It’s always great to discover a local treasure, a new bakery or coffee shop to check out, but sometimes finding these treasures can be tricky. Leave it to Google to simplify the process.
Last week Google announced changes to Google Places (formally Google Local Business Centre) that will make it easier to find and compare local businesses. Place Search is a new kind of tool that organizes search results based on location.
Coupled with Google’s new real time search, Place Search results will begin appearing automatically if Google predicts you’re seeking local information. Likewise, “Places” now appears as a search option in the left-hand panel (under the Google logo), so you can switch to these results at any time. For example, if you’re looking for a Calgary Dog Groomer, here is a screen shot of what you can expect to see:
Results are indicated with a red place marker on the mapped image, and each result includes the title, description, contact information, as well as web links and reviews.
So what does this mean to your small business
1. Focus on local SEO
Businesses that rank well on Google’s organic search results may not appear on the Place Search results. If your business is locally based, you may want to consider shifting your SEO focus from placement on specific keywords, to optimizing for Google Places.
2. Reviews are more visible
That all important customer review just got more important. People who may not have previously dug to find reviews on website’s such as Yelp will now have that information more easily accessible and more visible. So, ensuring that you are monitoring your online reputation, and responding appropriately to negative feedback, will be more crucial.
3. Ensure your listing is accurate
This is probably the most important implication of this new tool. If you haven’t yet claimed your Google Places listing, do so! Making sure that you are included in their data base and that the contact information on your listing is up to date could be the difference between getting a contact and losing it to your competition.
