Places listings vs other ORGANIC listings

[AudigyGroupDigital]

Not sure how to search for exactly the answer I'm looking for, because frankly my question (at least to me) is hard to describe. I will try my best, though!

So I have a client who has an audiology business. They are located in Denver, CO. For search, we have them listed in the PLACES portion of the local search results (with the map, phone, address, etc). We saw this as a pretty big win, because its a fairly competitive market.

HOWEVER, the client feels like those listings aren't as clicked on, or aren't as prominent as say, a regular organic listing that would have a page title, and description.

I am assuming that isn't correct, that if I could only have 1 listing I'd want the PLACES one, but it occurred to me that this assumption isn't really based on any data I have personally read.

So my question is two-fold.

1a. Is my assumption about being in PLACES accurate, that that listing is more desirable (even if I could pick which one to get, which i don't think is realistic)

and

1b. Has anyone seen or have data that backs up my assertion one way or another.

Would love your thoughts!

William Smith

@williamsmith

[Eblan]

Hello William,

I believe Google Places listings help a ton. Sometimes they show up at the top before any website and I think everyone agrees the info shown in the listing is very convenient and the map does draw some attention.

A client of mine boosted her sales thanks to the Google Places listing. She had better results with Places than with Adwords. It was very interesting, and I think this case isn't uncommon.

With Analytics you can track the source of your traffic and you can get Google Places to show you how many traffic you are getting from that listing. Perhaps with the data you receive from analytics, tho its a bit inaccurate sometimes, might help you and your boss to make better decisions.

[AgentsofValue]

Hi there,

I've heard about some stories and case studies stating that organic listings seem to be disappearing and is being replaced by local listings. There are some articles about that online:

Is Google plus local replacing organic results?

Are your organic listings being replaced with local listings?

In your client's case, maybe the local listing has not been optimized yet.

You can link your Google + local page to the site as "publisher". This tells Google that the site is the publisher of the profile's content. Relevant contents on the site is also very important as they help strengthen the site's brand. Gathering customer reviews about the business is also very helpful.

Besides, according to SEOMoz's Eye-Tracking Google SERPs, local listings are more likely to be clicked in the search results.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

[WebbyNabler]

I think the best strategy would to achieve visibility in both Places listing and traditional organic. One without the other would simply be 50% less effective, atleast based on how Google is currently dispalying search results. Perhaps in the future there will be significantly more weight given to traditional organic results, or maybe places aill dominate...or some other form of search result placements will emerge. I think to have an all inclusive approach at this point would be a safe approach. Good luck with everything!

[AudigyGroupDigital]

That study is exactly what i needed. Thanks so much Danny!

[AgentsofValue]

You're welcome! Hope that study will help you and your client decide what strategy best to use...