Descriptions missing from rankings associated with Google Place pages.

[glideagency]

Can anyone help me figure out why my rankings that are associated with Google Place pages are missing descriptions? I have a number one result for the top searched keyword in my category but it just doesn't look the same without a description and I'm sure it's affecting CTR too.

[TimKelsey]

Hi Michael,

It really depends on how Google decides to display the local results which can vary based on the keyword being used. The most common way of displaying results is called the 7-Pack (see example) in which no description is used for the map listings.

Occasionally, you will see a local search result that does include a description, but this usually only happens when the search phrase is specific to a single business (see example).

So it really depends on Google and there isn't a way you can force them to show a description. It all comes down to the keyword you're ranking for. On the upside, Google Places pages tend to a get a lot of attention when they appear in organic search results. Here an interesting article by Dr. Pete about it. Please note that although some of the examples Dr. Pete uses do show descriptions, Google has since changed the way they typically display local search results.

Hope this helps!

Tim