Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Local Onebox Display Now Upgraded to New Universal OneBox Display
Ol’ Eagle Eye, Matt Gregory, caught a change that I had anticipated. The Local OneBox has been upgraded to the same format as the other OneBox results. The Onebox display, in general, was upgraded earlier in the week in the week to match the mobile display. Note that the user now needs to click into the photo to see more. Whether part of the change or not, fewer review sites are now showing as well.
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Comments
15 Comments
How you anticipated that one is beyond me! I saw it yesterday, pretty much when everyone else did and after Linda had posted on it, but I was looking forward to your take.
I don’t think fewer sites are showing on the right. I don’t know whether that was the case with BOJ, but if you type “Palumbo Landscaping” (http://www.google.com/search?q=palumbo+landscaping&oq=palumbo+landscaping), for instance, you see 4 sites on the right: citysearch, insiderpages, judysbook, and merchantcircle. That’s the same as it was before for him.
Unless you were referring to something else, or I’m just missing something?
Thanks for posting, Mike!
This is really interesting. Smells like Google is trying to increase the click-throughs to the +Pages, which can mean only one thing – they will start monetizing them soon. The way I see this is:
1. Either the Offers will finally go out of the “trial” state.
2. Or some ads will start popping up
@Nyagoslav
3. Or both!
Indeed 🙂
I could even add:
4. Or some new paid product (SMB marketing dashboard, for instance)
This is a lot of real estate given to that one-box listing! For users searching specifically for your business, the data in your Plus Local page is really the first impression they get, more so than your website. One more reason to be sure your Plus local pages are optimized and full of useful information.
I agree with Chad. Plus I find that users usually search through the organic results that take you to your website rather then going to Maps to view ones Google Plus Local page to leave a review. So Plus Local pages are definitely guaranteed to get more traffic now that pictures and content will be displaying pretty much “in your face” on the right. I like it!
+2 Chad – and 1st impressions may be all they get!
Google+ Local Gets in Your Face! – love it.
@Phil
No you are correct. Its just happened to Barbara and I didn’t have time to check out others.
@Nyagoslav
I don’t think Google is focusing on click thrus to their Local Pages but on giving answers and keeping users at Google. Certainly they, and every other stock held company, are under pressures to increase revenues and going forward we will see more and more of that. But I don’t think this directly related to that.
I also think that they will be adding new SMB paid products in the near future if they ever get the Biz Builder done. Hopefully some of those products WILL see the front page of a business OneBox. Otherwise they will have little value.
@Chad
Google is certainly giving a lot of real estate to local brands. I am with you… take advantage of it.
@Marylyn
In the recent survey (see question 3) as to how consumers find lawyers a very small percentage of folks (~4%) said that when they go to google will they go into Google to look at photos. They are more likely to go into the Local page to look at reviews. But even that task was superseded by the users desire to go to the business website .
I am not sure that this will change their behaviors that much… some but not much.
Mike, et al:
There are some variations on this. For instance use alternative search terms for the single Kia dealership located in Rockville, Md, with two different close but different search phrases:
Rockville Kia:
On the right is just a map. no pictures:
Alternatively search for that singular business:
Hersons Kia:
There is the expanded onebox with picture and detailed information below.
In at least that example there are more site links for the more definitive term, Hersons.
In either case its a prominent listing.
I searched on some examples wherein a business seems to dominate serps for a city name/its service. Some times its because of the actual business name. Sometimes its because of significant levels of relative “SEO/Local Optimization” relative to the competition.
In those cases the somewhat less prominent example shows up as opposed to the full OneMap with a picture and description underneath on the right of the page.
Will google monetize on the inside or not, as Nyagoslav suggested. I don’t know.
It will provide for some interesting data over time for Google, though. Unfortunately for the rest of us, none of us will know what google knows as to how users respond to these different presentations.
Dave
I like it… even though it’s pretty self serving towards the G+ Page 😉
It’s quite clean and well laid out.
@Dave
I think you are seeing a bug as a result of a partial merge or some other issue. You can see this by trying to click through the reviews and you get an error on one..
@Andy
Agreed
Mike: I’m simply noting two slightly different, but powerful presentations. The OneBox to which you refer is associated with the business name.
What I like, and what I work on is a second interesting search phenomena. Its a phenomena wherein the site has tremendously strong connectivity to the city name, even if its not part of the official name.
Basically if you have done a huge and relatively far stronger job than your competitors you might be found for search phrases for city name/business vertical or service.
The Herson’s Kia was one example. I saw the same thing with some other search terms for business type/city name. (its sorta where thru optimization that business “owns that name”.
In lieu of the OneMap with picture/map and google + Places data from your “Places page, it shows an equally expansive Map with a single pinned result and none of the info from the interior places page.
Its still an extremely prominent position on the google.com search page.
Anyone know if the the main picture it chooses to display is the first picture you’ve uploaded in your old places dashboard?
@Andrew
I was just asking myself that question. Even on merged listings it does seem to come from the dashboard. I just looked at 10 listings and found that the first image was used on 8 of them. On the other 2 when the first image was a logo it often picked the second image.
About the main picture being displayed in the Onebox, is anyone else seeing the image pulled directly from the business website as opposed to images uploaded from the places dashboard?
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