Google Places is crowding out SEO - Beware!

Colin Parker · Jan 19, 2011

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Is SEO content no longer 'King' on Google?

One thing appears certain - SEO listings will get further pushed down the page by Google. Local listings are doing this more and more and Google is continuing to experiment with where they are placed and how many local listings appear.

They believe a greater user experience is given by real local companies operating in the geo area of the searcher rather than by companies who have got high page rankings through smart SEO. 20% of all searches are now done with a local term included and this is rising by the day.

Google have big plans for local listings and they will include (surprise, surprise) monetizing these with auto adsense and auto PPC campaigns for smaller local businesses.

They next year or two will see big changes on Google serps of that I am certain.

Colin Parker[/FONT]

bdw · Jan 19, 2011

I think Google is trying to fix something that ain't broke. They need to tread carefully.

Chunkford · Jan 19, 2011

TBH if I'm looking for something local and its relevant then is it really a problem. You can always optimise for places too you know.

Colin Parker · Jan 19, 2011

bdw said:
I think Google is trying to fix something that ain't broke. They need to tread carefully.

The question is though - who is it not broke for?

Certainly not for those with high first page SEO rankings - but Google wants more $$$$$ from these slots have no doubt about that.

The internet is becoming more localised all the time - search trends tell us that clearly. Google is reacting to that and whilst they might get it wrong they are going down that line and nothing is going to stop them IMO.

The internet and how it is used is still in it's infancy. A Google page in 3 years time will not look like it does today. And in 5 years time it will be unrecognisable from the one you see now.

Colin Parker

ORDERED WEB · Jan 19, 2011

Google seem to be targeting only certain sorts of local. In my sector that is counties, for global type searches, or very local searches, nothing has changed

directmarketingadvice · Jan 19, 2011

Funny, I was talking with an SEO about this yesterday.

For years we've agreed that Google is going to take every opportunity to monetise the SERPS, but we both feel that there will always be some form of unpaid listings, simply because users will insist on them.

(Though I suspect those unpaid listings will get less and less prominence.)

And whatever these unpaid listings are, the art of optimising rankings will be "SEO".

Steve

bdw · Jan 19, 2011

The question is though - who is it not broke for?

In many Google results pages on a standard laptop screen the first organic result is not visible above the fold. Many people in the trade have been commenting on this.

Google made its name on the back of simple uncluttered search and results. It no longer produces these because it seems too intent on trying to tell people what they are searching for without giving crediting them with the intelligence to be able to find this themselves.

Who knows where it will end up but creating a situation where you have to be able to interpret not just the results but their presentation is surely asking for trouble.

.

ORDERED WEB · Jan 19, 2011

bdw said:
Who knows where it will end up but creating a situation where you have to be able to interpret the presentation of results is surely asking for trouble.

We already do that by ignoring the ad's

bdw · Jan 19, 2011

This is different. The ads have been a part of the results for what, 15 years? They always appeared in the same right column and in a small space above the organic listings. We did not have to try to find the organic listings, which is more and more becoming the case.

OldWelshGuy · Jan 19, 2011

Google are showing local listings on generic searches. I can't give a live example as that would be giving away a clients keywords and I ain't doing that, but in short a generic search for something like laser printers should not return a load of shops locally that are connected with computers.

returning local shops with a local qualifier is one thing and that is OK in my book, but returning local businesses regardless is pathetic.

The google SERP's at the moment are in total disarray with the layout changing from day to day.

They are showing twitter results now in their listings, and in fact it is not too difficult to force google to show twitter results either through out and out automated spamming of twitter.

The SERP's are becoming a joke on Gogle, we are bombraded with images, video, twitter local etc, it is a complete dogs dinner.

ORDERED WEB · Jan 19, 2011

Google have a problem

1. there are a shed load of sites out there
2. they need to organise them somehow
3. as fast as they blink, some SEO specialist reacts, and the results are re-manipulated
4. they are in it to make money, and that bluntly is the primary aim

OldWelshGuy · Jan 19, 2011

they can only make money if they get the right traffic. They are bound by the laws of advertising and they are being hauled into court over breachingthem. They are bound by the laws of business, and they are being hauled into court for breaking thopse also.

Google is breaking the law in the way it is doing things as there is no clear demarkation between paid, and organic listings. there is on the adverts, but they are promoting local business listings, some of which have paid for enhanced.

All is not well in the camp, and google might well be forced to adhere to the rules or someone is in deep doo doo

As well as that, if people do not find what they want, they will leave. Facebook will move sometime soon, they will grab a massive piece of search marketing. Mobile is coming and the crap that google are serving up is 100X worse on a mobile device.

Normansmith · Jan 19, 2011

I agree with OWG, yesterday i was doing a search for a client, local to me and was shown a page of Google places /maps listings that were 150 miles east and others 200 miles south. How on earth does that work ?:|

ORDERED WEB · Jan 19, 2011

I have to say that the inital attraction of google was the very simple no thrills interface

Te way it trys to manipulate a user is frustrating. If you have ever worked on a multilingual site, or SEO'ed say a Spanish site, you will know just what I mean. The live view thing is a royal pain, and freezes a couple of my browsers on a few machines. Yes you can turn them al off, but overall the experience is getting worse

What was that other engine? .. ding or something.. might try that for a week

Curious · Jan 19, 2011

OldWelshGuy said:
Google are showing local listings on generic searches. I can't give a live example as that would be giving away a clients keywords and I ain't doing that, but in short a generic search for something like laser printers should not return a load of shops locally that are connected with computers.

This is happening for a phrase that we optimise for one of our businesses, generic term we had a mid page ranking; now page two.

And the 'local' results just aren't local to us either. Some are over 3 hours away.

Colin Parker · Jan 19, 2011

Curious said:
This is happening for a phrase that we optimise for one of our businesses, generic term we had a mid page ranking; now page two.

And the 'local' results just aren't local to us either. Some are over 3 hours away.

Placings are being scammed just like SEO and PPC were in the early days.

Google will learn, adjust and persue its Placings goal - whatever that goal ultimately is.

Only Google know what the bigger picture is and they have unbelievable resources from search statistics to analyse and formulate how they develop - stats not available to you, me or anyone else.

Anyone who thinks that Google are fools should look in the mirror.

Colin Parker

fisicx · Jan 19, 2011

One the other hand, if you are looking for information rather than products or services then the SERPs are just fine.

OldWelshGuy · Jan 19, 2011

With respect I don't think anyone has said google are fools . They ARE alleged to be behaving illegally, and are being hauled into court for it. Thos close to Google places know full well what their plans are, and their plans are to introduce paid local listings (1st step already done with £25 a month enhanced listings being sold).

Their other goal is to move into verticals, the first being travel, and their massive case with Trip Advisor is the first shots of this particular war. Google want to own online ecommerce, either as a direct seller, an affiliate seller, or a signpost agency, google boutiques is a clear example of this.

The problem here is that in doing this, they stop being a search engine, and the consumer will not accept a paid only search engine where the ONLY results they are seeing are paid for. They see that as poor serevice, poor choice, and the EU courts see it as an abuse of monopoly (goign to court at the moment).

So again with respect, no-one has mentioned google being fools (other than you of course)

Curious · Jan 19, 2011

With regard to the listings that are showing above us in the SERPS - they don't look like they're being 'scammed' at all. Some of them are pretty empty looking profiles.

Could anyone explain why this is and why they rank so well? Is it a result of citations that have been found on the net?

Would I be correct in assuming that? They're quite big players in the industry and would get named on industry group & association sites I would imagine.

crossdaz · Jan 19, 2011

Curious said:
And the 'local' results just aren't local to us either. Some are over 3 hours away.

3 hours is local in the US.
Local ads are not much use to me when my isp is in Nottingham and I'm in Bingley?

Curious · Jan 19, 2011

crossdaz said:
3 hours is local in the US.
Local ads are not much use to me when my isp is in Nottingham and I'm in Bingley?

Hadn't thought about it like that.

Agree about the ISP issue; when I first used Adwords and was trying to GeoLocate - thinking I was being clever - until I did some further research and read it used ISP of the searcher to locate them I couldn't workout why we were getting enquiries and leads from companies no where near the area I'd chosen.

SearchBlogger · Jan 19, 2011

I think there's never been a better opportunity for one of the other search engines to claim a decent slice of Google's market share. While Google certainly aren't stupid, making all these changes to the SERPS so that nobody really knows where they stand presents an opening for other search engines to make some in-roads; whether they are able to do so however, remains to be seen.

johnpandian · Jan 19, 2011

Yes... I heard about this recently... I think this is a good move to protect the local talents... May be this is another money making strategy by google by it is worth changing...

directmarketingadvice · Jan 19, 2011

As a google user, I have to say, I'm quite happy with the changes they're making. It wouldn't make me less likely to use them.

Now, of course, I'm just one person and wouldn't be daft enough to assume I can speak for the majority of people. But at the same time, I think you guys are jumping to conclusions when you're suggesting that this stuff turns off Google's users.

Steve

Jan 19, 2011

I suspect its all a balancing act for Google.The danger for them is not so much the local searches shown but the lack of relevance to the search term visitors are entering as in this example where 5 of the 7 places results are not relevant.

I see this in the long term driving people to use other engines.?

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ca...q=car+leasing+essex&pbx=1&fp=553387615f302e90

Earl

fisicx · Jan 19, 2011

Many people on this forum are looking at the issue as a business owner (or someone doing promotion for the same).

If you consider the results pages from a user perspective then there is nothing amiss. If I want a plumber in Tadley and search for the same then I get a cracking set of results. I don't care one jot if they have paid to be on page one or not, I get the results I want (most of the time). The map shows me where they are located so I can ignore all those out of the area. I've got some adverts and a few directories, all in all a good mix.

The fact that your site doesn't appear anymore on page 1 is no concern of mine. All it means is that instead of relying on a FREE service you may now have to pay to be visible.

However.... I also think that Google is foisting all sorts of crud in my direction. Google instant for example is a complete pain in the bum as is the twitter feed and other add on detritus. On the other hand my daughter likes all the gimmicks and video and pretty backgrounds and so on.

Curious · Jan 19, 2011

fisicx said:
However.... I also think that Google is foisting all sorts of crud in my direction. Google instant for example is a complete pain in the bum as is the twitter feed and other add on detritus. On the other hand my daughter likes all the gimmicks and video and pretty backgrounds and so on.

My little step brother likes it all too; he thinks its really clever (I agree with you about Twitter etc etc) The fact that he has the attention span of a gnat however means that whenever he looks for something it takes about 3times as long as it should because he's clicking all over Google. Which I suppose is increasing the chance he will click on on advert hugely. And I can't believe that he's the only one.

fisicx · Jan 19, 2011

And this is where I think Google is heading. It's building a results page for my old mum to find a local wool shop or for my offspring to find a video of Rumer.

It's not building a results page that rewards those who manipulate the results through the clever use of SEO, in fact it's penalising all those who have enjoyed a free ride up until now. All that link building and article spinning and social bookmarking and forum profiling is soon going to be irrelevant. In future it's going to be who has the best local listing. The national plumbing company is going to do less well than Fred the Plumber with his one page site and a Google Local listing.

Whether or not this is going to work for Google nobody knows. What is for certain is all the SEO fiddles and tricks may not be much use anymore.

Incidentally, visits on many of the sites I manage have gone up since the change...

fz04 · Jan 19, 2011

this local listing change has only been recent

and i dont know if any of you know but google recently tried to buy a company called groupon but they didnt accept googles offer

for some reason it looks like google is thinking that groupons business model is the way forward and are tweaking the listings to highlight results which are local

if you look at groupons business model it is only based on localised advertising

but google are not daft

i just typed in a search for online shopping and there isnt a local based result in sight

maybe they are changing the algorithm to show local results where it is beneficial to search users

and show non local results where it isnt

the thing is googles main aim is to return the best search results to its users the day it stops doing that to concentrate on increasing ad revenue it will be finished

omnivore · Jan 19, 2011

fz04 said:
this local listing change has only been recent

and i dont know if any of you know but google recently tried to buy a company called groupon but they didnt accept googles offer

for some reason it looks like google is thinking that groupons business model is the way forward and are tweaking the listings to highlight results which are local

if you look at groupons business model it is only based on localised advertising

but google are not daft

i just typed in a search for online shopping and there isnt a local based result in sight

maybe they are changing the algorithm to show local results where it is beneficial to search users

and show non local results where it isnt

the thing is googles main aim is to return the best search results to its users the day it stops doing that to concentrate on increasing ad revenue it will be finished

actually groupons business model is based on two totally different things

it just so happens that it is necessary for groupon to APPLY those things locally

i think googles interest was that groupons product makes a lot of money and google has a lot of local advertising to exploit. stick them together and they have something to throw their unsold clicks at and make big sales into the bargain

fz04 · Jan 19, 2011

omnivore said:
actually groupons business model is based on two totally different things

im not going to argue with you because obviously you know much more on this subject then me

i will be having a look at groupon again and be looking out for those

omnivore said:
"two totally different things"

and please dont give me any hints on what they are i want to try and find out by meself

omnivore · Jan 19, 2011

fz04 said:
im not going to argue with you because obviously you know much more on this subject then me

i will be having a look at groupon again and be looking out for those

and please dont give me any hints on what they are i want to try and find out by meself

tee hee
i thought you might
hence my tease

fz04 · Jan 19, 2011

omnivore said:
tee hee
i thought you might
hence my tease

there was a dose of sarcasm in what i wrote and i can see there is also a bit of sarcasm in what you wrote too

omnivore · Jan 19, 2011

fz04 said:
there was a dose of sarcasm in what i wrote and i can see there is also a bit of sarcasm in what you wrote too

maybe
maybe not

so you want me to tell you what they are yet?

dubOnline · Jan 19, 2011

google places and mobile search is a killer combination and a serious game changer for all local based business's.

MASSEY · Jan 19, 2011

Im really getting the hang of optimising local listings now. The one im working on will rank for the major trades in a bazillion different areas, but knowing my luck they will take it to paid before i get to properly milk the cow.

I have read lots of internet conversations by americans about this and they summarise it by saying the system is in a very bad state and they arent willing to pay, and those that have paid have been left pissed off.

fz04 · Jan 19, 2011

omnivore said:
maybe
maybe not

so you want me to tell you what they are yet?

sure, lets hear it

but one thing, if groupon is not about localised advertising why is the very first thing they ask you on the website your location

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Google Places is crowding out SEO - Beware!

Colin Parker

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