ionadas local Blog

By now, you’re likely seeing Google’s new search results for local queries. Big G has been testing this for a few months now, and the rollout looks about like we expected it to.

It’ll take some time to tease out what exactly they’ve done, but at a high level it appears that the new ranking algorithm is a combination of the old Google Maps and organic algos. This is great news if you have strong organic optimization. You’re probably seeing improved rankings today.

If you’re targeting local queries without a local presence, however, life just got harder for you. For most queries, I’m seeing only a couple of organic listings above the fold. This is about the same as for the old page structure, but additional organic listings are multiple clicks down the page now. You’ve got a grand total of four spots on the first page of results. Good luck.

The seven local listings are now spread out down the page, with only one or two above the fold. This greatly increases the need to be at the top of the Google Places listings.

So, get to work building citations and encouraging your customers to place reviews!

There have been indications of this for some time, but the Google Lat Long Blog has now announced full support for hCard Microformat. This is a tagging system that allows a website builder to indicate what type of data is included on a page. It’s most often used for contact info, but other data types (such as reviews), can be tagged as well.

Information tagged in this manner is easier for Google to categorize, and can show up as a citation in Google Places, or even a more prominent link.

Mike Blumenthal has a great write-up on why hCard Microformat is important.

TechCruch reported last week that Google Places has been purged of Yelp review content.

This results from a kerfuffle between Yelp and Google over the usage of reviews and other data from Yelp by Google within its Google Places listing. There’s a long history between the two companies of one using the other’s content, that one stopping using that content, one trying to purchase the other, and the other walking away from purchase negotiations.

Yelp’s current stance seems to be that they want to be paid if Google uses their content. Google isn’t all that interesting in paying.

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman has stated that they’re fine with being excluded from Google Places. I suspect they see most of their traffic coming from their smart-phone apps, which include the powerful, useful, and very cool Yelp Monocle.

If Google limits them to the increasingly-irrelevant-for-local-queries organic results, then that works for them.

For several years now, the recipe for business success online has been to worship at the Google altar. Now yet another major playing in local marketing has pushed Google away.

Chris Boudeaux and Adam Edwards are reporting that Google is testing search results with local listings only. In their case, a query for [car rental nyc] returned a new page format: the map on the right hand column with AdWords below it and a center column with more AdWords at the top, and nothing but Google Places listings below it.

All indications are that this is a very limited test at the moment and there’s no way of knowing whether it will become generally available. But the implications of such a change would be huge. For certain types of queries (i.e. those that tend to return the map today), traditional SEO efforts would no longer be of any value.

Only AdWords and Google Places listings would matter.

I doubt the screen capture the linked article shows reflects what Google would use in the long run, as it seems fairly clumsy. There are only 2.5 listings above the fold, with a great deal of wasted space.

But we certainly could see something like this in the near future.

Hat Tip to WebmasterWorld for pointing this out to me.

Update: Here’s your coupon for PubCon South 2013 in New Orleans.

Without question, my favorite internet marketing conference of the year is PubCon Vegas. Great educational content, fantastic networking, and an excuse to head to Las Vegas right before the holiday season begins. As usual, I will be on a couple of panels this year, although I don’t yet know the topics.

Being known as a fan of PubCon, I’m often asked about discount coupons for attendees. So, I asked the crew at WebmasterWorld if they could help me out, and they gave me the following coupon code for 15% off PubCon Las Vegas:

bc-9237415

The code will expire on October 31, 2010 and must be used at the time of registration. They do not offer retroactive discounts.

I hope to see you there!