This is totally nonsensical as 1- this would duplicate direct searches and 2- a search for McDonald’s would return “your fast food restaurant listing”, it would return McDonald’s. I have asked for clarification from Google as to what it actually means, which very well could be a third definition.<\/p>\n The other product, still in beta, is a feature to “Add a Product Collection” that adds products to your mobile Knowledge Panel. It was first reported<\/a> out by Nathan Schoell of DealerInspire<\/a>. According to Nathan, if you are using the Product Collection feature then the Services tab in the KP disappears. He noticed the feature in Car Dealer categories and Auto Repair Shops.<\/p>\n The new feature was also reported<\/a> by Cordell Crowley at the Local Search Forum where he saw the feature in the Florist category.<\/p>\n When you step back and view these two developments from 10,000 feet several interesting possibilities arise. We know that Google in general and Google Local in particular is looking to vacuum up ever more granular data about the real world. I don\u2019t consider mapping a solved problem anywhere in the world. To use your example, we might now have sidewalks or pathways through a park, but we still, by and large, don\u2019t necessarily know which parks have playgrounds or which parks have barbecue pits. If you\u2019re trying to plan an outing with your child or an event with your family, those are pretty important things that are going to deeply influence your decision about whether that\u2019s a good park for you to choose for your next outing.<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s just one example. It\u2019s increasingly not enough for us to know just that there is a coffee shop on the corner over there. If you\u2019re trying to decide whether to spend your Friday night studying at that caf\u00e9, it\u2019s going to be really important to know if there\u2019s a rock band playing there, or if it\u2019s going to be a quiet, cozy setting.<\/em><\/p>\n Barbecue pits might be of interest in a broad sense to Google Maps but there is little monetizable value in that granular piece of information. It is the type of information that will attract users and keep users on Google Maps instead of elsewhere. But every person looking for a barbecue pit in Fireman’s park is also a shopper. And these new products speak to those shoppers in a way that is both useful AND monetizable.<\/p>\n Google has in the past said<\/a> that ‘brands are how you sort out the cesspool”. But what does that look like at a local level where the websites are weak and Google’s broader brand understanding of most local businesses is very limited?<\/p>\n It looks like product. Paid product by major brands yes but more than that. Product in general, wherever it is, whoever is carrying it.<\/p>\n And, in case you haven’t noticed, Google has been on a spree to get localized product information and incentivize sharing it with Google local in a number of ways.<\/p>\n In May of this year, Google introduced a new Post type called a Product Post that showed in posts but also aggregated in the Product tab of the mobile Knowledge Panel.<\/p>\n Shortly after, in June, Google rolled<\/a> out “See What’s In Store” as a free Knowledge Panel feature as part if its new inventory feed program<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-insights-branded-800x391.png\")
<\/a>In typical Google fashion, though, they have muddied the waters as to exactly is being counted by providing<\/a> this explanation in their help files:<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/prdouct-collection.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Google-Products-Beta.png\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Product-Tab-Mobile.png\")
<\/a>
\n
\nThis recent FastCompany interview<\/a>\u00a0with Jen Fitzpatrick, VP of geo at Google and who effectively \u00a0has “overarching responsibility for Google Maps and Local”. \u00a0She noted:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-10-21-at-2.14.22-PM.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Product-Tab-Mobile-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/product-post.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-local-panel-see-whats-in-store-1528716962-377x600.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n