Jul 10, 2012
New Modifications in Google+
It is no wonder that Google announced about their plans to convert all Google Place Pages into Google+ Local Pages. Rather than going deep into details about transition, it would be better to discuss how these alterations affect SEO work.
Earlier companies had an opportunity to promote their business in two ways: with the help of Google Place and Google+ Page. The first one contained business information, pictures and presence in “Place” list. These pages weren’t on the search engine results page. A Google+ Page was a separate web page that can be connected with the Google+ social network. A lot of companies prefer to use Google Place or Google+ Local, while Google+ Page is more convenient and allows to choose between different categories, such as “Product or Brand”, “Company, Institution or Organization” and “Arts, Entertainment or Sports”.
Now Google Places is converted to Google+ Local pages, though there is no possibility to connect existing Google+ Local page with the Google+ Page. Google Company announced that they are working on integrating option and it will occur soon.
As the result, Google+ Local pages are available for Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Mobile as well. These transitions produce some changes on SEO. The new Google+ Local pages will be privileged while the older Google Places pages will take lower positions in listing of web searching page. Those businesses that created new Google+ pages will rise their position in the traditional search engine results page. It’s also interesting to know that existence of Google+ Local pages will not influence the ranking in SERP of business sites.
If one already has a business Google+ Page they should verify and update all information and then they’ll be automatically integrated to Google+ Local. However if a user still hasn’t realized all positive sides of the new feature it’s time to try them. The only key requirement is using the same email address for Google Places page and Google+ Page to facilitate the integration process. If one doesn’t have a Google Place page yet, it’s better to create it in order to make business more accessible for the clients.
