Google Place Search Changes How Local Searches are Displayed

A Comparison On The Old And More User Friendly New Version That Is Ready To Generate More Revenue

When we search for something locally, we place our search on to the Google and get the search results back with a wide range of listing. While narrowing this result by adding a location to the search, we get more precise listing on our search result for a particular location. This is how the Google works on our searches providing us with more meaningful results. This is a continuous attempt Google does, to refine the search process by changing the Google local search algorithm.

By far, the kind of searching, we are experiencing on the Google, is very simple having a Google Map displayed on the upper right corner of a search result page. The Map shows each business with red lettered pins and links to each business.

We are very soon, going to experience this whole search in a new and advanced version where each small to medium sized business will be given prominent spaces among the local search results than before. Through the advanced search, the searchers will see sponsored location searches on the Google Map as blue lettered pins and in search results with the blue marker pin next to the content description. And this all will be facilitated by the Google Boost that is a Google AdWords product. By this means, search results for a location will now appear first below sponsored listings and above organic listings. What this means is that results for a business in a location will now appear grouped with the other search results, making it much easier for searchers to find what they are looking for in a local area.

This way Google will be more concentrated on the relevance and locations of each business. It will automatically identify the physical places and cluster links of the sites even when they don't provide addresses and use different names. This facility could be seen as a disadvantage for those companies who do not have any well developed and locally optimized website.

Businesses will now have to have a visible and physical location if they want to be listed in a local search. In the past, businesses could hide their physical location and yet still be found locally through their websites, but now consumers searching for a business in a location will be able to determine if they contact that business or not based on their location. So as Google exposes competitors in searches, it is now revealing where those businesses are located - hopefully providing the consumer with more information before making a purchase decision.

Though the new Google Place Search could push some already top ranking websites to the page two and so and could draw other companies near to the page one but it could be averted while paying more attention and efforts on the SEO practice.

‘Active’ Google Place Search this way is giving a hard competition to the Facebook Places which has launched the same facility a while ago. Placing Google Place Search alongside search results, Google can hedge its bets while not detracting from its standard offering