The Latest Piece Of Google Real Estate

The latest piece of Google real estate

A lot of confusion and frustration has been brewing recently about getting listed in Google local business results - by that we mean the list of businesses that appear at the top of Google place-based searches:

Google local business listings

Now if you've ever wondered how to get into this prime search engine real estate, or you suspect the traffic from your listings has been seriously diluted by the appearance of 'imposters' above, then you are most certainly not alone.

Here are some exasperated enquiries we've had the pleasure of reading from a few former Google frontrunners:

"I can't believe my luck. I have been getting pretty good search engine traffic through my page 1 listing in Google for local searches. I usually sit around the 3 or 4 mark in the top 10 results.

"But since Google introduced these local business listings up top, my traffic has dropped considerably. How is this fair? And why has Google completely shunned me in its local business listings?"

You really do feel their pain, don't you? But wait, it gets worse....

"The party is officially over. I paid an SEO company big bucks to get my site to the top of Google, when 3 of my competitors started appearing above me in these so-called 'local business' results!

"It was bad enough to be the #1 result for a local search and have to deal with 3 competitors gloating from above. But then Google decided to increase the number of local listings from 3 to 10!

"Despite having the top spot in organic results, now I don't even show up in the 10 local results. I was just starting to tolerate being overlooked for 3 less experienced companies - now I'm the 11th name people see!"

But do people really notice Google local business listings?

Yes. The reality is, local search is hotting up and leaving many search engine optimised websites for dead, not to mention general business directories. In fact, around the time that Google introduced local business listings Sensis profits fell 10% - despite an increase in marketing spend. This probably has something to do with the fact that:

Millions of people rely on search engines these days, particularly Google, as their primary source of information.
In most cases, Google local business results beat any other online or offline business directory in terms of relevance to the searcher's intent.
Google local business results have a feature that offline and (most) online directories don't - links to interactive maps so people can physically locate their search results.

What does this mean for my current search rankings?

It changes the dynamics considerably. Because the local business listings appear right at the top of the page they can seriously affect your click-through rate if you appear below them. Now that's bad for existing Google vanguards, but it's a great opportunity for businesses who have done it tough competing for a top 10 position.

Clearly, either way you'd be crazy not to pay attention to Google local search.

When mastered, Google local business results have the potential to be very lucrative, particularly because getting a presence with them is essentially free. The flipside is that it is very competitive to get listed, particularly when multiple businesses vie for market share in the same geographic area.

So how do I get a spot in Google's local business results?

Since Google doesn't publish exactly what factors influence their list, the hard work is left to search engine marketing experts to carefully study what's published and make reliable calculations as to which variables matter the most.

WebDynamic leaves no stone unturned in the hunt for search engine space - including local business listings. Contact us today to find out more.