Google’s New Local SEO: Place Search
Good news small businesses, if you have focused on holistic SEO, Google has swung its local search engine results rankings in your favor.
Bad news, if you purchased some $150.00 per month or other monthly plan for “Guaranteed First Page Rankings” you are probably feeling some pain right about now… Hopefully these big changes by Google will end the scamming by so-called “Google Maps Local Search Optimization” providers claiming to provide a monthly service that includes claiming your listing on behalf of your business and then providing some sort of continued support for the listing. So what exactly do these scammers provide?
Google recently merged local and organic search engine results in a more blended layout, called Place Search or PlaceRank. Previously search engine results for Google Places or Maps and Google’s Organic or Natural search engine results have been separated. Google’s 3-pack, 7-pack, and 10-pack of listings have been replaced by this new blended local listing results that combine the Places rankings and Organic search engine optimization. The new results pages look just like organic results but display much of the content from the previous map listing search engine results directly on the search results pages, content such as the “A, B, C, D Pinpoints”, citations from local IYPs and Directories, prominent reviews with a link to the PlacePage, and also the websites meta-description. The geo-centric map has been moved from the top left to the top right side above the Google AdWords sponsored pay per click ads.
The ranking factors have not changed, they have just been merged in a combine score and the local rankings have shifted towards both local search optimization strategies such as directory listing optimization, reviews and UGC (user generated content), but also combines organic SEO efforts including on-page optimization, such as meta-titles and descriptions, and offline authority or branded term query traffic volume (how often do folks search for your business name on Google?)
If you had been practicing holistic local search engine optimization, content strategy, social media interaction and promotion, you would remain constantly prepared for these kinds of “winds of change” with Google’s algorithm. A local SEO service like SMB SEO can help you stay ahead of the shifts in local search.
My clients get a healthy dose of article and blog content, combined with pay per click or ppc management for AdWords and AdCenter campaigns, on-page SEO, link building, and all the transparent measurement tools offered including web ranking reports daily, Google Analytics, Woopra Real-Time Analytics, Call Measurement eand Tracking, and AdWords reporting directly from Google. My agency even does advanced analytics segmentation so we can separate traffic sources from Country, Device (mobile vs pc) and multimedia vs local IYP vs social etc…. great stuff let me tell you.
When you stick to a holistic approach you don’t have to worry about losing your single spot on the page. In many cases our clients dominate search engine results and show up many times on the first page of Google.
I have always said that there are not shortcuts to online marketing success, and with these big shifts by the #1 search engine, if you hire an agency like SMB SEO to handle your Dallas Internet Marketing efforts, you will be impressed with our results, expertise, and value.
To find out more information on our Google Places OptimizationLocal Search Strategies just call 214-267-9553.
