Google's Place Search Now More Efficent For Local Search

Google recently announced a new kind of search result called Place Search. These results can be accessed from the new "Places" option in the left panel on Google search results pages, but unlike many of the other search options available in the panel, Google will actually return you these results for queries automatically, when it thinks you are looking for local information. 

Place Search results are marked with red pins, much like you're used to seeing on Google Maps.  

Tthis is great news for local businesses that are optimized for local search (see below for one of our client examples). For those who aren't, this would appear to symbolize a crucial time to starting placing more focus on this area of local search engine optimization. 

"We've made results like this possible by developing technology to better understand places," explains Product Manager Jackie Bavaro. "With Place Search, we're dynamically connecting hundreds of millions of websites with more than 50 million real-world locations. We automatically identify when sites are talking about physical places and cluster links even when they don't provide addresses and use different names ('stubb's bbq' is the same as 'stubbs bar-b-que')."

"One of the great things about our approach is that it makes it easier to find a comprehensive view of each place," adds Bavaro. "In our new layout you’ll find many more relevant links on a single results page—often 30 or 40. Instead of doing eight or 10 searches, often you'll get to the sites you're looking for with just one search. In our testing Place Search saves people an average of two seconds on searches for local information."

This feature is just in the roll out phase now, but to make sure you are found there contact us today and we will handle all the necessary aspect of your organic search engine optimization.