Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Google Testing New, More Integrated Local Search SERPs
Update 7/6 1:02 P.M.: Google’s Elaine Filadelfo (Global Communications & Public Affairs) noted: It is an experiment — we’re continually trying out new tweaks to a portion of our users.
Google is always testing new layouts and changes to the main SERPs but these screens shot captured on July 3rd & 4th by Linda Buquet of Catalyst eMarketing indicate Google’s willingness to experiment with bold departures from past displays for Local results. I was unable to replicate Linda’s results although she saw them over several days on different searches:
Here are Linda’s notes from her emails:
Search term: Dentist Chicago (FYI I am using FF) Double checked and it’s not some weird caching error because other dentist/city searches come up the old way.
In case I’m only seeing it on my datacenter and you are seeing something different, I’m attaching screenshots.
1) The Places listings are BIGGER and look like the organic results except they have a map pin.
2) As you scroll down the MAP scrolls with you. So even when you are at bottom of page in the organic listings the map moves down and shows on right.
3) ONLY 7 (purely) organic listings show and in this instance most are directories or assn. Only 2 are Dentists.
4) To get on the top TWO screens you need to be in local. Most of the organic are 2 screens BELOW the fold.
5) Reviews are more prominent
6) Link to Place Page is marked as such, instead of just “More Info” which means better branding and name recognition for Google Places
7) It’s pulling meta description from the site – just like organic.
PLUS it adds some snippets from reviews on the Place page. So best of both worlds and BIGGER!
I would add that the results also now include links to the review sites from which Google received the reviews and includes more information about some but not all of the businesses. Note that when Local shows at the top of the page, only 3 local results are shown above the fold making positions 4 through 7 much less valuable real estate than currently.
In the results above the fold, information from the website’s meta description tag are included with the listing. These seem to be absent from those below the fold perhaps due to lack of relevance to the search. The replacing of business name with the website title tag is an interesting choice. Is it possible that Google trusts a website title tag more than a business name used in Places? If so, it could be interpreted as a tacit acknowledgement of the massive amount of business title spam that Google Maps has generated.
Google appears to be attempting to provide a direct answer to the searcher without their needing to leave Google’s home page. It also seems to be an experiment in more fully integrating organic and local results into a single unified display although those listings with local content have a strong visual edge and enhanced content.
If a searcher needs more information, Google has made their own content and that of the reviewers more easily accessible to the searcher, potentially reducing website visits for the site owner but increasing them for review sites.
Google is always testing so whether this new display will see broader exposure is unknown. It is of interest that the direction that they seem to be pointing is towards tighter integration of organic and local search.
Here are several more of Linda’s screen shots. One of the information below the fold where the balance of the 7 pack and the non local organic listings are shown as well and a second of a search in which the new local/organic listings appeared mid page:
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Update: 7/6/2010 10:20
Linda has sent along an additional screen shot with the following note:
Was just checking rank on an Optometrist client of mine. The new SERPS are showing up
for me in Raleigh NC too and this is the BEST example yet. So you may want to replace
one of the other images in your blog. PLUS showing a different city will show it’s a
bigger test than just Chicago. Plus this image may be a little cleaner.
Check this one out. All 7 local listings are on top. Only 4 organic are on the bottom of the page!
Also seeing new serps for Seattle Chiropractor and Dallas Dentists.
Don’t have time to check any more or do more screenshots but looks like
this is a pretty widely spread test area.
No one else I’ve checked with can see it except for someone in Canada
was able to see the Chicago results for a little while.
BIG CHANGE IN RANKING TOO. So maybe an algo change?
The only 2 clients I can find in the new serps both show up a lot higher.
One is #4 now, but in new serps moved to #1.
The other was locked in at #19 due to a Google penalty an old SEO created.
I have not been able to move him past 19 which is where he still is stuck at.
But in the new serps he’s #2.
—-
Update 7/6/2010 11:17
While Linda has only seen these in the medical industry and not other high value industries like law, Barry Schwartz reports a reader seeing it for a florist search.
Linda Buquet of Catalyst Marketing specializes in Google Places Optimization. My thanks to her for all the many great screen shots and commentary on this test.
© Copyright 2025 - MIKE BLUMENTHAL, ALL RIGHT RESERVED.
Comments
63 Comments
If this UI goes wide there are going to be a lot of unhappy directories. Ouch.
[…] new look SERP was brought to my attention from Mike Blumenthal’s blog. If you want to be on top of local search information Mike will certainly help you do that (or one […]
[…] (Twitter) par Brett le 06-07-2010 Google Testing New, More Integrated Local Search SERPs https://blumenthals.com/blog/2010/07/05/google-testing-new-local-search-serp/ No […]
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Mike,
It looks like the first three (A,B,C) are actual organic listings with local data attached and (D,E,F,G) are actually local listings. But the interesting thing is that the first three (A,B,C) are omitting directories and are actual local business web sites.
[…] Blumenthal posted about a new SERP that Google is playing with for local results. This isn’t a Maps result but […]
While I’m still digesting this, and no, have not yet seen same up here in g.ca land….I think that the time for Directories to realize that their offerings are now under attack is nigh, eh!
And the META desc tag inclusion is interesting as well….
Nice one, Mike — and Linda, great catch!!!
🙂
Jim
[…] blumenthals.com/blog […]
Thanks for the heads up. I have been seeing similar tests on my end as well. Local is starting to play a bigger role in search.
On another note, it was great meeting you last week Mike!
Hi guys,
I emailed Mike several major updates that I wanted him to include, but he must be on the road or something. It appears he pre-scheduled this blog, with only the info I had originally sent him over the weekend. Lots more news since then.
One thing Mike didn’t mention is, the only results that show the new SERPs for me are medical terms. I did some quick spot checking of other high $ industries like lawyers, insurance and a few home service industries that are popular for local search and they are still the old layout.
I must be somehow locked into a data center no one else can see. Every day when I restart I expect the new SERPs to disappear but they are still there.
Each day I discover NEW CITIES and new search terms that pull the new SERPs layout, so this is a much wider test than just Chicago.
Yesterday I emailed Mike screen shots of Optometrist Raleigh, NC and Chiropractor Seattle (both are interesting and show unique new elements of the layout.) Plus Dallas Dentist is also showing the new results for me.
ADDITIONALLY the ranking order is different, so looks like there could be an algo change. The only 2 clients of mine I could find that show up in the NEW results BOTH took big jumps in rankings! 🙂
One is #4 in the current rankings and jumped to #1. (He’s in THE MOST competitive Places market I’ve ever seen! I took him from #44 to #1 in a week, but then competitors beat him back down to #4.) The other had been perpetually STUCK at #19 due to a penalty the previous SEO had caused due to spam KW, etc. That client just jumped all the way up to #2 in the new results!
Note: I am totally buried right now with too many new clients, so have not had time to just sit around and research this. There could be a bunch of other cities they are testing too. The ones I’ve discovered are only the ones I’ve stumbled on, as I check rankings for my existing customers or new consults I’m doing.
I’m on PST so just waking up. Let me get some coffee and get a few things done for clients. Then if Mike does not show up and add them to this post, I’ll try to upload some more screenshots of other cities to my blog or Flickr or something.
I had also sent him a lot of other important observations about how this layout could impact both local and organic. I’ll try to share some of those insights later too.
Linda
Wow. I’m liking more and more the direction Google SERP is going. When they moved the AdWords (about a year ago?) a bit to the left, I wrote a blogpost on what I wanted Google to use all the white space. And it looks like Google Corp. use Google Translate to read norwegian blogposts 🙂
Google Universal Search in 2010?
Hopefully this testing comes out positive for moving this to the right.. I like my ten blue links
[…] AdWords ads, for a search on [florist]. Personally, I do not see it, but Mike Blumenthal shows others are seeing […]
@Andrew and Jim
If the directories had not heard the “message” before, they should hear it now.
@Brent
When I first looked that was it seemed to me as well, but I think that they are all integrated local/organic results. It will be interesting to see exactly how a listing that does not have a website will be included and if so what values will it include. Or does this mean that you have to have a website going forward?
@Halvorsen
Are you seeing these results from the Canton Area?
I too was glad to meet up with you!
@Linda
Thanks for all of your input….
I believe this (or something along these lines) will roll out a lot sooner than anyone is expecting. There’s a ton of money just waiting for G to pick up via the “Sponsored” Local tags. By adjusting the SERPs to highlight Local this way, small businesses will be pushed into getting on board a lot sooner. And yes, they will be spending their advertising dollars with G rather than with local directories.
Andy 🙂
Great find! Thank you very much for sharing, just another thing to keep an eye out on. Not seeing the same in Philadelphia FYI.
@Andy
I would agree that it is likely to hit sooner rather than later. Although there are still some unresolved issues with this format even though I think it is pretty nice looking.
@Wil Not very many are seeing it, that’s for sure. Linda is in San Marcos CA and the report at SearchEngineRoundtable appears to be San Francisco. I tried it from several ISPs in WNY and via a proxy server out west but didn’t see it.
Are others seeing it?
“Are others seeing it?”
BE SURE TO CHECK WITH FIREFOX! Even for me when I used IE I get the old (current) layout.
FYI all, I checked with my Chiropractor in Seattle and Optometrist in Raleigh thinking for SURE they would be seeing the new results since they live in those cities. Even asked them to send me screenshots. But they don’t see the new format either.
My assumption was if G was testing in just a few cities, they would make the SERPS live in those cities to get feedback from the local surfers.
Have no idea why only a few that don’t even live in those cities can see it. But I feel purdy special right now. 😛 Thanks for the preview Google!
But if this was supposed to be a secret, you maybe should not have shared your datacenter with someone who has a big mouth like me and friends with a wide reach, like Mike. 🙂
[…] Read this from an observer who noticed some unique changes happening in different locations. This is a test for now. But this is what it means. […]
So I guess this local thing isn’t a fad after all 😉
It also looks like the new results are integrating the review sentiment (the bar next to the domain name), although in the screenshots, they all look empty.
I’m not seeing these “new” results in Pittsburgh. I’m jealous.
@Jim
I didn’t see any “review snippets”. They seemed to take one typical review, add the source link and then add additional source links.
The bar next to the domain is a FF plugin for web rank that was turned on during the first few screen shots.
[…] new look SERP was brought to my attention from Mike Blumenthal’s blog. If you want to be on top of local search information Mike will certainly help you do that (or one […]
This is the 1st time I’ve had a chance to get back over here today to read comments or do any more testing.
I just saw Elaine’s comment. So I checked and now for the 1st time in days, all the new format search results pages are gone and everything is back to normal. Now I wish I would have made time to check some other search terms and cities and had done more research while I had the chance.
So we’ll just have to wait to see if any of those changes go live.
HOWEVER, Google I wanted to give you some feedback about an informal survey I did with some Drs., recently because their feedback ties right into the new format I shared in the screenshots above.
I took a shot of the current results page, highlighted the 3 primary placements and asked a group of Drs. “If you could only be in ONE spot on the 1st page, which position would you choose? (Adwords on top, top of the local 7 pack or top of organic.)
Many of them had been brainwashed by some influential SEOs in their center of influence and their web designers – who told them getting in the 7 pack in Google local is not worth their effort and organic is the most important place to be.
I questioned them about why they would not want to be right at the top of the page next to the map, which draws people’s eye and is ABOVE THE FOLD. Following are the main objections I got to the local placement. (Again they’d been brainwashed by people with a vested interest in keeping the Drs. attention and MONEY focused on organic and their main web site.)
1) The “maps” listings, as they all call them, are small and just show the linked name, which does not sell the practice or create a compelling reason to click.
2) The organic listing is not only bigger, but pulls the well crafted description from their web site – therefore gives more details and hopefully a compelling reason to click.
I just had this conversation with all of these Drs. about a week ago, on a private members only forum that is the biggest forum for this particular medical specialty.
Seeing the new results hit me HARD, as being the answer to what these Drs want. It really gives local businesses the best of both worlds in one result!
I’m sure you knew that and I’m sure lots of market research went into helping you get to that BEAUTIFUL new layout, which I feel really does provide quite a few extra benefits.
Just thought I’d share…
Keep up the good work – hope a version similar of this goes live!
Linda
[…] Sursa : https://blumenthals.com/blog/2010/07/05/google-testing-new-local-search-serp/ […]
Out of interest Linda – were you logged in?
[…] (blumenthals.com and searchengineland.com) have recently noticed that Google is experimenting with the design of its […]
[…] (or more accurately, one of his loyal readers) shared screenshots showing Google making some bold experiments with its local search results. I haven’t been able to duplicate the search results displayed on Mike’s blog, so I’d […]
WhooHoo, they are back!
Running off to do some more screen shots for a blog post I need to do for my primary market and I’ll try to spot check some more cities too.
Yes, Peter, logged in the whole time, but not with my Catalyst account.
Later…
I have a question related to this article. Has anyone noticed that since the early May Google “redesign” the local business results setting on the Google Maps Onebox changes the organic search results to favor local businesses in that chosen location? The chosen location remains across different searches. Thanks for your article about Google local.
All very interesting. Like others, I cannot duplicate the same results reported here, and I think I know why
These are just customized search results, and of course that’s been occurring for a long time with geo-targeted Adwords display.
Personal customization is also happening when the 7 box is display for a keywords Google identifies as a local search business. The number of keywords taht trigger a 7box has been increasing at fast rate.
Google Accounts are tracked
If you have a Google Account and stay logged in to it, then all your search activity is tracked and recorded. After I visit a specific site several times. I will see that show in the top of the SERPS as a first truncated listing. The effect is like a “favorites” added by Google just for me, and it is related only to a specific root keyword that is a business.
here’s how it happened… I was searching first on “Denver plumber”. I clicked on the SERP in question several times, visiting the website. Shortly thereafter I noticed the special link was appearing any other time I came back and searched for “Denver plumber”.
If I log out of my Google account, then the “favorite site” is no longer displayed. Log in and there it is displayed again.
This only happens with Local Search keywords like plumber. and my “favorite” also follows my searches if I enter “littleton plumber” which is a suburb of Denver… then there is that same favorite website for my search withing the geo-targeted range. This is custom content delivered to me only when logged in to my account. Only for me
This is intelligent custom display beyond any point where I thought a search engine would acheive in lifetime, an this looks like only the beginning. Last December Google completed the intregrated of the entire “Yellow Pages” database of businesses into the entire maps index and into Organic index. All that’s required now is adding to the list of magic keywords that are defined as local, such as plumber. Just append or prepend city/town to “plumber” and you get custom display.
The third leg on the stook is Version 6 IP Addresses. Since last October everywhere you are in the world is easily tracked to a local city level and customized local content delivery is suddenly everywhere
Google is on the same path with geo-targeted content delivery, including the tracking history they will have from your Google Account ( it.s the cookies with your ID)
We shouldn’t be too surprised. It’s the money. It’s always about the money.
I don’t think we’ve seen anything but a brief preview so far.
Google recognized this local content delivery opportunity years ago and invested big in the mapping databases and a huge number of engineers working on the integrations into the organic search. The numbers they are working on… well they are huge for an index. 30+ million businesses. All the local burbs, the IP address connections, and the large number of trigger keywords that create a local search display. I’m not an engineer, but I can appreciate the size of the task. Its my understanding that Google’s has had about 2000 people working on this geo-targeting mapping delivery for 3 years
And just wait a bit, the free Google Business Listing in Google places will soon be adjusted to drive maximum revenues into the google coffers.
For the population under 40, I’d say that the Yellow Pages is already resting comfortably under a granite headstone with RIP on it.
When every local business is in the Google Places corner with an account, and all consumers are thoroughly trained to spend all their local dollars beginning with a local search… can you just imagine the daily cashflow from Local advertising paid to Google to deliver custom search results.
The geo-targeting possible with the new IP system makes the mom and pop pizza place a Google advertising customer, where before they would never spend a dime on Adwords,
Consider how many small, local businesses in the USA alone. Millions that currently don’t spend with google advertising… and they will begin to convert quickly once they all see results from targeted ads deliver only in their little corner of the world and only “Pizza in Podunk”
What about that top listing in the 7 box? Well, let’s hope the mantra remains Do No Evil, and you can continue to earn it for “free”, but I think it won’t matter…. everything will be squeezed out by the prominent ads paid for by the guy ranking #45 who wants the customers enough to pay
And who will complain? The organic SERPS that suffer for sure… but the complaint dept over there doesn’t respond too well.:)
But… Consumers love it! I know I do as a consumer… whatever I need gives me the best choices on the first page of Google SERPs.
And this will not get in a Consumers way… No beef from them. If the keyword is not in the special index for a local keyword, then they don’t see the customized ads or the 7box.
They all seem to like Google Products showing up in Organic Searches. Makes shopping easier. This just more the same
Regards,
Jan Gregory
Hi Jan,
“These are just customized search results, and of course that’s been occurring for a long time with geo-targeted Adwords display.”
What you see in the screen shots is not customized search results. I do know what you are referring to and see it often, but this is a TOTALLY different layout and it’s something different than customized search results.
“After I visit a specific site several times. I will see that show in the top of the SERPS as a first truncated listing. The effect is like a “favorites” added by Google just for me, and it is related only to a specific root keyword that is a business.”
Yes what you are describing is customized search.
However, if you view the full size screen shot at the top you’ll see that the map moves to the right, pushing Adwords down the page. If you could see it live, as noted, the map also scrolls down the page with you – so even when you are at the bottom looking at the organic listings, the map with A – G is right there with you.
The local listings are twice as big and include meta titles and descriptions from the web site, instead of just name and link. And all the local listings are on top of the page. Plus the link to the Place page says “Place Page” instead of “more info”. It’s a totally different layout – not customized search.
Linda
Hi Linda,
The question on everyone’s mind here seems to be
“Why do some people see it and some don’t?”
I can see it is quite a different layout as you rightly point out.
What I meant, and evidently did not say it clearly… is that you personally are seeing this display as a result of some criteria you met when/where you did the Search. And possibly your Google account tracking. And of course, it is all there because it is a custom display based on whatever criteria you happen to me, where the rest of us do not.
Customised for you and not for me. That was what I meant.
Those criteria… well, its a lot of factors to consider, and none of us can know, and I wouldn’t expect G to let us know anytime soon
And I would think that this new display format will kill the offline marketing SEO business for getting organic rankings for local businesses.
In fact, I think that is the intention. With this display format, Google can continue to say… “We only care about the Searchers(do no evil) and we the organic searches are still there.”
And the money will flow from those businesses willing to pay for above the fold space. Search engines have matured into Ad Space
As you point out, below the fold will come to mean they don’t really exist.
And, finally… I am completely dumbfounded by the response you got from the Doctors. They must thoroughly under some powerful SEO Svengali
Best,
Jan
Wish I could edit the above.
I wished I had been there with your to see this display in person. I think this is a total game-changer and your sharp eye gave us all a sneak peek.
Thank you for that.
I want to say clearly that I have no idea what the criteria were that produced this layout for you.
Now, it may have been a single test rollout and you caught it, but Google is usually way more complex that a single criteria, at least in my experience.
Long time back, 2004 I think it was, Denver was one of the regional test areas for the first local search index. Worked only with Zip codes at first. Enter a zip and “barber 80112” and we got a primitive version 10 box. Get out the Denver geo-area and you wouldn’t see it, Funny thing is… looks like Zip searches didn’t catch on with the public. Rarely seem to be used
Linda,
Great find, I was wondering about the impact of organic listings with the new algo change. It seems that they are cutting a find line with relevancy only displaying a select few above the local.
I am still unable to view these new results in Petaluma CA but hopefully will be able to sometime soon.
This reassures me that Google is focusing a lot more time towards a local/organic hybrid SERP model.
Thanks again Linda.
Kyle.
It turns off and on also. The afternoon that Mike added the comment from Google, the new results disappeared for me and I thought that was it. Then the next day they were on again and now today they are off again.
You may have something there about being logged in. I did log out of the main account I’d been seeing the results on last night. If I see the results again, I’ll try logging out and then try logging in with a different account to see if that’s playing a part.
You’re welcome Kyle.
Thanks to go out to Mike too for generously posting all this information so all could see. My blog is so new that I knew if I shared it there, hardly anyone in the biz would even find out about it.
Loving the fact that Google is respecting that “Local is Everything and Everything is Local” (well at least 1 out of 13 times)
Thanks for sharing Linda & Mike. Interesting test, indeed. And a nice shot across the bow at the directories as well. Though it’s just one reporters opinion, I’d guess that Google’s foray into local search advertising is going pretty well. $25/month X huge untapped potential of mom & pops out there probably warrants some testing 🙂
@Ed
Yes the numbers are pretty compelling. Google has had 2 million businesses already sign up for the LBC. If just 10% of those “bite” then you have an income of $60 mil a year.
It is likely that Tags will create a “virtuous cycle” and lead to sustained increases . As more businesses see them, more will likely want them.
There is plenty of upside potential. It is conceivable that Google could move to 5 million businesses in the LBC and have a 20-30% adoption rate. That would mean an annual take of $450 million.
[…] this new local results page format was first spotted in the wild by Mike Blumenthal, which is where it caught Frank’s attention. But Andy was able to recreate the result on his […]
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I only see the ‘new’ format using a Firefox browser, not Explorer; the latter having the majority of browser usage (51.9% by my calculation).
Further, I see indications of personal settings by individual users as part of the reason; another explanation is Google’s use of cookies to track history and search habits of users, especially if you’re logged in to one of her services.
Google is always fiddling with the algo and exploring ways to exploit her interface to generate more ad revenue. Positioning the Google Places/local results format up top in the SERPs would compel millions of businesses to start advertising in local listings, resulting in a huge windfall for Google.
FYI, I only use Firefox as an additional cross check on the display for my websites; personally I think the ‘new’ format as depicted above is butt ugly. On another note, until TPTB (including gatekeeper Google) usurps/exerts total control over the Internet, search engines will always be dependent upon user generated content (websites + SEO) to survive.
IMO, Google which is essentially a scraper bot, is merely ripping content from other sites and displaying local results in such a way to further capitalize on her market share of the search industry, and at the expense of her users who would be forced to experience a once elegantly simple layout becoming just another advertisers’ playground.
Nevertheless, an interesting analysis — thanks to Mike and Linda for sharing! 🙂
John Barremore
Houston, TX
[…] more about Google Maps than Google itself, reviewed the layouts with me and pointed out that he first heard about this more integrated local search SERP on July 5th. In both cases the new layout “surfaced” for medical related […]
[…] you may have heard, we’ve been testing a new design for the SERPs we display when we detect a query with local intent. In the past these results have typically […]
It looks like it’s not already available on Google France. I love the idea to put the map in the sidebar, it leaves more place for search results.
[…] this month, Google began experimenting with some new local search results formats, according to a post by Linda Buquet on Mike Blumenthal’s Understanding Google Maps & […]
[…] more of important place for local businesses to be! I broke the story a couple weeks ago via the #1 blog in the Google Local industry because everyone reads […]
[…] before that $25 becomes a valid investment – one that repeats month after month? If Google is serious about their new local-weighted SERPs layout, then it’s a question that takes on a greater […]
[…] 4th by Linda Buquet of Catalyst eMarketing. Linda first reported her findings on the popular Blumenthals local search blog. Here’s a screenshot of what she […]
[…] Google Testing New, More Integrated Local Search SERPs […]
IMHO. This looks like the way excite was going. It destroys organic search, puts webmasters out of business, etc. But if you are lucky enough to figure out the minefield of what is and is not mapspam, you may have a chance to keep your business in Google Places.
What really bugs me is all these brand new url’s getting top slots in maps and bypassing the years and years and years of article writing and blogging that built my web based business.
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