An overview of the changes that have happened in Local Search in the last few months and what business owners should know about it.

1. Google’s Changes
for Local Search
October 2015
Joy Hawkins, Google My Business Top Contributor

2. 7-Packs became 3-packs
August 2015

3. ➔ Link to G+ page is gone
➔ Google adds a link to directions (not for Service-Area Businesses)
➔ Google removed the “A, B, C” pins
➔ Google adds hours of operation
August 2015

4. August 2015
Google Adds a New Branded Search Look
Branded Non-Branded
NO Review Stars!!

5. Some Industries got Pictures
August 2015

6. Google Introduces the Local Finder
August 2015
Click This!

7. ➔ The Local Finder lists 20 businesses per page
➔ When you click a business, it shows
information about the business
➔ Businesses with reviews are the
ones that stand out.
August 2015

8. (Mostly) No Organic Above the Pack
August 2015
The pack went from being the first result 25% of the time to being
the first result 93% of the time*
* http://www.seoclarity.net/how-googles-local-pack-update-has-reshaped-the-organic-landscape-12952

9. What Happened as a Result?
➔ Almost all clients saw a decrease of 30-50% in impressions
➔ For most businesses, the amount of clicks on their listing did not decline
➔ For businesses ranking in the top 3 for some terms, many saw an increase in
clicks.
Example 1: (business who has some ranking in top 3)
Impressions Clicks
Before 12,351 137
After 7,251 206

10. Example 2: (business who was mostly in spots 5-7)
Impressions Clicks
Before 6,591 174
After 3,169 116

11. September 2015
Google Changes their GMB Dashboard
http://imprezziomarketing.com/seo-blog/google-my-business/google-my-business-gmb-dashboard-gets-a-facelift/

12. Design Change for Business Listings on Google Maps
New information card provides
more details on the business
October 2015

13. October 2015
Service-Area Businesses have their service area highlighted on the map.

14. 10 Things Business Owners
Should do Now

15. 1. Don’t Write Long Descriptions
➔ The description shows up nowhere. Almost no one
will see it unless they actually use Google Plus and
are viewing your page there.
➔ Don’t list your cities you service, don’t list a long
list of products you offer or marketing slogans.

16. 2. Use the Description for Things that Aren’t Covered in
Categories
➔ Google *might* still use the description as a signal for things that don’t fall
into a business category.
➔ Examples:
◆ Insurance: There is no category for commercial insurance so putting that you offer
“commercial insurance” in the description could help
◆ Dentists: There is no category for invisalign (since it’s a product) so listing that you offer it
could help.
◆ Lawyers: List any niche types of law you practice that aren’t covered by the categories

17. 3. Change your Video Strategy
➔ There is a Videos tab on a Google Plus page but
like the description, it doesn’t show up
anywhere.
➔ Videos need their own strategy and need to be
treated separately (not just posting them on your
G+ page and thinking people will see them)
➔ Tip: “How To” videos can get a lot of traffic.

18. 4. Getting Reviews is Not Optional
➔ Getting more reviews from customers needs to be built into your business
strategy.
➔ Note: Having the most reviews does not mean you will rank first. It does
mean more people will likely call you and convert to customers (the ultimate
goal).

19. 5. All Negative Reviews Should have Appropriate
Responses
Don’t be Defensive!
Don’t Ignore It!
Try and Fix the Issue.
Respond Calmly
Read This: http://blumenthals.
com/blog/2010/03/16/responding-to-negative-reviews-the-
real-audience-is-your-prospects/

20. Don’t Stress about Negative Reviews. At least you’re not this guy...

21. 6. Invest a Few Dollars into Reputation Management
➔ You can’t respond if you don’t know it’s there.

22. 7. Take More Photos
➔ Google hates logos
➔ Include all types of pictures
◆ Interior Photos
◆ Exterior Photos
◆ Team Photos
◆ Product Photos (if applicable)

23. 8. Rethink your Hours of Operation
Any call tracking test I’ve
seen shows it’s
extremely unlikely that a
new lead/prospect will
leave you a voicemail if
you don’t pick up the
phone.

24. 9. Tell us About Competitors Who have Incorrect Listings
➔ Are they keyword stuffing in
their business title?
➔ Are they listing themselves at a
fake address?
➔ Are they listing themselves as
open 24 hours a day if they are
not?
➔ Do they have multiple listings?

25. 10. Write Business 2 Business Reviews
➔ Instead of writing a review as “Joy Hawkins”, I can leave reviews as
“Imprezzio Marketing”.
➔ No one does this - great visibility.

26. ➔ Work together with your marketing consultant to make sure your strategy is
better than your competitors’ (we work so much better together…)
➔ Stay 1 step ahead, not 1 step behind
➔ SEO will continue to become more competitive so getting ahead & staying
ahead are both equally important.
The Future of Local SEO