Google has made another play at securing their position atop the online advertising heap, by merging all its business listings.
In a move that is clearly designed to embrace the growth of mobile search, Google+ Local Pages will incorporate Google Places.
The information will be accessed through a new Local tab, which will appear on the left sidebar in Google+. Mobile users will also see a new ratings system through Zagat’s, the first use of the system since the Californian search engine purchased the tool in 2011.
Presently, users of Android mobiles will be able to access the service, though it will also be available to iOS users.
SEO marketers will still manage their accounts through Google Places for Business, but the listings will now be presented in many other areas than before.
Discussing the change to the service, the vice president of Product Management at Google explained:
“When you look at mobile usage, one of the most remarkable things about Google maps is that more than 50 percentage of the usage of Google maps comes from phones.”
The click through rate from mobile ads is huge too. According to recent research, the click-through rate is more than 70 percent higher than for their static equivalents.
It shows the importance of mobile search engine optimisation. Consumers are already in the locale of business and services they are searching for, so making content appropriate to this is paramount.
Google, Facebook and naturally Twitter are already exploiting mobile search to the full, and it is imperative that business big and small in the UK do the same.
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- Google algorithm change means Google Places affects local search
