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Chrome Extension shows competitor Google My Business categories

Apr 13, 2012
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George
We released a cool new (and free) Chrome Extension this morning called GMBspy. Many of us know that Google My Business (GMB) categories can be read for any location by searching the HTML. This process works, but is clumsy and slow. Why care about GMB categories? I believe they are one of the keys to learning why some businesses rank higher in local search than others. Should the OEM category be placed first or last? What are the best secondary categories for high-scoring locations? I’ve always loved and used Chrome Extensions, and I felt this would be the perfect application.

Click here to download:
https://bit.ly/GMBspy
 

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I installed it, and all of the searches I have done show just dots, no categories - even when I search for my own store, and I know we have categories in there.

Any ideas George?
Make sure you are using google.com/maps instead of google.com/search This issue is fixed in latest version. Also, refreshing browser helps clear issues.
 
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Glyn_Hopkin_Fiat_Buckhurst_Hill_-_Google_Maps.jpg

Version 1.4 of our GMBspy Chrome extension is now live and available for free download from the Chrome Store. This is our official international version, supporting google.co.uk, google.es, google.com.ca and others domains. We launched 2 weeks ago and are already approaching 2,000 users, most of which are outside the U.S. Version 1.4 works much more natively with international browsers, I just ran some tests and everything seems to be working as designed. Please share your feedback, thank you!

Click here to download from the Chrome Store:
 
I’m not sure how many Refreshers have used the GMBspy tool, but working on a sprint of new enhancements and would appreciate any feedback on how to improve the usefulnes.

Here is a link to download:

No data is gathered by the tool, it doesn’t try to update GMB listings, just displays hidden data fields.

Thank you,
-George
 
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I’m not sure how many Refreshers have used the GMBspy tool, but working on a sprint of new enhancements and would appreciate any feedback on how to improve the usefulnes.

Here is a link to download:

No data is gathered by the tool, it doesn’t try to update GMB listings, just displays hidden data fields.

Thank you,
-George
Do you ever foresee the plugin becoming a full-fledged dashboard-based solution where browsing via Chrome is not required, but instead the data is gathered via web scraping?

Could pull in additional info like map pack ranking, review rating / count, claimed status, etc. I know this would benefit the greater SEO community more than it would the dealership space though...
 
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George,
I ck'd 2 dealers and came up with blanks. As a user, IDK if this is a GMBspy problem or not.
Thoughts?
View attachment 5232
Sorry for the issue Joe, not sure what version you are on, but maybe remove and reinstall in Chrome Store? Attached is a screenshot I just grabbed from Sam Pack's 5 star Chevrolet, also the latest documentation (not much, 1 page).
 

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