Community Discussion: Miriam's 2017 Local SEO Predictions ... And Yours?

[MiriamEllis]

I want to start this thread by thanking everyone in our community who has started and contributed to great threads this past year. You guys are an inspiration!

I want to offer up a few predictions for the Local SEO industry in 2017 and ask you to contribute your own:

1. Attribution will be big in 2017. Google will roll out a more thorough set of attributes in the GMB dashboard as we move forward through the new year.

2. We'll see further rollout out of paid packs in service industries in which Google can play the middle man role. Free-packs won't be gone by the end of the year, but there will be fewer of them.

3. Even SMB local businesses will have to start to tackle the ramifications of voice search.

4. Local SEO will continue to merge with traditional, offline marketing.

5. Local business websites will still matter, but Google will continue to do all it can to keep users within layers of its own local product, and some people will find this maze a bit bewildering.

6. Reviews will finally be recognized as an integral facet of citations, rather than as something separate from them.

Now, please, look into your own crystal ball and share your predictions with the community. What are your predictions for Local SEO in 2017? I'd love to know. And, while I'm at it, please let me wish each of you a busy and profitable new year in our exciting industry!

[seanginnaw]

Hey Miriam,

Whatever happens, I would LOVE Google to roll out a more comprehensive way of exporting Google My Business data - the API is still massively limited and the manual process of exporting data for clicks, calls, website visits etc. is an absolute killer!

Referring to your prediction number 3 on voice search, I'm thinking there's going to be way more of a focus on geolocation and we're going to see another huge rise in 'near me' searches.

All the best,

Sean

[MiriamEllis]

Good ones, Sean! Thanks for contributing to this. Especially like your prediction about 'near me' searches

[Gyi]

1. Paid Local Packs

2. (Hopefully) Improved local pack data (i.e. Google My Business, local phone tracking).

3. More SERP to lead capture (i.e. schedule appointment, message, etc).

4. (Hopefully) Less spam.

5. More local packs appearing lower in SERPs (i.e. organic outranking packs).

6. Links will still matter.

7. More local pack filtering options.

[DonnaDuncan]

Small business owners' frustration will grow as Google continues to add layers and nuances to an already crowded and overly-complex process making it harder for them to allocate the time and resources needed to compete.

[MiriamEllis]

Good ones, Gyi! Thank you for contributing. Agree with everything on your list ... with the possible exception of (hopefully) less spam. This always seems to be at the bottom of Google's own list. Haha

Really enjoyed your points.

[MiriamEllis]

I can see that, Donna. The race will be to the swift, for sure. Go small local businesses, go!!!

[brettmandoes]

I see Google focusing on mobile more and more. The launch of Pixel was specifically done to maintain search share (people rarely change default browsers on mobile devices, which Microsoft used to their advantage in Europe by releasing phones preloaded with Bing).

That said, mobile friendliness will be ever more important. This means the mobile first index will be fine tuned, and I expect to see more ad revenue focused on mobile this year. Site speed will continue to play a factor, and further integration of video into the SERP and paid ads is where I'll put my money.

HTTPS is already a ranking factor, but I expect that to become more important in the future once a certain threshold is crossed. Once Google can force the issue without impacting their own search quality I'm sure it will happen. Unknown if that will be a 2017 advancement or further down the line.

And of course Google will continue to try and make G+ relevant

[MiriamEllis]

Nice predictions, Brett! Count me as one of the folks who thought G+ was simply irrelevant for most local businesses after the big G+/Local break-up. Lo and behold, I've spoken with industry folks I respect who have told me they are still getting traction from it in 2016 for some clients. I'd love to see more people writing about the specifics of this.

[julie-getonthemap]

Do you think anyone can make a dent in Google's dominance?  I had expected Facebook to gain some share this year, but it doesn't seem like they've made an impact.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Julie,

I wouldn't predict that happening in 2017 (or any time soon). Google has simply positioned themselves too well. That being said, Facebook is definitely one of the major deterrents to Google having the whole pie, and Apple Maps has made some improvements in the past year that could lead to them taking a little bit of a larger slice