Google Places

October 2010

SEARCH UPDATE

Summary

• The launch of Google Places follows on the heels of some relatively major

changes in Google’s natural search results this year

• Some have been visual changes and some algorithmic – Google Places falls into

both categories:

• This change merges the Google Local and natural search algorithms, making local

SEO more important

Algorithmic Visual

“Vince” change Results Stars

“May Day” update Results Previews

Caffeine update Google Instant

Google Places

“>20% of searches on Google are related to location”

Why do this?

What’s changed?

• Google Local results have been blended into the main natural search results

• The result type below will now be seen in groups or mixed in with ordinary results

• The green areas can be directly controlled by the business owner

Standard web search result formatLink to Google Places page

Direct links to selected review sitesPhoto submitted by business

owner in Google Places account

Address & Phone

(not always 100% accurate)

Is this good for my business?

• If you have a business with local stores or physical locations this is likely to be a good

thing overall

• However, the prominence of negative reviews from third party sites may become an issue, particularly

in industries where negative reviews are posted by competitors

• It places more importance on:

• Owning a Google Places account

• Maintenance & optimisation of Google Places

• Local SEO for store landing pages

• Encouraging positive reviews on third party

sites (ie Qype, ThompsonLocal, Tripadvisor)

• The top paid search results (the map on the

right pushes side results down)

• Having an accurate Street view shot on your

Places page

What are the implications for SEO?

• Local SEO is a well established area of SEO, which now becomes more important

• Google’s Places pages indicates a move to keep users in the Google

ecosystem; how users will react to this remains to be seen

• 3rd Party reviews have become more important (similar to Google Product search)

• This could see the emergence of local reputation management issues

• Google Places pages must be centrally managed and maintained in order to avoid

inaccuracies

• Integrated approach for PPC now more important than ever to maximise visibility

• Unique, optimised pages on-site for each local store is as important as ever

What are the implications for SEO?

• Page titles and descriptions must be compelling; a site owner is now competing

against Google’s Places pages for clicks from search results pages

• On launch, [mobile phones] was appearing as a local search; this particular query

was fixed within 2 days of launch, but raises questions on how well the Places

algorithm determines which queries are location based:

Where can I find out more?

• Official Google Statement:

• http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/place-search-faster-easier-way-to-find.html

• Coverage on SearchEngineLand:

• http://searchengineland.com/new-place-search-shows-googles-commitment-to-local-53990

• 5 Quick Impacts of new Local Search:

• http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/5-quick-impacts-of-googles-new-local-search-results/3757/

• Sign up for a Google Places Account:

• http://www.google.co.uk/places

• Contact your respective search AD for more information.