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Just over a year ago, Google™ rolled out its Google+ Local platform in a bid to better integrate its social platform with its other products. As a result consumers are now taken to Google+ Local pages instead of Google Places when conducting a local search. Since it’s estimated that one in four searches on the Internet are “local searches,” Google+ has therefore become a far more important destination. Beyond that, Google arguably also implemented Google+ Local to create a more integrated and easier experience for both the small business owner to manage their data and promotion as well as for the searcher to find these businesses.

Although much of our data – particularly after the initial launch – shows that the migration to Google+ Local pages is more of a re-brand for Google Places than an overhaul of the way in which it operates and ranks businesses, there have still been some significant developments over the last year. Twelve months later, it’s interesting to reflect on the biggest changes we’ve seen, what may still be in the pipeline, and whether Google+ Local has been a success.

Google+ Local Updates

Here are the most significant changes that Google has made in relation to Google+ Local that we’ve observed over the last year, some of which have only been recently implemented

• A Name Change: The most immediate change was that Google+ Local replaced “Google Places.” Google moved everything to a single sign in platform, which now includes a social component, Zagat reviews, as well as search and maps listings. As a result of this social component, when logged into Google you are likely to see results that show reviews and places visited from people that are in your Google + circles.
• New Layout: Over recent months there has been an updated layout on Google+ Local that includes an expanded map as the main cover photo display and business information blended into the map towards the bottom. Directions, favorites, sharing and review buttons are now also easier to find under the map/cover photo.
• A New Dashboard: In April, Google released its new dashboard for Google+ Local and began to automatically add it to all U.S. business listings. Any new users who sign up for a Google account will automatically have the new dashboard. Before the new dashboard, multiple people, groups, or entities could claim a listing and request a postcard to verify ownership of a specific location. This meant there could be several logins that corresponded to one business. With the new dashboard, there’s a single login and ownership for every listing.
• Search Results Listings Improvements: One of Google’s primary goals with Google+ Local was to merge duplicate listings, improving the accuracy of search results and better meeting the intent of consumers. This explains why Google recently expanded their results and invested increased resources to get those results to be more accurate. Now, search results are based on the longitude/latitude for mobile users or IP address for desktops/laptops.

 

Room for Improvement

Although Google is regularly upgrading the Local platform, there are potentially still some opportunities for improvement:

• No Bulk Listings…Yet: To date, Google+ Local still doesn’t have the ability to handle multi-location businesses. The new dashboard doesn’t recognize when businesses have the same name but different locations. This is a big disadvantage to franchises who own chains, but Google is aware of this need and will hopefully add the capability to the platform.
• The “Nanny” filter: Trigger terms can set off Google’s “nanny filter.” Google has strict guidelines around when businesses can show their address and when they can’t. If the email address you use to create your account has a city name in it, Google might send you a notification that it doesn’t meet their quality guidelines.

 

In conclusion, it’s fair to say that Google+ Local has become a visually pleasing, interactive platform that is easier to navigate both on the back end and for searchers. Beyond that, with web signals, local signals and now social signals, Google is attempting to provide search results tailored as closely as possible to a searcher’s intent. What this means is that monitoring general search results will become less relevant. What will become more relevant is presenting the unique message of a business to their community. Through Google + Local, individual local businesses can compete with a national brand. This digital equality is one of the biggest game changers that SMB’s have seen in some time.

As a Google AdWords Premier SMB Partner™ and a business with access to an immense amount of customer data, we will continue to track all the changes that occur with Google to stay ahead of the curve ensuring that we’re delivering the best possible results to our customers.

Let us know what you think about Google+ Local’s first year in the comments box below.

Spring is here and along with it the increasingly popular annual Internet Week New York events. Internet Week New York 2013 brought the digital community together for an extensive series of gatherings and events at both festival headquarters and throughout the city. As a leader in Silicon Alley, Yodle participated in a number of the events.

I particularly enjoyed giving a keynote presentation at the headquarters main stage to approximately 150 people about “Turning a Profit in Local.” I discussed trends in local tech and the challenges that small business owners face when trying to navigate the complex landscape of marketing tools and services that are now available to them.  I dove into success factors for companies competing to win in  Local – a technology and data aggregation platform that enables a  low cost sales force, a high quality service team and a high marketing ROI.

Yodle CEO Court Cunningham hits the main stage at Internet Week New York

As part of Internet Week, we were also happy to host Walkabout NYC and OpenCo events opening our doors to techies and people simply interested in what we do here at Yodle. Walkabout and OpenCo allow people to see what life is like inside the city’s tech companies and creative agencies. With a DJ on the turntables and snacks and beer on hand, Yodle invited the crowd – which ranged from recent graduate students to veterans in tech and other industries – to look inside our technology suite and learn more about Yodle. Both events created some great relationship building opportunities and the opportunity to capture the pulse of the local New York community.

Attendees sign in at Yodle’s Walkabout NYC event

I look forward to speaking at another major event coming up soon, the Northside NExT Conference – which some people are describing as the South by Southwest of the Northeast – in Brooklyn. I’ll be part of a panel discussion on how small business owners are creating big business for startups on Friday, June 14. Our recruiting team will also be at the event. If you’re around, be sure to stop by and talk tech and online marketing with us.

It was on a flight back to Phoenix from the Yodle headquarters in New York almost a year ago when I decided to start a nonprofit with a simple mission: connect children to their dad in his absence through videos of him reading their favorite children’s books out loud.

Many children spend months apart from their fathers at a young age through military deployment, hospitalization, incarceration or other separations. My idea was to connect these children to their fathers by giving them a video of him reading their favorite children’s books out loud. I envisioned siblings gathered before bedtime, watching their father read, just as if he’s right there with them. I imagined a little girl watching on an iPad, returning a good-night kiss to her daddy on the screen.

Today the idea is now a nonprofit called Daddy Read a Book and we’ve raised more than $60,000 in the past six months.

Today, Yodle announced the hire of Fred Voccola as General Manager of Yodle for Brand Networks. Fred, who joined Yodle last month, will lead our online marketing business for franchise, national brand, and dealer/manufacturer networks. We recently spoke with him about his plans to further elevate our Brand Networks business. Read below to learn more about this as well as Fred’s reasons for joining Yodle, and also why he’s open to hanging out with a polar bear in his spare time.

Yodle: Why did you decide to join Yodle?

Fred: A Yodle recruiter called me earlier this year on what was coincidentally the same day that I sold my company Nolio.  I wasn’t immediately looking for a new opportunity but the recruiter I spoke to did a great job of showcasing the opportunity.  Next thing I knew I was meeting with Yodle CEO Court Cunningham and we really hit it off.  Court outlined all the possibilities and potential for growth in our Brand Networks business. I was sold and was even more impressed after meeting with the rest of the executive team. Everyone was smart and on the same page when it came to their perspective on the direction of Yodle. We have terrific clients and our market opportunity is tremendous. I’m very happy to be part of Yodle for Brand Networks.

Yodle: What are your key goals at Yodle?

Fred: First and foremost I want to make sure that we’re delivering the best possible service and results to our clients. I’m also aiming to further build out the brand network business. I ultimately foresee Yodle offering a comprehensive online marketing platform – building on what we already provide to our customers – that will address all the unique needs of networked businesses. I want every CEO and CMO in this space to view Yodle as the go to platform for online marketing and as a standard piece of their operational stack. I look forward to working with our strong executive, client services, product, marketing, and sales teams to make this happen. Beyond that, I’ve already started to build out a broader vision for this part of the Yodle business, something that we will be executing on over the coming months.

Yodle: On the topic of your vision for the business, can you tell us more about what you’ve done around that over the last few weeks?

Fred: Yodle has tremendous assets in terms of technology, processes, and people, so my first focus has been to learn about the inner workings of the business and find ways to even better align our resources to serve our customers. It’s clear that the challenges of a franchise, multi-location, or dealer/manufacturer network are different than those of a typical small business. It’s also clear that the CEO or CMO at the helm of one of these networks would like a more comprehensive, integrated, and informative view of his network’s marketing operations, along with better tools to serve the location owners and operators.   Yodle has the core technology platform needed to provide a solution that can unify, automate, and optimize the marketing operations of distributed network businesses, so it’s time to start talking about it…We are Yodle for Brand Networks, providers of THE Distributed Marketing Optimization platform for franchise, national brand, and dealer/manufacturer business networks.  Put simply, we provide a platform that solves the problem of managing digital marketing in a brand network, and we’re going to grow quickly!

Yodle: What particularly excites you about helping CMOs, marketing directors and small business owners with their online marketing needs?

Fred: I look forward to working with CMOs and marketing directors in helping them meet the challenge of supporting local business owners that are part of their network.  In the last eight to 10 years I’ve seen tech cycles shrink significantly.  To secure a competitive advantage it’s imperative for enterprise businesses to empower their local networked businesses with the sort of solutions that a decade ago only Fortune 500 companies were able to use. Yodle is one of those solutions that can make a significant difference.

Yodle: Finally, and on a completely different subject, where would you most like to visit that you’ve never been before?

Fred: People may think that I’m crazy but I’d like to go to Alaska during the winter.  I would love to see polar bears in their natural habitat. I hope to do that sometime soon but Yodle is clearly my priority at this time!

We’re delighted to have Fred join our growing team. If you have any questions for Fred or feedback to share, please post in the comments box below.