With Google latest attempt to make its search results more relevant by using Universal Search, it has become evident in South Africa that they are really pushing location based search results. This may be confusing to most so I am going to break it down for you in simple terms.

What is Universal Search?

Universal Search Results

Lets say we were looking for an Ad Agency and typed it into Google.

• The first results (red box) in this example is the paid search results
• Next comes the Universal Search results (blue box) which contains excepts such as “News for ad agency” or “Images for ad agency”, in some cases Videos or Shopping Products
• Then finally we get the organic search results (green box) which are sometimes below the average scroll line.

Google does mix these results up a bit, sometimes you will see universal results filtered among the organic results. Google is making an average of 3-5 quality changes a day to their results so on any given day the results may be different as Google experiments.

What are Location Based Search results?

We are starting to see that Google is pushing strong in the SERPs with their location based universal search results. If you have a Google Places listing (whether claimed or not) you have a chance of showing up at the top of Google with a nice pretty map. This usually happens when someone types in a location, eg “Ad Agency Johannesburg“. You will also notice that with this huge map that even the first Google organic result has been pushed beyond the scroll line. You prized #1 listing has taken a new #9 spot, and maybe your competitor has just pulled a fast one on you by gaining the #1 Google Places spot.

Location Based Search

In some cases if you are the only company (not a lot for Google to choose from in an area) then you may even get a listing that completely dominates the page.

Single Listing

Conclusion

If you want to stay ahead of the game then you must be aware of the changes in the search engine results pages. A #1 spot in Google is not what it used to be, things have changed so we must change with them by getting listed in universal search results.

Get a Google Places Listing Now!

If you would like to be listed on Google Maps (Google Places) and need some help getting your listing shown effectively then contact me and I will provide you with prices for my Local Business Package.