Meet our Product Experts
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Product Experts are Google users who help with questions and troubleshooting—you may have met a few of them in the Business Profile Community Forum. We'd like to introduce you to the Business Profile Product Experts and let them tell you a bit about themselves. Say hello next time you see them around!
Ben Fisher
As a specialist in local SEO, Ben has been helping businesses grow their online presence since 1994. Thanks to his contributions to the Business Profile Forum, Ben has been hand-picked by Google as a Business Profile Product Expert. Ben is also a contributor to the annual Moz Local Search Ranking Factors Study, and a regular contributor to BrightLocal.
Ben is the co-founder of Steady Demand, a local SEO and social media company. The team at Steady Demand specializes in helping clients fight map spam, navigate the most complex Business Profile issues, and troubleshoot ranking issues on Google.
Colan Nielsen
Colan is the VP of Local Search at Sterling Sky Inc and started in the local SEO world back in 2010. He is also deemed a product expert by Google as a Product Expert on the Business Profile Forum. He is a contributor to Moz’s famous Local Search Ranking Factors survey and is a former Google MapMaker Regional Lead.
Colan is obsessed with everything related to Local Search and is active on many online communities including the Local Search Forum where he is a moderator. You can follow Colan on Twitter.
David Cox
David found out about the TC program listening to Joy Hawkins talk about it on the SEO 101 podcast. David is a trusted verifier, a Level 8 contributor and a trusted photographer in local guides connect program. Starting back in 1997 David was involved with sales of SDSL service and websites when dial up was the way most people connected to the Internet and getting 256K up to 1.5 meg for a small business was a big deal. From that point on he has been learning HTML and internet search optimization, much of which is self-taught.
Helmut Geissler
Helmut has loved maps ever since he was a child, when he drew his own maps by hand for his personal edification (e.g. of the UK). Now his hands are a bit too shaky to draw these maps, but that’s where Google Maps and Business Profile come in. These products, along with the hundreds of questions "ehg" answers in the forums weekly, keeps his day lively and interesting. Helmut is an active Product Expert in the English, German and Spanish Maps help forums.
James Clemens
James started building products and brands back in the 1980’s and jumped deep into website development and SEO in 1996. A web coder in HTML, CSS and PHP that pushes himself to be uniquely creative for each project. He is a passionate technologist that works with a smile on his face and is known for his patience while providing friendly help. James brings a wealth of knowledge to us and was even named the 2015 Top 3 Most Inspirational Member with the North America Google Partner Community. He’s involved in several charities in Panama City Beach, Florida and enjoys helping others to be successful while expanding his intelligence.
James is also a Product Expert with Google Ads & Google Partners, a Rising Star with Google AdWords Express, and certified in every Google Ads product, Google Analytics, Mobile Sites and Digital Sales. He operates a badged Google Partner agency in sunny Florida that he founded in 1992 and has almost too much fun building a digital presence for clients all over the globe.
Joy Hawkins
Joy is the owner of the Local Search Forum, LocalU, and Sterling Sky, a Local SEO agency in Canada & the USA. She has been working in the industry since 2006. She writes for publications such as Search Engine Land and enjoys speaking regularly at marketing conferences such as MozCon, LocalU, Pubcon, SearchLove and State of Search.
You can follow Joy on Twitter.
Krystal Taing
Krystal has spent the last decade working in SEO and e-commerce with a focus on local since 2014. Her experience devising local strategy aids multi-location brands in solving their most persistent marketing challenges. This includes improving organic visibility, search rankings, and online-to-offline traffic. Krystal is a respected authority on performing local searches and a resource for marketers and businesses.
You can follow Krystal on Twitter.
Mike Blumenthal
Mike has been involved with offering web services since 1995. Prior to specializing in web design and search consulting in 2001, Mike was a principal in a family owned and operated retail business for more than 30 years. Like all small business owners attempting to market to a fragmented clientele, he was continually frustrated by the barriers & costs imposed by the advertising options available. Shortly after Google Maps was released in 2004, he threw out his nine Yellow Page books and started focusing on Local Search. During the week, you can find him at his blog, Understanding Google Maps and Local Search, where he writes about local search and its impact on the business community. During the past year Mike, cofounded two locally focused companies: LocalU.org, which focuses on small business education, and GetFiveStars.com to help small businesses deal with the complexities of customer feedback and reviews.
Tim Capper
Tim has been involved in search marketing for over 10yrs and specialises in local SEO. Having originally graduated with a Swiss Degree (BelvoirPark Hotel Fachschule) in hospitality management then owning and operating his own hotel in the UK Lake District. It was during the Foot and Mouth outbreak that he honed his skills in search marketing.
Taking the decision to move into search marketing professionally, Tim relocated to Northamptonshire and now operates a bespoke SEO consultancy onlineownership.com with a global client base. Being a Google Product Expert gives me the ability to view issues that an average webmaster will never see, adding extra value to the already impeccable service Online Ownership provides for its clients. Online Ownership's innovative approach to search marketing and skill sharing philosophy can be seen in the recent Put your Business on the Map campaign along with the step by step guides and tutorials they have produced and published. Tim is passionate about what Google Business Pages can offer businesses, they provide a real opportunity to market and brand their business online, and Tim takes great pleasure in helping these business solve their problems in the Google and your Business product forum.
Tom Waddington
Tom has helped numerous businesses improve their presence in local search results over the past 10+ years. A unique issue brought him to the Business Profile Community forum where he was helped by a couple Product Experts. While looking through the forum he saw the opportunity to utilize his experience and began helping other users with their questions. His desire to learn, help others, and fight spam led him to be a frequent participant on the forum.
Yan Gilbert
In 2005, after building a website for his own woodworking business, Yan realized he needed to generate more sales. He discovered SEO and, after teaching himself website optimization, he’s been hooked ever since.
After working on numerous websites, Yan turned his attention to local SEO. He was hired by Joy Hawkins and began in-depth SEO work with small businesses. After looking at numerous keyword ranking graphs, he wondered if there was an easier way to visualize local rankings. As a result, and in his spare time, he created LocalFalcon, the first grid-style local ranking tool of its kind using the Google Maps API.
He is currently the Chief Product Officer at dbaPlatform as well as a senior SEO Specialist at Sterling Sky. Yan works and resides in Newmarket, Ontario. Contact him via Twitter, LinkedIn, or at yangilbert.com
Sherry Bonelli
Owner of Early Bird Digital Marketing, is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and digital marketing professional with more than 24 years of experience. Her digital marketing agency, Early Bird Digital Marketing, serves clients all over the US and Canada.
Sherry is a Google Business Diamond Product Expert and is a columnist for leading marketing websites like Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land, MOZ, and Adweek. She received the Search Engine Land’s 2018 SEO Contributor of the Year Award.
She is a recognized presenter and speaker at leading digital marketing conferences, podcasts, and webinars like Traffic & Conversion Summit, State of Search, Content Marketing World, Digital Marketer, SCORE, MOZ, Edge of the Web, Local Marketing Institute, Midwest Digital Marketing Conference, and Duct Tape Marketing.
Sherry holds a Master’s Degree in Internet Marketing. She is also a LinkedIn Learning Instructor, Adjunct Instructor for several universities, and is the host of The Marketing Plan Podcast.
Amy Toman
Amy is an experienced SEO specialist who focuses on small business SEO and Google listing troubleshooting and is active in a diverse range of industries. With experience dating to 2015, she’s contributed her expertise to boutique agencies and a comprehensive legal SEO agency, and she independently manages Google listings. She has contributed to many articles, webinars, and conferences, and has participated in the 2020, 2021, and 2023 Local Search Ranking Surveys from Whitespark. Amy is active on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.
Ekant Puri
Ekant Puri
Ekant Puri is the first Indian to become Google Business Profile Expert. He is the owner of Digital Marketing Company ALL DIGI SEO which deals in SEO, Local SEO, PPC Google Ads and everything related to Digital World. He has more than 10 years of experience in SEO. Ekant Puri is known for SEO, Local SEO, Reinstatement and Google Ads. His experience helped a lot of people to get their business listing back and with his immense knowledge about products.
Crystal Horton
Crystal takes pride in contributing as a Google Business Profile Product Expert in the community forum. She is passionate about supporting local businesses and fellow professionals. It is her honor to assist with tackling a challenge. Crystal is a highly experienced lead generation specialist with a wealth of knowledge in Google's Business Profiles and Local Services Ads (Google Guaranteed). She implements advanced strategies to maximize the performance of these platforms and drive exceptional results. Woo hoo! You can connect with Crystal at CrystalHorton.com
Elizabeth Rule
Elizabeth Rule is an expert local SEO analyst who has been working in the digital marketing industry since 2015. A Writing, Literature, and Publishing graduate from Emerson College, Elizabeth has a passion for writing and loves partnering with local businesses to boost their website’s authority and expertise with compelling content. She has written for top SEO publications including Search Engine Land and BrightLocal. She currently works as a Local SEO Analyst at Sterling Sky, a Local SEO Agency in Canada and the USA. She is also a faculty member and speaker at LocalU SEO Conference.
You can connect with Elizabeth on Twitter and LinkedIn, or on the Local Search Forum where she is a moderator.
Claudia Tomina
Claudia Tomina is the founder of Reputation Arm, a SaaS platform that enables businesses to enhance their online presence by streamlining listings management and reputation building. With a wealth of experience in local SEO and reputation management, Claudia has built a solution that allows businesses to manage their Google Business Profiles and citations with ease.
Mendryk Yaroslav
Mendryk Yaroslav is the founder of Mappers GEO, a company specializing in Google Maps business optimization and Basic local SEO. He has been helping businesses improve their online presence and visibility since 2016.
Yaroslav authors in-depth research, industry articles, and directs the Mappers GEO YouTube Channel. Author of the book "What Advertising Does My Business Need?"
Yaroslav became an official Google Product Expert in 2019 to share his expertise within the Google support community, helping business owners troubleshoot their issues. You can connect with Yaroslav via his personal Blog or on LinkedIn.
Yaroslav authors in-depth research, industry articles, and directs the Mappers GEO YouTube Channel. Author of the book "What Advertising Does My Business Need?"
Yaroslav became an official Google Product Expert in 2019 to share his expertise within the Google support community, helping business owners troubleshoot their issues. You can connect with Yaroslav via his personal Blog or on LinkedIn.
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Last edited by E. Usha Apr 6, 2025