More Google changes ahead

[Born2Sell]

A wee heads-up for anyone who has a Google Local Maps listing.
Google are about to reserve one of the top 3 local map listings for paid ads (adwords).
This will be bad news for those businesses that are currently sitting third in the visible results.
This is a real shame, as it will mean that local SEO could simply be kicked into touch as the company with the biggest budget can just muscle in without worrying about organic ranking.

Be prepared to put a little extra into your seo to get off the 3rd position asap.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Ryan Scollon]

Hey Dave,

The good news is that it will be a 4 pack with the ad on top. Originally we all thought it would remain a 3 pack with one being replaced with an ad. I managed to screenshot the first sighting of the local ad and I actually spotted one last night too, but I need to write a post about it. Here is the screenshot:

 

[Born2Sell]

Thanks for that Ryan. I hadn't heard. No panic then. Cheers!

 

[AllUpHere]

Does Ryan's post not make this thread pointless?