Google Places effects local search SEO
Google has recently rebranded its ‘Local Business Center’ to ‘Google Places‘ while also making some radical new changes to the product for local search SEO. We recently wrote about how local businesses can increase their search engine results. If you have a chance you might want to check it out.
These adaptations are being rolled out steadily. Depending on the search term and the location, you may or not see them yet or only see them on some search queries.
The main new change is Google Places has become a new way to search and new way to optimize for local search seo. Once users have entered their search query. The first page of results will show a list of options for refining the search on the left-hand side of the page. The list may include images, videos, or books. Now, Places is one of the options. This should help speed and refine some searches.
There are other changes to the way search results are shown which will make any decent SEO Company check their online campaigns. Google Place Search has now replaced the mapped listings and also the places listings push the rest of the organic listings below the fold. SEM agencies will now need to ensure that their client’s sites are added to ‘Google Places’.
Research will now have to be made to see what factors will affect where your site is ranked in the Google Places system. Reviews from other sites and listings in local directories are the main suggestions for improving rankings.
The fact that a well optimized site that was once top of the first page can now be pushed down to eighth! Which means digital marketing agencies will have to alter their local search optimization campaigns, and fast before the new system is rolled out completely.
