At the end of last month, Google revealed Google + Local, a service that effectively replaced what was Google Places. This change puts a great emphasis on reviews and photos, with Zagat ratings prominently featured based on their prestigious 30-point scale being a critical component of the results. "If you had your Google Places set up properly, which all of our clients do, the thing you would notice most is an increase in user experience", states James Alamia, CEO of Route 72 Systems. He goes on futher to say, "Google is putting alot of focus with Google + Local on the mobile/social movement that obviously is only going to continue to grow and a smart play for sure!"

Tying a physical location with a mobile device and providing relevant data to a user just makes sense, however the current search results in Google are leaving many local business owners with a bad taste in their mouths. "We have been seeing a drop in conversions with some of our clients ever since the star ratings were removed and replaced with the Zagat rating system", states Mark Ramos, SEO Director of Route 72 Systems. Ramos also says, "Impressions have either stayed the same or even gone up, since many of our rankings have improved for our local clients. The click through rates on some have gone way down though, and we can only assume it's because the way the Zagat's rating system is setup, which is more geared towards restaurants...something we'll be constantly testing to see what we can improve."

Change is always inevitable in the online marketplace and keeping up to date to adapt to these changes is the job of any fiscally responsible business owner.

About Route 72 Systems
James Alamia created Route 72 Systems LLC, spending the last 15 years tweaking and constantly refining the email lists and marketing tactics used by his company. With strategies to overcome even the most challenging markets, it is not difficult to setup targeted online marketing campaigns that will get results.

 

 

Source: PRWeb

URL: Source