google+ local
DESCRIPTION
At the beginning of June 2012, Google Maps changed all their Google Place pages into Google Plus Local profiles.This is an overview of the changes and what they mean for local businesses and retail networks.TRANSCRIPT
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Google+ Local
What’s changed?
Google announces Google+ Local• Google has announced that Google Business Places would cease to exist
in its current form. Up until now, claiming and managing a Google Place page has been an imperative for successfully marketing a local business online.
• As of 1 June 2012, Google Places has been replaced by Google+ Local, an extension of Google’s social networking site.
What is Google Plus?
• Google+ was launched in September 2011, and mimics some of Facebook’s features while helping users communicate specifically with different audience through the use of ‘Circles’. User engagement figures were watched with interest from marketers and brands alike, but take-up to date has been slow and focussed mainly around tech-savvy early adopters.
EMO’s view on Google Plus and Google Plus Local• Up until now, our position for local businesses has been that generally,
Google+ hasn’t achieved critical mass yet and so isn’t a marketing priority. EMO has recommended that local businesses don’t invest in active engagement on Google+, but in some cases we have recommended the creation of basic user profiles to positively affect natural search and help users to find a business.
• We’re still not recommending that all local businesses jump straight into Google+
• But, now the same attention required for Google Places needs to be applied to Google+ Local (claim and manage your reputation). You only need a Google account to do this, not a Google+ profile.
• Currently Google+ Local pages don’t give business owners the ability to publish content or be followed. But these features are coming and we do expect that in the future Google will move towards incentivising businesses to engage in relationship building through Google+. We’ll be keeping a close eye on what happens.
There are 3 key changes
1. People using Google Maps to search will see a different page
The data (contact details, locations and the like) is still exactly the same, but it’s simply displayed in a different format.
2. Users can look for local businesses in a different way through the Google+ Local tab
If Google+ users choose to, they can search for local businesses through Google+. The main benefit for users here is the new hierarchy of search results – which promotes businesses with reviews from people you know over businesses without personal reviews.
There are 3 key changes
3. Reviews are changing dramatically
Before, reviews could be left by anyone (even anonymously) and required a rating on a 5 star scale, ensuring that businesses with lots of reviews usually had an average of 3.5 stars and some businesses suffered from review spam and no way to contact people who had left poor reviews.
Now a logged in Google account is needed before a review can be left. The format of reviews is also different – no more 5 stars, now it’s anything up to a 30 point spread based on Zagat’s comprehensive restaurant rating scale.
Different categories of businesses are associated with ‘labels’ eg Attraction, and this allows Google to show the most relevant questions to the business (in this case Appeal, Facilities, and Service).
What’s not changing: Yet
1. Rankings appear to be mainly the same
Initially many pundits suspected that this change would also mean a change in the algorithm that dictates which entry appears in a search. While some extremely marginal changes were reported, the research has now shown that the local search rankings remain the same.
We expect that both number of reviews and rating averages will affect rankings in the future.
2. Old reviews remain the same on Google+ Local
Importantly, there is some talk that old reviews won’t migrate to the new Google+ pages, but our research shows that no reviews have been removed yet.
The Good news for local businesses• Businesses can review other businesses as a business, so your B2B
networking could get a lot more meaningful.
• People who leave reviews are encouraged to share their comments with their Circles, so expect more people to see your reviews (both good and bad of course!)
• Google+ Local pages are still only editable through the Google Business Centre, but we expect that (like with Google+) soon more than one person will be able to administer a Google+ Local page.
Google+ Local
How your business needs to respond
Scenario 1
I had a Google Plus profile
I had a claimed Google Places page
What you had What you should do
Currently, you can’t merge the two.
Step1: Review your Google+ Local page and make sure all the information and images have transferred across correctly.
Step 2: Fill your email address in here to be notified of feature changes.
Optional: Ask for early access to the merge function here.
What you have nowYou have two Google+
presences – one with Google+ features and one that just looks like a Google+ page
Scenario 2
I didn’t have a Google Places page
I did have a Google+ profile
What you had What you should do
What you have nowYou still only have a Google+
profile
Make sure your Google+ profile is set up as a ‘Local Business or Place’ if relevant
This will ensure that your business is shown in Google+ Local search results.
Scenario 3
I only had a Google Places page, but it wasn’t claimed
What you had What you should do
What you have nowStill nothing except an
unmanaged page that probably doesn’t benefit your business.
Step 1: Set up a personal Google+ profile to administer the page once it’s claimed
Step 2: Claim your Google+ Local profile (it works the same as before)
Scenario 4
I only had a Google Places page that was claimed
What you had What you should do
What you have nowYour Google Places page has
been converted into a Google+ Local page
Step1: Review your Google+ Local page and make sure all the information and images have transferred across correctly.
Step 2: Fill your email address in here to be notified of feature changes.
Google+ Local
FAQs
FAQ
• When’s it happening in the UK?
Unlike past changes, there is no inter-continental delay so the change has already taken effect.
• How is the claiming process different?
It hasn’t changed – yet.
• Will I have to revalidate my claim?
If you want to make significant changes to your Google+ Local page, yes. For basic edits, no.
• But my business isn’t a restaurant, why is the Zagat scoring being used?
Other business verticals (eg retail stores) will have different ‘labels’ and have less comprehensive scoring.
FAQ
• Am I going to start being notified about people interacting with my page?
No – if you’ve claimed your page you’ll be notified when people leave reviews, but currently there are no other ways that people can communicate with your business unless you have a full G+ Local page.
• Am I going to be forced to manage a new Social profile?
We’re not sure. Currently, no, but Google have indicated that ‘hosting hangouts, sharing photos ... We’ll soon extend these social experiences to more local Google+ pages in the weeks and months ahead’ so this may happen.
