NEWS

Top GMB Insights Trends Enterprise Brands Need to Know via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Published

4 years ago

May 4, 2021

New research from Rio SEO shows dramatic effects on local search and offers insights into how to be more effective in monitoring search habits at the local level and leverage those changes for better economic performance.

Rio SEO tracked consumer trends across over 200,000 locations in a range of verticals.

The report covers these categories.

Business Services
Financial services
Sit-down restaurants
Quick Service Restaurants
Retail
Healthcare
Hospitality
Massive Impact

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It’s widely known that the impact on business was massive. But this new research shows how the pandemic affected website clicks, click to call, and clicks for driving directions.

According to Rio SEO:

“Without question, COVID-19 had a massive impact on the local search landscape in 2020. Across the over 200,000 locations in all verticals that Rio SEO tracks, local searches were volatile, with initial drops, recovery, more volatility, and a gradual return to pre-pandemic levels.
The verticals that were able to pivot to respond to the uncertain economic climate weathered the pandemic storm better, but no sector was left untouched and unaffected.”

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Total Views

All verticals experienced drops in total views from February through April.

Other metrics also reported declines but it was total views that had the biggest declines.

Recovery began in May and by the fourth quarter all metrics stabilized at similar percentages of growth and decline.

Click to Call

Click to Call was a big performer during the pandemic.

The increase “skyrocketed” in March mostly across the board in all verticals, peaking in April and May 2020.

The phone call clicks metric was particularly volatile for most verticals, it ended the year at a higher rate year over year for sit down restaurants.

Financial Services

Financial services experienced a significant decline in views from March through May, at which point it has continued to rise. But it has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

However total searches and clicks have fared better, ending the year higher than the pre-pandemic January 2020 figures.

Business Services

Business services suffered the during the pandemic, no doubt a result of the work from home phenomenon.

Source: Rio SEO internal data for 141 enterprise brands (100+ locations), January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 Business Services Local Search Trends

According to the Rio SEO report:

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“What started as a strong year in terms of views plummeted in March, only beginning to regain traction in June.
Local searches and views took a huge hit in March and April 2020. The business services vertical recorded the largest percentage changes for all metrics, rocketing up in most metrics in May 2020.”

Restaurants

Some studies have noted that the pandemic hit the restaurant business harder than other sectors.

During normal times restaurants operate under pressure, particularly smaller startup restaurants that experience a failure rate of approximately 27%.

The additional pressure from the pandemic emphasized the importance of being able to pivot in response to changing conditions.

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Rio SEO noted:

“…views and clicks were down all of 2020. Only clicks to phone calls and clicks to website metrics have surpassed pre-COVID metrics.”

Restaurant Sit-down Restaurants Local Search Trends

Source: Rio SEO internal data for 141 enterprise brands (100+ locations), January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 Restaurant Sit-down Restaurants Local Search Trends

Retail

Retail was one area of local that was able to keep performing during the pandemic.

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Clicks saw the smallest dips compared to other sectors and the rising trend in clicks continues to grow.

“From October-December 2020, total views had surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Total searches have also been trending upwards, reaching their peak in December 2020 due in large part to holiday shopping. Of all verticals, retail experienced less turbulence than other verticals affected by COVID-19.”

Healthcare

Healthcare started the pandemic with declines just like other niches.

However, the sector as a whole has continued to regain views and searches beginning in June 2020.

Clicks and to phone calls and to websites did exceptionally well and nearly reached pre-pandemic levels.

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Hospitality

The hospitality sector was crushed at the beginning of the pandemic but managed to stage a modest rebound beginning in June. But the trends were indicative of fewer consumers.

According to the report:

“By June both searches and views started making a slow comeback, and have remained steady since.
While fewer consumers may have been searching and viewing hotel listings, the ones who were were taking action in the early part of 2020 and then again July through September.”

Local Search & Consumer Behavior

It’s clear that the pandemic caused long lasting changes to user behavior in how users were interacting with maps and business listings to contact and do business with local businesses.

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What’s of particular interest in terms of a takeaway is that it’s important to monitor user behavior in order to better respond to swiftly changing local search consumer trends.

Citation

Search Engine Journal readers can download the full report for more insights:
An In-Depth Analysis of Google My Business Insights Trends in 2020

Searchenginejournal.com

NEWS

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

Published

2 months ago

August 21, 2024

Max

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

OpenAI has today announced the release of fine-tuning capabilities for its flagship GPT-4 large language model, marking a significant milestone in the AI landscape. This new functionality empowers developers to create tailored versions of GPT-4 to suit specialized use cases, enhancing the model’s utility across various industries.

Fine-tuning has long been a desired feature for developers who require more control over AI behavior, and with this update, OpenAI delivers on that demand. The ability to fine-tune GPT-4 allows businesses and developers to refine the model’s responses to better align with specific requirements, whether for customer service, content generation, technical support, or other unique applications.

Why Fine-Tuning Matters

GPT-4 is a very flexible model that can handle many different tasks. However, some businesses and developers need more specialized AI that matches their specific language, style, and needs. Fine-tuning helps with this by letting them adjust GPT-4 using custom data. For example, companies can train a fine-tuned model to keep a consistent brand tone or focus on industry-specific language.

Fine-tuning also offers improvements in areas like response accuracy and context comprehension. For use cases where nuanced understanding or specialized knowledge is crucial, this can be a game-changer. Models can be taught to better grasp intricate details, improving their effectiveness in sectors such as legal analysis, medical advice, or technical writing.

Key Features of GPT-4 Fine-Tuning

The fine-tuning process leverages OpenAI’s established tools, but now it is optimized for GPT-4’s advanced architecture. Notable features include:

Enhanced Customization: Developers can precisely influence the model’s behavior and knowledge base.
Consistency in Output: Fine-tuned models can be made to maintain consistent formatting, tone, or responses, essential for professional applications.
Higher Efficiency: Compared to training models from scratch, fine-tuning GPT-4 allows organizations to deploy sophisticated AI with reduced time and computational cost.

Additionally, OpenAI has emphasized ease of use with this feature. The fine-tuning workflow is designed to be accessible even to teams with limited AI experience, reducing barriers to customization. For more advanced users, OpenAI provides granular control options to achieve highly specialized outputs.

Implications for the Future

The launch of fine-tuning capabilities for GPT-4 signals a broader shift toward more user-centric AI development. As businesses increasingly adopt AI, the demand for models that can cater to specific business needs, without compromising on performance, will continue to grow. OpenAI’s move positions GPT-4 as a flexible and adaptable tool that can be refined to deliver optimal value in any given scenario.

By offering fine-tuning, OpenAI not only enhances GPT-4’s appeal but also reinforces the model’s role as a leading AI solution across diverse sectors. From startups seeking to automate niche tasks to large enterprises looking to scale intelligent systems, GPT-4’s fine-tuning capability provides a powerful resource for driving innovation.

OpenAI announced that fine-tuning GPT-4o will cost $25 for every million tokens used during training. After the model is set up, it will cost $3.75 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. To help developers get started, OpenAI is offering 1 million free training tokens per day for GPT-4o and 2 million free tokens per day for GPT-4o mini until September 23. This makes it easier for developers to try out the fine-tuning service.

As AI continues to evolve, OpenAI’s focus on customization and adaptability with GPT-4 represents a critical step in making advanced AI accessible, scalable, and more aligned with real-world applications. This new capability is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries, creating a new wave of AI-driven solutions tailored to specific challenges and opportunities.

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

4 months ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:

1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update

Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.

2. Changes to Google Search Interface

Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.

3. New Features and Tests

Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.

4. Search Rankings and Quality

Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.

5. Advice for Content Creators

Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.

6. New Search Features in Google Chrome

Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.

7. New Tests and Features in Google Search

Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.

8. Bing’s New Feature

Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.

9. Local Search Ranking Factors

Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.

10. Google Ads Updates

Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.

These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.

FACEBOOK

Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

Published

8 months ago

March 20, 2024

Max

Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.