Table Of Contents
TL;DR
Google quietly rewrote its Local SEO rules—removing key verbiage about SEO best practices and replacing them with a narrow obsession over backlinks and review counts. Big agencies are celebrating, small biz owners are panicking. Are we entering a new era of review-spam?
What Changed (July 15 – 16, 2025)
- Google deleted the line:
“Your position in web results is also a factor, so search engine optimization (SEO) best practices apply.” — no more public nod to traditional on-page/off-page SEO. - Mentions of “links, articles, and directories” are gone. The revised text now reads only: “how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have”
- No fanfare, no stroke of transparency—just a stealth doc edit that rewires prominence.
Industry Chatters & Reactions
- On Reddit (r/GoogleMyBusiness), a local SEO veteran commented after auditing 350+ profiles: “What things most businesses are missing… taught me a lot about…”
- Experts on Local Falcon and Widewail are already sounding the alarm:
- Widewail confirms review count & ratings directly impact local rank
- Moz’s latest data shows review signals (quantity, diversity, velocity) comprise ~15% of Local Pack rank
- Several Industry Mentors also breaked this on Linkedin i.e Barry Schwartz breaked this on his Linkedin post with following comparative image:
Why This Is Explosive
| Risk | Explanation |
|---|---|
| SEO Simplified = Market Manipulation | Doc rewrites reduce nuance—open door for mass review/link spamming. |
| Black-hat review arms race | With reviews now spotlighted, expect faked or coerced reviews to surge. |
| Transparency vacuum | No announced algorithm update—Google is pulling strings behind the curtain. |
| Market imbalance | Small businesses lose again to deep-pocketed competitors who can buy reviews en masse. |
What You MUST Do (Or Risk Irrelevance)
- Stack authentic reviews
Run campaigns, Ask happy customers, Embed review CTAs. - Diversify backlinks
Not just directories, Get cited in local news, events, partner sites. - Audit your GBP ruthlessly
Ensure NAP consistency, Service categories, Q&A, Fresh posts. - Monitor local SERPs obsessively
Snap rankings daily/week, Log spikes, Share case study results.
Add Your Voice
- Agree or disagree?
Drop your take below or on Twitter/X—are we heading into a review-spam dystopia or just a strategic refocus ? - Want real data?
I’m running a case study on SMB local packs. Results coming soon.
Author
Umair Khalid is an SEO strategist, AI marketer, and digital futurist. With over a decade of experience, Umair leads strategies at the intersection of SEO, AI and Search. He holds certifications from Stanford, DeepLearning.AI, Google & various others in marketing, machine learning, prompt engineering, and AI marketing.