Comments on: Google Places Adds Best Ever Badge and Upload Photos

By: Thos003

Thos003 — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:21:27 +0000

Yes. I missed the exact date on when the Best Ever appeared, but you are correct it most certainly was an add on from Hot Pot. Which actually makes me wonder if they will remove the best ever badge if Hot Pot gets pulled.

By: Phil Rozek

Phil Rozek — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:42:09 +0000

Hey Thomas,

Great post! I really like the terms you seem to have coined: “Liked / Disliked Add-on.”

I believe the Best Ever reviews first appeared around last October, when Hotpot was introduced (I only mention this because there was some debate as to when the Best Ever review option 1st appeared).

Just to throw in my two cents, one benefit of Best Evers is that they automatically count as 5-star Google reviews (in addition to making for a nice feather in your cap).

By: Nyagoslav

Nyagoslav — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:20:38 +0000

It is actually a funny story that you mentioned scooping. I was also out of town, chilling, and when I returned I noticed that there was this major change and I was hoping to be fast and to be one of the first to write about this. Then I realized that a few more local SEO specialized blogs already wrote some articles, so I just dug deeper and found interesting stuff like the awards section and the descriptive terms on the Place page.

Thanks for the kind words!

Greetings,
Nyagoslav

By: Thos003

Thos003 — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:53:11 +0000

In reply to Nyagoslav.

@Nyagoslav

You are correct. Those updates have been live for some time. And it appears that you scooped me on your blog about the upload photos button as well. I guess that is what I get for taking time out to visit Seattle. =)

BTW… I also liked that you highlighted the awards section. Thanks for your comments.

By: Nyagoslav

Nyagoslav — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:00:21 +0000

Hey Thomas,

The article is really nice, but I just wanted to mention that actually the best ever medal is there for quite some time (maybe about a year or so), although Google officially announced it about 2 months ago in a video tutorial with “Prof. Emoji”.

The “like/dislike” emoticons were also there for quite some time, and they always show up for restaurant/hotel businesses.

But overall the article is really nice, and I really like the screenshots explanation!

Greetings,
Nyagoslav

By: Thos003

Thos003 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:49:15 +0000

In reply to Mark Upshaw.

Mark,

I agree. Anything that they add to help businesses distinguish themselves is a good thing for proactive marketers. And hopefully the user generated content will lead to less gaming of the system. Thanks for your comments.

By: Mark Upshaw

Mark Upshaw — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 18:19:46 +0000

I like the changes, albeit minute at the moment and not necessarily permanent. Any help in conversions with the best ever badge and the like/dislike indicators ultimately lead to a better user experience and better delivery of services by our clients. More user generated content/feedback leads to less gaming of the system, or when it is gamed it becomes all the more obvious.