New Google Place Search Will Shake Up Local SEO

Last updated 1 year ago

This week Google is in the process of rolling out a totally new interface for local search results. The new interface emphasizes "mini-pages" that include details around local businesses in search results displayed next to a map showing the locations of the various businesses and points of interest.

Search Engine Land and Wired both made interesting and informative posts about this change.

Along with the rollout of Google Instant, the landscape for search engine optimization for small, local businesses is changing rapidly. I wrote about the impact of Google Instant here. In the case of the new Place Search, small businesses are going to ask some obvious questions:

What the heck do I need to do to have my info show up in this new format?

And the answer if businesses are going to try to do it themselves is not straightforward. For example, the new Place Search mini-pages make extensive use of rich snippets, a structured data format that enables web pages to be marked up with semantic information (e.g. reviews).

Are the small businesses that you know ready for this? Most small businesses still have a fairly static web page and are struggling to keep it fresh let alone supportive of things like rich snippets.

With ReachCast, I am committed to making this new world totally transparent for small businesses. With a platform update that we're releasing today, all Cast pages will automatically include the structured data and other organic search elements needed to help our business users to be ready for the rapidly evolving world of organic search.