NB: This is a guest post by Jon Schepke, president of SIM Partners, a Chicago-based full service marketing agency specialising in mobile, search engine marketing and social media.
Last week, the local search marketing community took a collective gasp as Google rolled out a stripped down version of the Place page.
Initially, words like ?cataclysmic? were bandied around as we grappled with the loss of information, what this meant for ranking and optimization, and what this means for the future of Google �Places search.
After a week of analysis, I think we?re all able to evaluate these changes with a little more perspective.
What?s out?
1. Third party review websites
The most talked about change to the Google Places page is the removal of third party site reviews.
Since the number and content of reviews has historically played a large role in ranking on Google Places, the primary concern was whether Google was still accounting for non-Google reviews when ranking businesses or would businesses that garnered more reviews on Google sudden increase their rankings?
I?ve been comparing rankings pre- and post-release and found that rankings have stayed consistent.
While the third party site reviews are not prominently featured, the fact that rankings have not changed suggests Google?s algorithm still accounts for third party review information.
And remember, while the information is not visible on Places, it is visible on these highly regarded review sites. So continue encouraging customers to review your business on a variety of sites.
Screen shot Taken July 20 2011
Screen shot Taken July 29 2011
2. More about this place
This section was a helpful tool for the person looking to identify citations that offered the greatest algorithmic benefits.
In one spot, Google listed important reference sites for a business their citation strategy against their competitors.
For those businesses that have implemented a holistic citation strategy that includes providing correct business information to local search sites and working to get links from local organizations, there is nothing to worry about.
Of course for those that are interested in going the extra step, there are a number of online tools that will provide you with the same type of information you were able to scan from the ?More About This Place? section of the page.
Just make sure you have the other fundamentals in place first.
3. Additional details
From our surveys, the Additional Detail information on a Google Places page has had a steadily decreasing impact on local ranking over the past few years.
So it was a surprise when Google?s Vanessa Schneider announced:
?The following info you provide may not appear on your Place page, but it?s all still used to help us understand more about your business,?#
This referred, in part, to the Additional Details section.
As always, continue to keep quality content in this section of your claimed listing. At the moment, it isn?t doing much, but if Google?s statement is any indication, it may start taking on more value in their next release.
What?s in?
1. User generated content
The ability for users to create a review or add a photo of the business is not new, but the prominence Google has given both functions is.
Google?s goal here seems fairly straightforward ? they are looking for ways to make the Places page more interactive for searchers, which integrates well with the release of Google+ and the upcoming Google+ business pages.
So keep encouraging your customers to leave reviews to increase interaction with your page.
For businesses where photos are applicable, such as restaurants, also encourage your customers to post photos to your Places page.
While there have been significant changes to the look of Google?s Place page, there has not been a significant corresponding change to the algorithm.
The methods used to create a strong Places page ? quality content, solid citations, and reviews from a diverse group of sites ? have not changed.
NB: This is a guest post by Jon Schepke, president of SIM Partners, a Chicago-based full service marketing agency specialising in mobile, search engine marketing and social media.
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