Former Google Employees Reveal What You’re Getting Wrong | Brad Wetherall & Joel Headley

https://www.sterlingsky.ca/local-seo/ In Part 1 of this exclusive Episode, I sit down with former Google employees Joel Headley and Brad Wetherall to uncover what really happens behind the scenes of Google Business Profiles, and what business owners often get completely wrong. Why reviews disappear, why edits don’t stick, and why support often feels like a dead end. We break down how Google actually evaluates trust, filters reviews, and decides what gets published or ignored. If you rely on Google Maps to drive calls, leads, or foot traffic, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Links: https://www.thegbpexperts.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradwetherall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelheadley/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction : Why your Google reviews disappear and profiles get suspended 00:47 Meet the Former Googlers : Intro of Brad Weatherall and Joel Headley 01:41 The Mystery of Missing Reviews : Understanding the cyclical nature of review removals 03:46 The Balancing Act : How Google experiments with algorithms and causes collateral damage 05:51 Why Seasonality Matters : Why Google avoids major algorithm tweaks in Q4 07:22 Behind the Scenes : How Google targets spam and uses automated scripts 12:18 Review Parties and Proximity Signals : The risks of getting too many reviews at one location 15:34 Tactics for Getting Filtered Reviews to Stick : Discussion on editing reviews and profile links 17:48 The "Recaptcha" Logic in Reviews : How mouse movement impacts Google's trust 21:44 New Google Guidelines : Speculation on why Google discourages mentioning employee names 27:10 Do Reviews Ever Truly Get Deleted? : Understanding the hidden database where content is stored 31:04 One Google, Many Teams : Why advice contradicts enforcement across Policy, Product, and Support 33:36 Is Reaching Out to Support Worth It? : The reality of modern automated machine decision-making 39:13 Pro-Tips for Navigating Support Levels : Understanding Levels 1, 2, and 3 and the language trick 53:48 The "Escape Hatch" : How to trigger the manual verification process 59:49 Coming Up on Part 2 : Teaser for the next episode on negative reviews and suspensions   Ep 26102 pt1   #localseo #seo #localsearch \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\__ Grow Your Business With Local SEO   At Sterling Sky, we're passionate about helping businesses like yours achieve their local SEO goals. We know that the digital landscape can be confusing and ever-changing, so we've made it our mission to provide you with the expert guidance and support your need to succeed.   We've helped countless businesses achieve their local SEO goals, and we're confident that we can help you do the same.   READY TO TAKE YOUR LOCAL SEO TO THE NEXT LEVEL?   Websites: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/ https://localu.org/ https://localsearchforum.com/   Blogs: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/blog/ https://localu.org/blog/