It seems as if Google Places is a combination of both the maps and organic search results. This is great news for professional link building companies that know how to rank well in the search engines.
What this does is allows not only the old Google Maps to be in it's dominating top half of the page position but it allows the the natural organic search results to blend in with the maps. Thus creating the new Google Places.
Here's an excerpt from a credited SEO Webmaster:
" I was thinking about it all wrong. "Maps" or "Places" are gone as we knew it. Those places on the SERP's ARE organic. There are still 10 organic places on the page, and organic just got more important becase it doesn't get bumped down by the Maps section. I know that it feels like there is a Maps section and then an organic section, but they have actually merged. There is no more opportunity to appear in Maps and organic on the same SERP. They have just blended it all together. For example; if you are position 4 for a keyword, you are not on the second page, you are probably position D.
Google has made the Places page a hub for your businesses content and information online, including logos, images, videos, reviews, etc; and then tying it to your URL in the SERP. Then the algorithm for local search is looking at it all to rank your page."
Google places is now the business directory for local search. Any local search will now show location relevant results when searching for services. Many organic search listings are now showing up on the second page which is why you need to optimize your google places page today.
What does this mean for local organic search engine optimization and local business owners?
It means two things;
1. There will be a lot more competition moving into the Google Places for companies offering to cater clients to their needs in grabbing a piece of the traffic and locking in that spot of the top 7 listings. These companies will have to provide quality service without being illegal in their service options of offering to provide the business owner with "good reviews" etc... This will go against various regulations within State and Federal Laws.
As SEO Link Building Service Companies scramble to get their heads around the new algorithms that Google has just released it creates a new door of opportunity for both customers to get more traffic and new prices for these different services. Also, companies offering the services will have new opportunity to attain new clients by providing promising results on the Google Places for their potential clients.
This of-course is a problem right now though because there are no companies that can provide results within the Google Places. They may be claiming to, but as of this writing, (November 2nd, 2010) there is not one seo company out there (beside the big G) that can honestly provide accurate testings to see what works and what doesn't.
2. This means that the small business owners who were currently ranked in the numbers 1-3 spot of the organic listing are now pushed way down to the bottom of the 1st page of Google depending on the niche, keyword, and the area. This will dramatically decrease the amount of traffic the business will now get. And if the owner relied heavily on traffic from the internet to bring in the leads for his company then he or she must make the decision to make those adjustments necessary to continue to thrive in their local business.
Please contact us here if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
The GTS Team
What this does is allows not only the old Google Maps to be in it's dominating top half of the page position but it allows the the natural organic search results to blend in with the maps. Thus creating the new Google Places.
Here's an excerpt from a credited SEO Webmaster:
" I was thinking about it all wrong. "Maps" or "Places" are gone as we knew it. Those places on the SERP's ARE organic. There are still 10 organic places on the page, and organic just got more important becase it doesn't get bumped down by the Maps section. I know that it feels like there is a Maps section and then an organic section, but they have actually merged. There is no more opportunity to appear in Maps and organic on the same SERP. They have just blended it all together. For example; if you are position 4 for a keyword, you are not on the second page, you are probably position D.
Google has made the Places page a hub for your businesses content and information online, including logos, images, videos, reviews, etc; and then tying it to your URL in the SERP. Then the algorithm for local search is looking at it all to rank your page."
Google places is now the business directory for local search. Any local search will now show location relevant results when searching for services. Many organic search listings are now showing up on the second page which is why you need to optimize your google places page today.
What does this mean for local organic search engine optimization and local business owners?
It means two things;
1. There will be a lot more competition moving into the Google Places for companies offering to cater clients to their needs in grabbing a piece of the traffic and locking in that spot of the top 7 listings. These companies will have to provide quality service without being illegal in their service options of offering to provide the business owner with "good reviews" etc... This will go against various regulations within State and Federal Laws.
As SEO Link Building Service Companies scramble to get their heads around the new algorithms that Google has just released it creates a new door of opportunity for both customers to get more traffic and new prices for these different services. Also, companies offering the services will have new opportunity to attain new clients by providing promising results on the Google Places for their potential clients.
This of-course is a problem right now though because there are no companies that can provide results within the Google Places. They may be claiming to, but as of this writing, (November 2nd, 2010) there is not one seo company out there (beside the big G) that can honestly provide accurate testings to see what works and what doesn't.
2. This means that the small business owners who were currently ranked in the numbers 1-3 spot of the organic listing are now pushed way down to the bottom of the 1st page of Google depending on the niche, keyword, and the area. This will dramatically decrease the amount of traffic the business will now get. And if the owner relied heavily on traffic from the internet to bring in the leads for his company then he or she must make the decision to make those adjustments necessary to continue to thrive in their local business.
Please contact us here if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
The GTS Team
