Google has begun migrating all Google Places pages to the new Google Plus Local pages. Whether you like or not, if your business currently has a Google Places page, your Google Places page has most likely already been replaced or upgraded to a Google Plus Local page. So, what does this mean to you and your business?
Well, the main goal here is to integrate Google’s social aspect of Google Plus into your local business listings on Google. You will have the opportunity to interact with your customers and potential customers, and they can interact with your business. Your local business should embrace the new Google Plus Local, especially because this new platform will allow for these new customer interactions.
Google announced this new change on their Google+ page:
Today we’re rolling out Google+ Local, a simple way to discover and share local information featuring ZAGAT scores and recommendations from people you trust in Google+.
From the new “Local” icon on the left-hand side of Google+, you can search for specific places or browse for ones that fit your mood. Clicking on any place will take you to a local Google+ page that includes photos, Zagat’s high-quality scores and summaries, reviews from people in your circles and other information like address and opening hours.
Google+ Local is also integrated across the other products you already use every day, including Search, Maps and mobile, so you can get the same great local information wherever you go.
What is also important to note is that Google will actually be indexing the new Google+ Local pages in their search results, which will provide a wonderful opportunity for your business to increase their overall search engine optimization potential. There is a very good chance that Google will help drive traffic to your Google Plus Local page, which will help your business in the long run.
There is no doubt that this move by Google, the changing of the Google Places pages into Google Plus Local Pages, is in response to Facebook’s local business pages.
