Google is once again bringing a new feature to its local search service that will likely be appealing to many small businesses. Google has created ‘Favourite Places’ which is currently only available in the US, but Google is hoping to develop this further in other countries around the world too.
‘Favourite Places’ is a new initiative by Google that has been created to encourage businesses to register with their Local Business Centre and to ensure that their details are kept fully updated. Google has chosen 100,000 small businesses and labelled them as ‘Favourite Places’. These businesses have been selected because they have been found to be the businesses that most Google users look for when online and that they explore most often. This can be a hugely beneficial title to be allocated for businesses for many reasons.
Whilst being listed as a ’Favourite Place’ will not have a direct effect on rankings in the Google search results, there is to be an area online where these businesses are listed and where searchers can go to easily find and explore the most popular business websites.
Being a ‘Favourite Place’ is also advantageous for businesses and users in another way. Google has been sending out window stickers to each of these businesses. These stickers contain a QR barcode that will enable those passing the shop window to access the Place Page of the business quickly and easily using an appropriate mobile device. By doing this, potential customers will be able to access a great deal of useful information such as the opening hours of the business, reviews and special offers.
In order for a business to be selected as a ‘Favourite Place’ and have the potential to enjoy the benefits that this offers, it must first register at the Google Local Business Centre.
This is a prime example of Google trying to expand into the mobile market and keep up with the technology that increasing numbers of users are using. The development of ‘Favourite Places’ can be advantageous for users in many ways because it provides them with information about the most popular businesses in their local areas and will also give them significant information such as about special offers and coupons and is of course also useful for businesses as can gain them exposure and help them to communicate effectively with potential customers in a few different ways.
It is often necessary to take into consideration local search when running a search engine optimisation campaign. There can be many benefits to having a listing at your Local Business Centre and Google is working to make this even more appealing and beneficial for businesses too.
An effective search engine optimisation uses a number of different SEO techniques that are suitable for the individual business in order to improve rankings, gain exposure for the business and increase the amount of traffic that visits the business too. We at SEO Consult can advise you on a number of different SEO methods and create a successful SEO campaign for your business.
