Google's Anatomy - Spine, Brain - How Does LOCAL Fit In?

[Linda Buquet]

Wowser, just read the best article that dissects the "anatomy" of Google... The heart, the brain and Google+ which Larry Page recently referred to as the "social spine".

This post is really impactful and may even be good to share with some of your SMB clients who are struggling to understand that 'beast', which is called Google, and how all the parts tie together.

The post rocks AND there is a local example right in the middle that sort of ties it all together…

But I want to direct Local Search Consultant's attention to the 2nd quote below.

Google's Anatomy - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

In what has become a meme, CEO Larry Page referred to Google+ as the company’s “social spine” in an earnings call earlier this year. As Page explains, the role of Google+ is to connect a host of products across Google’s platform.

To better understand how they are doing this, consider the following result set for
“general contractor” in “San Francisco”: (SEE SCREEN SHOT IN THE POST)​

In this depiction, we see how "the spine” is at work, connecting search with engagement. The key in all this, is Google search itself. As the primary driver of traffic to the platform, it’s role has evolved from being the body into being an organ of the body, albeit the most important one.

Hmmm, left me thinking a lot about how Local fits in. What part of the body is that?

After talking about all the various body parts and how they all work together, Jiyan Wei the author, give 3 summary points - all worth reading. He talks about how the organs in a body are all connected and stresses the importance of not forgetting about the brain. But I wanted to draw Local Search Consultant's attention to the last point.

Decide if you're a medical technician or a physician: A medical technician typically has a two-year specialized education and focuses on one specific area of health care. Physicians can go through as many as 15 years of study and training because they need to understand the body in its entirety before focusing on one area. If you approach search as though it is an isolated organ, you can carve out a niche for yourself but you’ll never be running the show.

Some of you are specialists in LOCAL, so I guess that would fit more into the med tech analogy. But some of you are more full agencies that also do site design, PPC and everything else.

Where to you see YOURSELF fitting into the whole medical analogy?
Do you see yourself as a doctor, a nurse, a specialist, tech, OR???


SO HOW DO YOU GUYS SEE LOCAL FITTING INTO THE ENTIRE BODY ANALOGY???