Catalyst - 3:56 am on Jul 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

Oh and ALSO Google just did a local update a few days ago and already started changing the SERPS in ways that make Place Pages MUCH more prominent.

The changes show on ONE box or ONE pack listings right now for everyone. I got a couple new one boxes for some clients a couple days ago and at 1st I was SURE I was seeing the G test server again. But then I found out they did an update and that's the new ONE box layout. It's a pretty radical change and lots of people in the G support forum are upset.

I imagine I can't even give a KW search term that will pull a one box for folks to see?

It's HUGE! A one box with it's adjacent map is about 1/2 the size of a 7 pack. So almost the size of 4 of the current local listings.

But here's the kicker... NO LINK TO WEB SITE. The business name is not linked at all. There is only a link underneath to the "Place Page." They also show hours, full address and a lot more data. So again G is already putting more emphasis on Local and branding Places. I'm pretty excited about all the changes that are coming.

Also FYI, tons of people lost rankings due to tons of reviews being lost during the update. I've seen reports of people who lost more than 50 reviews and are pretty upset. If you lost reviews, the good news is that this often happens during updates and they usually reappear. Many Place owners are reporting their reviews are starting to trickle back in.

Linda Buquet