Episode 95: Google Ranks The Pulse, Not The Pile

Send us Fan Mail A business with 5,000 Google reviews just lost to one with 500. Not because of rating. Because of the date on the last review. The 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey is out, and the factor that jumped is review recency. In this episode, Jeff explains why Google has started ranking the pulse of a business rather than the pile of reviews behind it, walks through the "zero list" of profile tactics that have no ranking effect at all, and shows why your website is the database behind your Google Business Profile, not a separate thing. Proof point: Dr. Kamran Haghighat, a Portland periodontist and ten-year client, whose practice has published more than a hundred patient stories over a decade and, as a result, dominates local search in its specialty. The Move: reviews are a process, not a campaign. The twice-a-year review drive is the tell. Three questions to close:  When was your last review?  Did it arrive because of a system?  And if you stopped operating tomorrow, how long would Google take to notice?