Google Local Places and Organic Listing?

[RuchiPardal]

Hi All,

Is it possible to have visibility in Google local places as well first page in Google for same set of keywords?

[Chris.Menke]

Yes it is, if it is a blended result and the local/blended results show at the top of the page.  It's also possible for two different pages to rank--with the home page showing in the local results further down on the page and a second page showing algorithmically in the #1 organic spot. I've seen this a number of times.

[AWCthreads]

I'm not sure what you are asking.

Google places is like a directory. You are submitting your physical business to Google and then are verified as the owner.

This helps people looking for a local product or service ie "keyword + city and or state" find your business.  Google really likes providing reliable local search results for people.

If you're asking if a geo-targeted keyword can rank page 1 nationally when the searcher does not enter a city and or state with a keyword, then the answer is yes it can.

Depending on the domain/page authority of your site/page and the competitve nature of your keyword you can but it is more difficult because you are competing with everybody outside of your city/region/state.

We have a physical presence and rank geo-targeted keywords for non-geo targeted searches but in my experience the competition for those keywords is not very strong.

[RuchiPardal]

Thanks Chris,

In my case first page organic result has been disappeared and merged with Google local places. I want my organic result back. Is there any way to get back my old result??

[onlinechester]

This has happened to some of my geographical rankings too. I'd be really interested if anyone can shed any light as how to reverse it? Thanks

[Chris.Menke]

If it is even possible for your specific search, work on optimizing a second page for the keyword /geo-modifier search.  It should contain solid vocabulary referring to the product/service as well as the location. Make the page a strong resource for the those who would be searching for a combination of those terms. Local references and back links to that page will benefit you a lot as will outbound links to local external sources.

Check out Dr. Pete's recent post on determining the make up of page-1 organic/blended/local search results.  I highly recommend that you go through the exercise that he lays out--it's very informative.

[Chris.Menke]

AWCthreads,

Be sure to take into account that Google algorithmically places a certain subset of local results on the first page of a local-oriented search, thus some computational logic goes into prioritizing those results, making them much different than a directory.

Check this out: http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml 

[AWCthreads]

Thanks Chris.

That link returned a 404. I'll check out Dr. Pete's post as I need to get on the same page as the rest of you.

What does it mean to, "In my case first page organic result has been disappeared and merged with Google local places."

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Ruchi,

What you are experiencing is a common phenomenon. Your former organic rank has been subsumed into your new blended/local rank. This is why you are no longer seeing your organic result as a separate result.

This usually occurs once a business begins engaging in Local Search Marketing in some form. Perhaps you claimed your Google+ Local listing or started building citations on various local directories recently?

Unless you want to completely delete all local references to your business, then your current blended/local rank is here to stay.

It is possible to go after a secondary organic ranking by optimizing a second page on your website. This doesn't always work, but it sometimes does if the competition isn't too tough.

I'm interested to know why you would prefer to have an organic listing over a blended/local one. Are you experiencing something negative? Feel free to provide additional details if your questions/concerns have not yet been answered.

[Chris.Menke]

I'll  try that again: http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

[vmialik]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to respond and say I would choose a local blended result vs organic listing. It would seem that it is easier to hold on to local listings, as organic listings are more prone to change and movement in the SERPS. I feel I can generally count on local listings to rank vs organic listings.