As much as Google update their algorithm – a change per day according to a recent interview with Matt Cutts – to improve search results, it is internet users themselves that often inspire the changes Google make, and the changes the SEO industry have to keep up with. Google Places is one such example. To sift through the ever increasing number of results for a keyword, we are offered a multitude of options to refine search, and to make it more productive for businesses to optimise for niche markets, Local Google’s Local Business Centre became Google Places.
Google Places
The change means that businesses can access more tools than ever to boost their profile in Google including displaying photos, real-time updates, reviews and promotional offers. There will also be improved advertising options, in particular for mobile search, which could help businesses target their audience more easily. These features are particularly good for hotels and restaurants, but they can also help smaller businesses cash in on visitors that need a particular service such a dry cleaning in an area they do not know.
Mobile Search
So far in excess of four million businesses have signed up to Google Places, and the introduction of QR Codes looks set to help businesses that want to cash in on mobile search in particular. Marketing materials relating to a specific business can now carry a code that once scanned with a phone will direct someone using mobile search to the dedicated mobile Place Page for the business.
SEO
Once again this is an application that looks set to help those who are searching the internet to find the product or service they want fast, with a totally new way of ploughing through listings. It is thought that 20% of all searches made using Google are linked to localised searches, and an increasing number of them are being made on mobile devices. Search Engine Optimisation needs to recognise this factor and start adjusting the focus of optimisation to meet future demands of a mobile consumer base.
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