2015 was an insane year for Local Search — especially in the latter half.
We lost the 7-pack, and now the recent Google Plus update has removed all location information from business pages. Until Google rolls out another update to Local, your business listing is effectively your Knowledge Box and your listing on Google Maps.
Reviews have always been important, and while they’ve lost a bit of the strength they used to carry in the Local algorithm, they’re still incredibly important to potential customers. Reviews started showing in isolated popups back in 2013, but now that’s the only place you can see them.
Now, I’m not going to start spouting off stats about how people trust reviews from strangers or how bad reviews will hurt your business. You’re here on Search Engine Land, so you’re likely already familiar with such information.
Now that location info has been pulled from Google Plus, your reviews area is a much bigger piece of the local info pie. There’s no more business description, or photos, or categories, or anything else to distract users — they’ll only see your business name, address, and phone number… and your reviews.
If you’ve read any of my previous posts here, you know that I typically base my posts off of recent conversations with businesses and clients. This time around, I’m jumping back on a soapbox.
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