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Google results have morphed and changed over the years. The blended local results are now so stripped down and barren of details, it's no wonder click-through and call rates are declining. The following screen shots and stats below tell the story. I'd almost rather have an organic listing now. (OR better yet how about best of both worlds - a DOUBLE page one ranking with both organic AND a blended listings - ya that's the ticket! How do you do that?) ![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
1st Google took away our beautiful little images that used to show up in the SERPS.
Remember when we had the images? Those were the days!
Then she removed the description from the SERPS in local blended results.
Next we lost our keyword rich title tags. I reported back in May <a href="http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/google-local-update.html">Google was overwriting local title tags</a> and changing them to just the business name.
Another big change that's negatively impacted click and calls rates is the loss of our precious gold stars and the switch to the new Zagat review rating system.
<strong>Local Listings are just being DE-emphasized in the SERPs!</strong>
<center><img style="border:1px solid #6699cc;" src="http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/irvinedentistSERPScompare.jpg" alt="" title="irvinedentistSERPScompare" width="500" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6567" /></center>
So back in 2011 wouldn't you rather be in the A spot? Getting the A spot in "blended" was ADDITIVE! You had all the benefits of an organic listing + stars, + reviews, + map marker, + location, + phone.
Local listings USED to make you stand out from the organic listings.
What about today? In that September 2012 example I bet poor Dr Rice who is STILL in the A spot has seen a drop in clicks and calls! In the 2012 SERP example, if I were a consumer I'd be much more likely to click or call the Dentist in the richer, more informative ORGANIC listing. There is no longer anything that makes that A listing stand out! :-(
Obviously I've noticed the shrinking and diminished Local SERPS, but a recent post I worked on in the Google Forum really drilled this home for me.
A business owner was COMPLAINING about being in the A spot. (Something I informed him others strive for). He wanted to LOSE his G+ Local listing and get his pure organic listing back because his traffic had dropped off so significantly.
<strong>That's a BIG drop in actions!</strong>
So let's view the problem from his viewpoint. Better yet, pretend you are a consumer searching for his KW "Computer Repair Clear Lake Texas".
Which listing are you going to click or call? My guess is it would not be Russell Bakers's "A" listing - <strong>diminished, devoid of detail and bare!</strong>
<center><img style="border:1px solid #6699cc;" src="http://img1.uploadscreenshot.com/images/orig/9/26013410418-orig.png" class="alignnone" width="500" /></center>
<strong>OK so now compare that bare A spot listing with his ORGANIC listing below.</strong>
<center><img style="border:1px solid #6699cc;" src="http://img1.uploadscreenshot.com/images/orig/9/26013472746-orig.png" class="alignnone" width="500" /></center>
<strong>Which would you be more likely to click or call? His A spot or the organic?</strong>
Matthew Hunt recently did a video about the negative impact that the loss of stars and change to the Zagat ratings is making: <a href="http://www.smallbusinessonlinecoach.com/blog/proof-google-places-zagat-review-lowers-actions/">Proof That the Google Places’ Zagat Reviews Lowers Actions!</a>
But I submit to you that actions are down due to a combination of factors that can only be summed up as DIMINISHED Local display.
<strong>Local Listings are just being DE-emphasized in the SERPs!</strong>
Who knows why. Maybe to drive more businesses to Adwords and Adwords Express? I do know some businesses that started using Adwords Express specifically to get their review stars back because their click/call rate had dropped severely.
<strong>The solution?</strong>
<strong>Well the BEST solution is to get a DOUBLE page one ranking! Keep you’re A, B, C listing. But ALSO get a listing for your client in the organic section ABOVE the pinned local listings so they get the bigger organic listing AND their title tag and rich description. That way they get the best of both worlds. Their reviews and map marker shows up PLUS they get the bigger, richer listing on top.</strong>
I got one of my Dentists a DOUBLE #1. #1 organic AND "A" spot in blended. AND he's so far from city center he's almost out of the state. In fact 60% of his patients come from the next state over as he's closer to the state line, than the city he's in. So he gets the big organic AND #1 one spot ABOVE the local listings PLUS his "A" listing with reviews and map marker. Best of both worlds!
It's actually fairly easy to do if you know how. But wayyy too hard to explain in a blog post and this one's getting way too long. I do teach it and show exactly how I did it for that Dentist in my On-site Local SEO Training program, which I've only opened up to a limited number of companies so far. I have some secret sauce Local SEO techniques I just don't want to be widely known, so have been trying to figure out the best way to share on a fairly exclusive basis. But I'm thinking about opening it up to more people and maybe doing a small group training session at a reduced cost soon. (Not a pitch, just something I'm considering offering)
It's pretty easy to get a double IF Google serves up the old "pack" style display, because then the organic listing and local listing are not combined into one like they are with blended. BUT the pack display does not show up often any more and typically only for less popular keywords, hardly ever for CORE KWs. I had a hard time finding one, but just did. <strong><a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=Poway+Dentist&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGIC_enUS448US345&ie=UTF-8">Poway Dentist</a> still pulls a "pack".</strong> (Likely because it's a small town with lower search volume.) So you can see on that SERP a lot of double listings.<strong> In fact every Dentist in the 3 pack also has a page one organic listing.</strong> If only it was that easy to do in blended! (It def can be done, just is harder and takes some specific techniques.)
What else could Russell do to get his organic listing back? Google won't let him delete or suspend the Place/G+L page, so that's out. Any other ideas?
What do you think about the "Incredible Shrinking & Diminished Google Local SERPS?" Is it just a ploy to sell Adwords? Is it due to any of the anti-competitive legal issues that keep coming up about Google highlighting their own properties and results too prominently? Or???
A LQQK at the Incredible Shrinking & Diminishing Local SERPs
1st Google took away our beautiful little images that used to show up in the SERPS.
Remember when we had the images? Those were the days!
Then she removed the description from the SERPS in local blended results.
Next we lost our keyword rich title tags. I reported back in May <a href="http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/google-local-update.html">Google was overwriting local title tags</a> and changing them to just the business name.
Another big change that's negatively impacted click and calls rates is the loss of our precious gold stars and the switch to the new Zagat review rating system.
<strong>Local Listings are just being DE-emphasized in the SERPs!</strong>
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS - CHECK THIS!
SERPS Before and After - 2011 vs Today
SERPS Before and After - 2011 vs Today
<center><img style="border:1px solid #6699cc;" src="http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/irvinedentistSERPScompare.jpg" alt="" title="irvinedentistSERPScompare" width="500" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6567" /></center>
So back in 2011 wouldn't you rather be in the A spot? Getting the A spot in "blended" was ADDITIVE! You had all the benefits of an organic listing + stars, + reviews, + map marker, + location, + phone.
Local listings USED to make you stand out from the organic listings.
What about today? In that September 2012 example I bet poor Dr Rice who is STILL in the A spot has seen a drop in clicks and calls! In the 2012 SERP example, if I were a consumer I'd be much more likely to click or call the Dentist in the richer, more informative ORGANIC listing. There is no longer anything that makes that A listing stand out! :-(
Obviously I've noticed the shrinking and diminished Local SERPS, but a recent post I worked on in the Google Forum really drilled this home for me.
A business owner was COMPLAINING about being in the A spot. (Something I informed him others strive for). He wanted to LOSE his G+ Local listing and get his pure organic listing back because his traffic had dropped off so significantly.
<strong><a href="https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/business/Tq4DsCCth7s/2Z-MyLEc2mMJ">Google Forum Thread</a></strong>
"A little over 3 weeks ago when anyone did a Google search for the term "Computer Repair Clear Lake Texas" - My website was #3 (on the 1st page) in the regular search. I was nowhere to be found under Google Places. Now doing the same search my website shows up in the Maps (that is Google Places right?) .. but now my website is no longer ranked anywhere on the first page (or second, third, or fourth) using regular search.
<strong>All I know is this, last month I averaged 250 unique visitors. This month I'm sitting at 16. For the past year my average unique have been in the 240 range.</strong>"
<strong>That's a BIG drop in actions!</strong>
So let's view the problem from his viewpoint. Better yet, pretend you are a consumer searching for his KW "Computer Repair Clear Lake Texas".
Which listing are you going to click or call? My guess is it would not be Russell Bakers's "A" listing - <strong>diminished, devoid of detail and bare!</strong>
<center><img style="border:1px solid #6699cc;" src="http://img1.uploadscreenshot.com/images/orig/9/26013410418-orig.png" class="alignnone" width="500" /></center>
<strong>OK so now compare that bare A spot listing with his ORGANIC listing below.</strong>
<center><img style="border:1px solid #6699cc;" src="http://img1.uploadscreenshot.com/images/orig/9/26013472746-orig.png" class="alignnone" width="500" /></center>
<strong>Which would you be more likely to click or call? His A spot or the organic?</strong>
Matthew Hunt recently did a video about the negative impact that the loss of stars and change to the Zagat ratings is making: <a href="http://www.smallbusinessonlinecoach.com/blog/proof-google-places-zagat-review-lowers-actions/">Proof That the Google Places’ Zagat Reviews Lowers Actions!</a>
But I submit to you that actions are down due to a combination of factors that can only be summed up as DIMINISHED Local display.
<strong>Local Listings are just being DE-emphasized in the SERPs!</strong>
Who knows why. Maybe to drive more businesses to Adwords and Adwords Express? I do know some businesses that started using Adwords Express specifically to get their review stars back because their click/call rate had dropped severely.
<strong>The solution?</strong>
<strong>Well the BEST solution is to get a DOUBLE page one ranking! Keep you’re A, B, C listing. But ALSO get a listing for your client in the organic section ABOVE the pinned local listings so they get the bigger organic listing AND their title tag and rich description. That way they get the best of both worlds. Their reviews and map marker shows up PLUS they get the bigger, richer listing on top.</strong>
I got one of my Dentists a DOUBLE #1. #1 organic AND "A" spot in blended. AND he's so far from city center he's almost out of the state. In fact 60% of his patients come from the next state over as he's closer to the state line, than the city he's in. So he gets the big organic AND #1 one spot ABOVE the local listings PLUS his "A" listing with reviews and map marker. Best of both worlds!
It's actually fairly easy to do if you know how. But wayyy too hard to explain in a blog post and this one's getting way too long. I do teach it and show exactly how I did it for that Dentist in my On-site Local SEO Training program, which I've only opened up to a limited number of companies so far. I have some secret sauce Local SEO techniques I just don't want to be widely known, so have been trying to figure out the best way to share on a fairly exclusive basis. But I'm thinking about opening it up to more people and maybe doing a small group training session at a reduced cost soon. (Not a pitch, just something I'm considering offering)
It's pretty easy to get a double IF Google serves up the old "pack" style display, because then the organic listing and local listing are not combined into one like they are with blended. BUT the pack display does not show up often any more and typically only for less popular keywords, hardly ever for CORE KWs. I had a hard time finding one, but just did. <strong><a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=Poway+Dentist&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGIC_enUS448US345&ie=UTF-8">Poway Dentist</a> still pulls a "pack".</strong> (Likely because it's a small town with lower search volume.) So you can see on that SERP a lot of double listings.<strong> In fact every Dentist in the 3 pack also has a page one organic listing.</strong> If only it was that easy to do in blended! (It def can be done, just is harder and takes some specific techniques.)
What else could Russell do to get his organic listing back? Google won't let him delete or suspend the Place/G+L page, so that's out. Any other ideas?
What do you think about the "Incredible Shrinking & Diminished Google Local SERPS?" Is it just a ploy to sell Adwords? Is it due to any of the anti-competitive legal issues that keep coming up about Google highlighting their own properties and results too prominently? Or???