOSE all their reviews if they ask for them at the register? 🤔

@clairecarlile.bsky.social and I discuss @claudiatomina.bsky.social’s report on this issue and MORE on today’s episode of the Whitespark Local Update podcast!

Watch the episode below! 👇

The Future of AI Search, Suspensions Surge & Google's Insights Tool | E6 The Whitespark Local Update

YouTube video by Whitespark

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

💡 How to get keywords in your reviews:

Lucky for you, @miriamellis.bsky.social wrote this awesome guide on how to get keyword-rich reviews, including 3 review request templates to make it super easy.

Just Google “The Ultimate Review Request Templates Whitespark” to get the templates.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

7️⃣ Ask Maps About This Place Feature:

Google is phasing out the old Q&A section and replacing it with an AI-powered feature that pulls answers from customer reviews. This means reviews with detailed info (and the right keywords) are more valuable than ever.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

6️⃣ AI Review Summaries

Google's AI generates review summaries by analyzing common sentiments and tips from customer feedback.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

5️⃣ AI Editorial Summaries

Google’s AI-generated business summaries pull concepts from reviews (e.g., "cozy”) to describe your business. While uneditable, encouraging customers to include specific keywords in their reviews can influence the AI to emphasize aspects most beneficial to your business.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

🤔 One could argue that this contradicts the Sterling Sky assertion that keywords in reviews do not impact rankings - at least for restaurants.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

Claudia Tomina discovered that:

1. The menu highlights section impacts rankings.
2. Keywords in reviews impact the Menu Highlights section.
3. Therefore, when you get a menu highlight for a term mentioned in your reviews, you'll rank better for that term.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

4️⃣ Menu Highlights (restaurants)

The Menu Highlights are generated from customer reviews and photos, kind of like Place Topics.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

3️⃣ Review Snippets

Google bolds frequently mentioned terms in three review snippets. This draws users searching for those terms to your Profile, increasing click-through rates.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

2️⃣ Place Topics

Google creates clickable Place Topics from keywords in your reviews. These topics highlight your specialties, filter reviews for customers, and can boost your Profile's engagement.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

1️⃣ Review Justifications

If your reviews consistently mention a keyword related to your business, it increases the likelihood that your Profile will get a Review justification in search. This visibility increases click-through rates, and higher engagement may lead to a secondary ranking improvement.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

Do keywords in reviews impact rankings? 🤔

Well, research from Sterling Sky says no. @joyhawkins.bsky.social tested this in 2023 and found no direct ranking boost.

BUT… keywords in reviews are still incredibly valuable. Here are 7 reasons why you still want to ask for keywords in your reviews:

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 3d

There is evidence! I rank #1 for everything now.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 6d

How NOT to respond to reviews

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 7d

Read the blog here! 👇

18 Local Developments You Need to Know About from Q3 2025 | Whitespark

These are the 18 most significant developments in local search from Q3 2025 that you absolutely need to know.

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 7d

Thank you to all the peeps who do the researching for these roundups:

@rustybrick.com , Claudia Tomina, Sterling Sky, @joyhawkins.bsky.social, Hiroko Imai, @clairecarlile.bsky.social, @miriamellis.bsky.social, @theverge.com, @randfish.bsky.social, Greg Sterling, @gatherup.bsky.social, Whitespark

Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 7d

Google says choose fewer categories 🙄 But @joyhawkins.bsky.social confirmed what local SEOs already knew: The more categories you add, the more terms you will rank for.

@miriamellis.bsky.social covers this and 17 more local SEO developments in her Q3 Local Search Roundup on the whitespark blog 🏃