Google Place pages and regular listings in search results
-
I'm trying to clarify something about search results which contain local listings.
Here is the search string for Google that will give you the same results that I am seeing -
http://www.google.co.uk/search?&q=letting agents glasgow&pws=0
Of the results that are returned, some of them have data which seems to be related to their Google Place page but the "title" links directly to their website.
What I wanted to know is, "Is it their actual website that has given them those rankings" or "Are they listed where they are because of a well optimized and ranked Places page?
-
Again, many thanks for your answers and your time in looking at these results. I hadn't even noticed that the first listing hadn't actually claimed their place page (which does surprise me).
When you say that a company could achieve the same results by doing appropriate SEO on the local and organic level, I take it you mean SEO on the Places page and local targeted SEO on the main site?
Many thanks for your help and advice on this. I wanted to gather as much information regarding this area within the local search before committing to the client.
I have done a great deal of research about local search and SEO but was unsure of what was making Google actually rank these sites where they're ranking them.
Regards,
Michael
-
My opinion is that both have properly optimized websites, with the listing in the A position having the potential of strong backlinks and extremely well optimized site(although I have not done much analysis.)
Since the listing in the A position is rather far from the city center, and it has not even claimed the Googles Places listing, any optimization that has occurred locally would be from info Google has scraped from the web.
The listing in the B position has claimed/verified their Google Places page, but has done a poor job optimizing it. However, it does have a city center location.
I believe a company that wishes to compete in that market listing could do well if not better than the current top listings by doing appropriate SEO on the local and organic level.
-
Hi and thank you for your answer. From your experience, looking at the top two results, would you say they are most likely to be ranked where they are due to strong organic SEO of their site AND optimization of their places page?
I have a clients site which, due to way it is set up, cannot compete with the number one site from an organic SEO point of view but I could easily compete with its Places page.
Thanks,
Michael
-
Hi Michael,
Good question. There are a number of ways listings can show up ranging from organic only results, local only results(google 7 pack, and a mixed result of organic and local.
In your example, the organic/local mix is what we are seeing. In this case many optimization factors are taken into account that include local and organic factors.
A well optimized page + strong organic seo is what would be needed to give a company the best chance at ranking in a high position. This would include a verified and well optimized Google Places page.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Changing / editing street view picture of premiss without drop in Google places ranking
Ive finally got a site quite high in the relevant Google places listings, after a year or so of trying. What ive noticed is that the auto generated street view image of the business is showing a row of garages round the back of the building, rather than the building entrance. Is there a way i can update the auto generated street view images of the business without risking the google places ranking / need to submit a move of address. Has any one had any experience with doing this in the past ?
Image & Video Optimization | | Sam-P0 -
Google+ Local ranking for company with no website
Hi,
Image & Video Optimization | | Ant71
Im about to start helping a small business who has a facebook account but no website. Has anyone got any experience of getting a business ranking locally without a website? Just wandering if NAP details from a facebook / Google+ account helps with local citation building? Or whether a basic website is required? Antony0 -
Local Search for Multiple Locations
Hi Folks, The company I work for is based in Kendal in Cumbria in the United Kingdom (that's our head office) but as we are a training company and we have training locations all over the UK, how would I go about updating the local listings to reflect this. I'd like to specifically target our London based venues. Any help much appreciated. Gaz
Image & Video Optimization | | PurpleGriffon0 -
Google+ Local City Centroid Bias
It's well-known that Google has a bias towards businesses located closest to the center of the city being searched in. How can you tell where exactly Google considers to be the center of the city? I think that the way is to just search the city name on Google Maps and the marker will appear at where they consider the center of the city to be but just wanted to double check on that first.
Image & Video Optimization | | ChaseCameron0 -
Old location in Google Places/Google Local
So I started at my company around six months ago. I claimed the company's Google+ page, and have been actively updating it. I also took the step of claiming the company's location in Google Places as well (yes, I know Google is shutting down Google Places in favor of Google+, but I figured it was a logical step to take anyway). Here's my dilemma: the company moved locations 2-3 years ago. That old location is still appearing in Google Places, and it also has its own Google+ page. Is there a recommended way to redirect that old location to our new office in Google Places and Google+?
Image & Video Optimization | | ufmedia0 -
Is specifying a floor descriptive enough for Google Places?
Hello everyone, I have a quick question regarding Google Places. I have a client who operates her business in a building with multiple other businesses. This address is completely legitimate and our client provides fitness services at this location. We have asked her for a more specific location, but she does not have a suite or room #. The best we can do is the floor #, but there are other businesses on her floor as well. Would this lack of specificity affect her ability to rank in local results? There are 4 other businesses at the address. If we provide strong and relevant citations, will this be enough? Thank you and my apologies if this has been asked before. I searched the previously asked question but didn't find what i was looking for.
Image & Video Optimization | | Robertnweil10 -
Adding panoramio to google places
I recently watched a webinar on seomoz that said that panoramio was great for local search and that you should upload photos into google places from panoramio. I have tried it several times and on several different computers and have got the same response: We are unable to store your image at this time. Does anyone know why this is? Thanks. David
Image & Video Optimization | | dmweinberg20 -
Backlinks & local search?
I'm aware that local search is mostly based on citations, and how well your Google places page is optimized, and the landing pages are optimized. But I was wondering if anyone could tell me if backlinks have any relevance in the local search results? And if they do, how much would you say the impact the local search results? could you estimate a % of total value? Also if they do, does it help to have backlinks that point at your places page urls? or should the backlinks just point at your places page landing pages?
Image & Video Optimization | | adriandg0