Google Ends Right-Side Ads: Local Listing Perspective

Google’s latest SERP update has reduced the overall real estate available to brands and advertisers. With the right-rail ads being removed and overall ad inventory being reduced from as many as 11 to seven, all other search results now have increased in SERP share, including local listings and organic results.

Local Listing Optimizations

The local listing world was recently affected by a surprisingly similar SERP update, where the traditional 5-, 7-, or 10-packs were shrunk to a 3-pack to match the mobile experience. Both of these recent updates have left Google local listings with greater visibility, and in turn, have forced brands and marketers alike to evaluate their current local listing optimization strategies.

National & Local Directory Visibility

The other portion of Google’s SERP that has increased its claim of real estate has been directory sites. A comprehensive local listing campaign can target popular national directories like Yelp, although they are often add-ons. But with the visibility increasing, it’s worth taking another look at investing in them if you haven’t already. Local directories are also important as local competition increases, and while scaling local citation building can be a big challenge, it can be made easier by using performance and competitive data to identify the top targets.

Regardless if the average cost per click begins to rise or not, a comprehensive local listing strategy is core to any multi-unit or franchise system, and we’d love to help you take advantage of this additional visibility.