Wow - hadn't thought of that!  Very creative use of resources!!    Thanks so much ~ Scott

Yep, I was afraid that I'm in the "test group" - hope the test fails!!  That's an important tool for me!  Thanks ~ Scott

Yes, but is it editable at the bottom of the page?  Mine isn't.  Thanks! ~ Scott

In order to emulate different locations, I've always done a Google query, then used the "Location" button under "Search Tools" at the top of the SERP to define my preferred location.  It seems to have disappeared in the past few days?  Anyone know where it went, or if it's gone forever?  Thanks!

Hey, all!  I have a client who needs for people to see her website before they call her, or else she spends 15 min explaining what's already on the site.  Her Google My Business rankings are excellent for a lot of keywords (yay!), so people are seeing the number big and bold and just picking up the phone.  I called GMB support to ask if removing the phone number would affect rankings, and they said "I don't think so".  If this weren't a HUGE deal to the client, I wouldn't take the chance, but she feels that she's losing business by being on these calls when legitimate prospects try to call and get voice mail.  So...  any experience with removing phone numbers from GMB, or any other creative solutions to the quandary?  Thanks so much for reading!  ~ Scott

UPDATE: Well, we went ahead and tried it anyway, and our GMB listins on the 7-pack nosedived!  STRONGLY recommend against this, at least with the current algorithm!!  The phone number is back now.  

Makes total sense!  I hoped that having a page that ranks well already due to solid content, might get a slight lift by having a relevant video on it as well.  Thanks again for your help!

Phil - wow, I'm honored to have a direct response from you!  I've been impressed by what I've heard / read from you over the years!  

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that simply sticking a YouTube video on a page would cause it to rank higher (as Google owns YouTube), but that having video content on a page can be a signal that the page has more value, than a page without video content at all.  That would be true, right?  (This assumes, of course, that the video content aligns with the text of the page, and is perceived to add value to the user experience - always comes first, I realize!!)

The main question in my mind is this: in the past, I used Wistia videos in order to get Rich Snippets, which seemed to get better click-throughs from the SERP than non-rich-snippet entries.  I couldn't use YouTube to get Rich Snippets, since they weren't self-hosted.  Now that I'm not getting Rich Snippets at all, I'm trying to decide whether to start using YouTube instead.

Thanks so much for your help - I look forward to reading your blog post tomorrow!  ~ Scott

Hello, Mozzers!  Sorry if I've missed a thread on this, but I didn't find anything after searching for a while...

I've used Wistia for years - LOVE the service and the company!  Had great luck getting Rich Snippets, ranked well...  until the recent Google change.  Now all of my Wistia thumbnails have disappeared (though my rankings have stayed strong, thank goodness!)  M question is, does it make sense to now embed YouTube videos on our site, and to create a video sitemap with those pages, with the hope that Google will rank the page better than it otherwise would have, knowing that there is valuable (video) content on the page?  This is new videos, I'm not thinking of replacing my Wistia videos at this time.

I'll probably need to clarify as I see your responses, since this is a tricky set of interrelated decisions.  Thanks for any thoughts that anyone may have!  

~ Scott

Hello, Mozzers!  Sorry if I've missed a thread on this, but I didn't find anything after searching for a while...

I've used Wistia for years - LOVE the service and the company!  Had great luck getting Rich Snippets, ranked well...  until the recent Google change.  Now all of my Wistia thumbnails have disappeared (though my rankings have stayed strong, thank goodness!)  M question is, does it make sense to now embed YouTube videos on our site, and to create a video sitemap with those pages, with the hope that Google will rank the page better than it otherwise would have, knowing that there is valuable (video) content on the page?  This is new videos, I'm not thinking of replacing my Wistia videos at this time.

I'll probably need to clarify as I see your responses, since this is a tricky set of interrelated decisions.  Thanks for any thoughts that anyone may have!  

~ Scott