On August 6 Google shook the foundations of local search when it reduced the “Local Pack” listing of businesses showing up at the top of local searches for a product or service from 7 business to only 3 local business results. Local SEO guru Mike Blumenthal has named this shorter search result and new view the Local Stack.
This significantly reduces the number of spots for local businesses to appear on the first page of a Google search for their product or service. While mobile searches now outnumber desktop searches, a little less than half of all searches are still done on desktops or tablets with non-mobile browser displays.
The Local Stack represented the listing of businesses displayed in search results with a little red “teardrop” map marker with their review rating (usually Google+) and a link to their Google+ page underneath the business name on the left and their address and phone number on the right. That view is now gone.
Traditionally, organic website SEO results appeared below that, with possibly one or two results above the Local Stack. Ranking organically for your website AND your Google+ page listing are both extremely important to winning market share.
And that’s not all. We’ll leave the biggest possible change for last.
Drew Leahy in his Incredible Marketing blog outlined 10 other changes Google made to the Local Stack in detail and also how multiple location businesses have been affected.
With some additional research, here are the 4 takeaways we think are most important:
1. No more phone numbers or complete street addresses. While the phone icon and click-to-call functionality remains in the mobile view of the Local Stack, the phone number and complete street address has been removed from the new desktop display. Users need to click on the business to find that information, representing an entirely new experience . . .
2. User interaction has changed entirely. The right side “flyout” is gone and The Local Pack and then some has been moved to a Map View. Before, mousing over a listing in the Local Stack created a “flyout” display in the right hand column that displayed more information about the business, including a few reviews. Now, there is no mouseover flyover and clicking on anything other than the website link in a Local Stack result takes you to a Local Pack of 20 businesses on the left in a list while the entire remainder for the screen on the right is Google Maps and markers for each business listed. You can now see phone numbers for each company. The list mirrors the expanded mobile result, with a condensed map at the top and a listing of more businesses underneath. Some observers wonder if people clicking for a phone number will now look closer at a longer list of competitors (and phone numbers).
3. Google+ Review Switcharoo. While Google’s push for social through Google+ is being sidelined, it’s not entirely out of social, as this Wired article points out. And while a business’s Google+ page (aka Google My Business page) still drives Local Pack information and for now appears to track the same Insights, the business Google+ link has been removed in the new Local Stack. Google Reviews are now just labeled Reviews and only appear 3 clicks in after clicking reviews from the business listing in the map view. There is every evidence, however, that after listing/directory optimization, reviews are still the key driver to the top result in the Local Pack, just as they were doing in the Local Stack (to the point that there’s a fair amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth about fake Google+ reviews).
4. This will surely change click through rates from the 1st page of Google search results, but we’re not sure how yet. The only published research we could find so far comes from Casey Maraz at Juris Digital that were recently updated at Moz.com. Maraz saw the Local Stack taking just 8% of clicks if there weren’t many reviews, boosting organic click through rates to 62%. That changed significantly if the Local Stack was showing reviews, jumping to 33% of clicks while organic declined to 40%. Paid Clicks and More Local Results both held fairly steady splitting the rest of the clicks.
Search Engine Land so far seems to be the only source so far to have a reply from Google: “We are constantly exploring the best way to bring a better search experience to our users. This update provides people with more relevant information, including photos, reviews and prices, for searches that have multiple results for a given location.”
Summary: Being in new Local Stack now requires being one of the top 3 local businesses in search results for your product or service. Google Reviews (now showing as just Reviews) are even more critical for Local Stack success and if your business has foot traffic, get your Google Photo tour completed. This increases the urgency to get your website on the first page and as highly ranked as possible, particularly if your not in the top 3 for the Local Stack.
Additional Resources:
https://moz.com/blog/google-local-snack-pack-shakeup
https://moz.com/blog/the-new-snack-pack-where-users-clicking-how-you-can-win
