Here Are The 2 New Links Launched In Google My Business Dashboard For COVID-19 Updates

Google has been releasing COVID-19 updates and recommendations to local businesses, SEO companies, and webmasters on a regular basis. In a particular update for healthcare and medical professionals, Google has introduced two new links in the dashboard of Google My Business (GMB). It was first found by Erica Paige and picked up by Mike Blumenthal.

New profile links. Google has focused the Google My Business guidelines for healthcare and medical specialists. Telemedicine is a customized service category that can be added to the Google My Business dashboard. It will probably be going to be a permanent service category once COVID is over). However, now Google is calling out that feature with a particular link that will appear, on Maps or profiles. Moreover, there is new COVID-19 information to take users directly to relevant information.

Why we care. Google has given priority to servicing healthcare practitioners during a period of where marketers have reduced support staffing. As a result, many updates in Google My Business have been taking much more time than usual to process and display. Therefore, reviews are suspended for an indefinite time. That’s why soliciting reviews during the pandemic is a great idea.

Recently, Google released a best practices guide for health care providers aside from the two new links in Google My Business dashboard. Its goal is to assist them in making their COVID-related information more accessible to many people through Google search. The company also produced a technical support group for health companies. These new links are part of Google’s bigger work to make health-related data easily accessible and speed up its delivery.

These Are The Important Things To Consider For Top Google Rankings

John Mueller answered a question regarding Google rankings and links during a recent Google After Hours Office Hangout.

Also, he highlighted the fact that many people do not have a correct understanding of how SEO really works.

Then, he offered recommendations on how to fight for the top search positions.

Links Are Always Needed

The publisher started the question by saying that “everyone knows” that dofollow links are required for Google rankings.

And here is where the publisher is wrong.

So a part of the answer to their question is they need to reconsider their thoughts and understand that still have something to know about SEO.

It is not shameful to consider that there is a gap in knowledge.

Here is the question:

“Everyone knows that a dofollow link will help to gain rank besides many other signals. So no one is linking to me with a dofollow link as it costs some link juice for them as well.

So how can a newbie like me grow my website if no one is willing to give me do follow links.

And many big sites have implemented sitewide nofollow policies so it’s just next to impossible for me as a newbie to get a dofollow link from a big site.

How can a newbie grow in 2020 or should they write content and wait indefinitely?

Is Google’s system the same like others who favor only big players?

Or will Google come up with new rules for links that will not differentiate between the type of links”?

There’s Always Something To Know About SEO

Apparently, not everyone knows that dofollow links are not a requirement anymore when it comes to rankings.

Nofollow links can be useful as well.

The publisher who asked the question was solving their problem while not understanding SEO that much, especially with the state of links.

To be well-versed at search marketing, surround yourself with individuals who are more knowledgeable than you.

Avoid people who cannot challenge what you think you understand.

John Mueller’s answer first addressed the lack of dofollow links:

“So for that last one, I think we’re already in that state we’re using nofollow as a signal. It’s not the case that we completely always ignore those links.

Especially in some locations we’ve seen that a lot new websites are only linked with nofollow links and it would be a shame for us not to be able to discover those links and to show them in search.

That’s something where we do try to use nofollow more as a signal”.

Mueller means that regardless of the ranking problems that the publisher is currently facing, it is has nothing to do with the lack of dofollow links.

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The publisher is concentrating on the wrong thing.

Saying that it is because of the lack of dofollow links is an excuse for ranking drops.

It does not justify the bad rankings.

It is not that difficult to find an excuse why it a website is getting poor rankings.

Being open-minded and exploring different reasons why a website is ranking or not is a better approach for this.

If you focus on excuses alone, improving your rankings and traffics will definitely be a challenge.

Never go for the obvious reasons. For example, if another website has more dofollow links.

You are like conceding defeat to the battle of top rankings if you will just focus on excuses.

Top Rankings: How To Fight For It

Mueller discussed how the battle for top rankings exists beyond than just links:

“In general though I think it’s also worthwhile to think about the bigger picture when it comes to the web and not just to assume that you need to always just get links and then you’ll be shown in search.

But rather you’re essentially opening up as a business as a storefront in a bigger city and it’s both the case that you shouldn’t just wait for someone to recommend your business nor the case that you should just open your business up and you kind of link wait outside and see if anyone will happen to come by and want to visit your business.

But rather you need to do different things to help promote your business.

And sometimes you do things to call attention to your business in ways that kind of encourage people to take note and to notice that this business exists and they’re doing really great stuff and then people will come and over time recommendations will come as well.

So that’s not something that just happens automatically. It might be that you have to do advertising for awhile to get things going.

It might be that you have to do some kind of special activity to kind of like stand out even more than you otherwise would.

But essentially opening up a website it’s kind of the same as opening up a business and you need to do various things to get the ball rolling and at some point if you’re doing really great work, if you’re doing something that’s really fantastic for people then you will get recommendations from various folks.

And those recommendations could be in the form of dofollow links. They could be in the form of nofollow links.

It could be just general recommendations maybe on social media where people are saying, well this business is doing a great job you should check it out.

And you might just get more people coming by.

So with all of that said, I would say that you need to think more than just looking at links and rather think about how you can grow a business in general which involves all kinds of activities”.

Six Takeaways To Help Improve Rankings

Here are the things you can do, based on Mueller’s answer:

1. Google follows new rules that permit nofollow links to count as a link signal. This does not mean that spammy nofollow comment spam will work. Instead, it means that regular nofollow link may still be considered as a link.
2. This is advantageous for websites that operate in a niche where websites usually link to one another with nofollow links.
3. Promoting a business is not just about acquiring links.
4. Building traffic to a website is about being proactive and just like building traffic to a brick and mortar. For both instances, you need to find strategies to make your business unique for it to be different to be noticeable and superior to others.
5. Avoid excuses when it comes to ranking. This will not help you understand what you need to improve on your website.
6. Concentrating on what you think is wrong will not be much of a help to improve your rankings. Instead, trying to get the word out is a much more advisable.

Additional Insights

Focusing on what you think alone when checking what is wrong with your website is not recommended.

Instead, learn how websites with high Google rankings reached their current position.

However, do not neglect the traditional old-time dust-covered ranking signals.

Be sure to give more time on looking for innovations that make a high ranking website more relevant to searchers.

Information in this post all came from https://seotradenews.com/google-introduces-new-covid-19-and-telehealth-gmb-links-for-healthcare-providers/ and https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-links-and-rankings/359722/. Click these links to learn more.

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