Local Search and Reviews affected by Covid-19
Google My Business
| Issue | What is being affected | Last updated |
| Reviews | Reviews and review responses were disabled (announced 3/20/2020). Users who try and post reviews might think it’s published, but will not be public. Google says all reviews attempted posting during this time will post after functionality has been restored. | 3/26/2020 |
| Questions & Answers | Q&A disabled and hidden on all Google listings. | 3/20/2020 |
| Edits | Expect delays when editing business information. Google is prioritizing healthcare-related businesses and critical edits such as hours. | 3/20/2020 |
| Photos | Reports of all user-updated photos removed from listings. Photos uploaded by the business are unaffected. | 3/23/2020 |
| Posts | Google has released a new post type called COVID-19 Update. | 3/26/2020 |
| Temporary Closure | You can now mark a business as Temporarily Closed from the GMB dashboard. Google has noted to only use this feature if the business is actually closed. | 3/25/2020 |
Yelp
| Issue | What is being affected | Last updated |
| Review moderation | Yelp announced more strict restrictions on reviews that mention COVID-19, complain about being closed due to COVID-19, or insinuate someone caught the virus from a restaurant. | 3/20/2020 |
| Temporary Closure | You can now mark a business as Temporarily Closed from the Yelp dashboard. You must include a re-open date. | 3/26/2020 |
| Pickup and delivery | Enables business owners to easily indicate if they’re only open for delivery and takeout. | 3/20/2020 |
| Fundraising | In partnership with GoFundMe. A new, fast and simple way for independent businesses to accept donations through their Yelp pages. | 3/24/2020 |
| Special Advisory | Yelp has added a COVID-19 Advisory banner to every listing. | 3/26/2020 |
