Tag Archives: local search

A Closer Look at Google+ Local

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Local SEO, , , , ,

Google has made some significant changes to its local search pages. Google Places has been replaced by Google+ Local, which means a new review system, a Local tab and more. Want to find out what’s different and how your business can use the new Google+ Local? Read on.

What’s Different?

  • Your link to your Google Places listing in the search results will now be a link to your Google+ Local page
  • A new Local tab has appeared in the Google+ interface
  • There is a new integration of the Zagat review system
  • Businesses will appear depending on recommendations from friends’ Circles. In other words, if someone in one of your Google+ Circles recommends a business, you are likely to see that same business high up in your search results

This chart compares the features of the different Google local pages:

GoogleLocalGraph

Types of Pages:

Google+ Local Page: This is Google’s replacement for Places. It is the local business listing that shows up in the search results. It can be linked with an already existing Google+ for business page. Users can review the business and find general business information on this page.

Google+ Page: This can be for a business or a person. This is Google’s social media network. Businesses can post “status updates” and connect with customers and potential customers through social media marketing on this page.

Hybrid Google+ Local+ Page: This is a combination of the Google+ page and the Google+ Local page, which means it functions as both a local search page and a social network. A hybrid page occurs when a business links the two pages together. This can be done here. Businesses can post “status updates,” and users can leave reviews on the hybrid Google+ Local page.

Zagat Reviews:

Google+ Local has integrated the Zagat scoring system into its reviews. Reviews are now scored out of 30 and there are different categories (Food, Décor, Service, Cost) that make rating more specific. Once a user reviews a business, they can choose to share the review with their Circles on their own Google+ page.

zagatreviews

As Google continues to fine tune these changes, Local Splash will continue to report the updates so don’t forget to check back often to stay on top of the latest local search news.

Bing Local Search Pages to Be “Powered By Yelp”

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Search Engine News, , , , , , ,

bing localAccording to an article on TechCrunch.com, Bing and Yelp announced a partnership that will bring Yelp’s local business content to Bing’s local search pages. The pages will now say “Powered by Yelp,” and will integrate Yelp’s reviews, photos and business information with Bing’s local search pages.

The partnership with Yelp is not the only agreement Bing has made lately. It has also partnered with Qwiki, a video startup that translates text content into video and integrated with Facebook. These partnerships aim to increase the quality of Bing’s search results in an attempt to take on the search giant, Google.yelp

In late 2009, Google was considering buying Yelp for half a billion dollars. However, tensions grew between the two companies after Google crawled Yelp’s content and used it for its Places application without forming a partnership. Google then decided to buy Zagat instead and get rid of all of Yelp’s information. Zagat is now a chief component in Google’s newest local search application, Google+ Local.

Although Bing’s new partnerships look promising for the search engine, getting people to switch from Google to Bing is a tough job. Which search engine do you use? Do Bing’s recent attempts to better its service entice you to switch from Google to Bing?

Google Shopping Will Soon Charge Merchants for Listings

Organic SEO, Search Engine News, , , , , , ,

google shoppingSoon, online retailers will have to pay in order to have their products displayed on Google Shopping. Currently, retailers can provide information to Google about their products and have them displayed on the site for free. However, Google has made the decision to begin charging for its product listings.

The listings will also be displayed differently after Google begins charging for the service. Currently, when someone searches for a certain product, such as “vacuum cleaner,” the top five most popular vacuum cleaners from the shopping page are displayed under a few organic listings on the results page. After the change, those links will begin to appear above the main search results with images of what Google thinks are the most relevant products on the Google Shopping site.

While some marketers are happy about the new Google Shopping site, others fear that it could be the beginning of the end of Google’s free business listings. Small retailers also worry that paid Google Shopping listings will make it difficult for them to compete with the large advertising budget of big online retailers.

What do you think about paid product listings in Google Shopping; is good thing or a bad thing?