Since last October, Google has implemented a new presentation in its local search results, also known as Google Places. This has drastically changed the look of the SERPs for local queries, significantly increasing the places in the top ten keywords premises and reducing the number of seats available on the front for traditional organic results. The impact on the SEO local businesses is huge and all SEO specialists have a duty to know more about the algorithm of local results to position its clients. In the past, the algorithm of search results and the local results were two separate algorithms. Reportedly, the two algorithms have been combined into one, thus making capital understanding of local search algorithm.

What has a positive impact on my local listing?

* The general popularity of the area in terms of portfolio of inbound links. It seems that the authority of the area is much larger than the authority of the page for local search.
* Use the name of the city you are targeting as well as the targeted keywords in the title of your page Google Places. Do not even when dropping the hits, but intelligently use your main keyword in your title.
* Better than less, especially for referencing local level, comments on your company have an impact on your local listing. Enter as much information relevant to your business.

What is the impact on online directories?

It is a right to the chin for the Yellow Pages and Local Web in this world. Provided by Google traffic to their directory just take a hit even though they are often cited as an external source in the pages of Google Places. They will increasingly rely on Google AdWords to bring traffic to their site and then fill the pockets of Google in the same momentum. This is not a Canadian, it’s the same thing for example Superpages Yelp and the United States.

What is the impact for local businesses?

The most proactive companies on the web will be the big winners of these changes. Google Places is free, it will provide high quality traffic on the cards and websites of companies in the top positions.

In this picture you can see the old method of Google results for local search for the query “Restaurant Three Rivers. We can clearly see that the first place is occupied by Restaurant Le Grill, which has 24 reviews (18 more than its nearest competitor). I imagine that this simple position gives them a lot of tourists and local and yet the owner did not even bother to claimer his profile. Therefore a proactive competitor on the web would be easily able to position themselves on this motion and improving his record to take this position. You can also observe the presence of Yellow Pages site in first place on the organic complaint.

Now comes the new look of the SERPs on the request “Montreal Hotel.” The first four results are much more space and we observe the disappearance of the organic results above the fold (Actually the first organic result on this query is in 8th position, the first 7 were occupied by the results from Google Places. You can also see the button Places which replaces the former button Addresses. The only other results that are positioned above the fold, the results are paying (from Google AdWords). You can imagine the importance of the Delta is in first position on this request.

Google Hotpot:

The other significant change for local SEO is of course Google Hotpot. Google Hotpot is a kind of recommendation engine that allows notes to give to local businesses and to share these recommendations with friends. The engine learns about you as you add notes to local businesses and suggests other interesting places for you based on your preferences. The engine is still far from perfect and seems poorly integrated with other Google services, as well as having significant gaps (for example it is impossible to add all friends with one click, you must do so by a This one … however, provides a very good idea of ​​the direction in which Google wants to go in the future in regard to local SEO.