Is Google+ Local a Monopoly? Yes!

[Linda Buquet]

Was out of office a lot yesterday so just catching up on news. This post is interesting so wanted to share.

The question posed in the title is: "Is Google+ Local a Monopoly That Hurts Local Publishers and Favors Local Businesses?"

My answer is yes and YAY! Because I'm on the side of local businesses - not national directories/publishers,
so the scale is tilted just the way I like it to be - in favor of local businesses!

Is Google+ Local a Monopoly That Hurts Local Publishers and Favors Local Businesses?

The FTC recently settled its suit with Google over alleged claims of monopolistic practices in displaying content on their search engines. Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppleman called it a “missed opportunity.” That’s probably putting it lightly for them. The reality is that with every update we have seen Google prioritize its listings above other local publishers…

In a phone conversation with Andrew Shotland, he had mentioned his local clients had received about a 12% traffic drop from the latest update alone. That’s pretty sizable and arguably it will only get worse for local publishers. Google controls most of the “above the fold” real estate on local searches. Their maps show up on about 83% of them. It’s even worse on mobile which is quickly becoming the dominant local search channel.

Curious about the comment about the 12% drop in traffic from the latest update. Wonder what update he's talking about and what caused the drop in traffic?

Hopefully Trevor or Andrew will see this post and stop by with more details.