Stumbled across this new AI tool called MapScan that gives you a full heatmap audit of your Google Maps rankings. It literally shows you where your business ranks across your entire city—visually. No dashboards, no digging through GMB. Just a clean map of where you're hot and where you’re invisible. Ran it for one of my local clients and was shocked by the red zones we didn’t even know existed. You get a free audit, no credit card or signup hoops. If you’re doing local SEO, this might be worth checking out. Curious if anyone else here has used it yet?

Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 2:00–3:00 PM Eastern. Accelerate Marketing / Local Lead Labs. Google is changing how local businesses prove trust, and the smartest move is to separate confirmed changes from limited tests before touching your account. Join us live for a practical Accelerate Marketing workshop for local-service business owners, law firms, and agencies. We’ll cover: 1. LSA featured-professional and headshot changes. How to adjust a professional-services ad after Google’s October notice removes featured professionals and makes headshots optional. This is a display/setup change, not a promised ranking improvement. Reference: https://searchengineland.com/google-local-services-ads-removes-featured-professionals-497197 2. Google Business Profile verification. How to follow the verification method Google actually offers, prepare legitimate evidence and protect identity documents. Photo-only and government-ID options are limited observations, not options everyone can select. Google guidance: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242 Photo discussion: https://localsearchforum.com/threads/verify-a-google-business-profile-with-a-photo.63441/ ID discussion: https://localsearchforum.com/threads/verify-by-uploading-government-id.63448/ 3. Delayed review-removal appeals. Keep one clean case with the review, policy issue, evidence and case number, and check its status rather than submitting duplicates. Delay report: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-review-appeals-delays-42331.html Google’s process: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773