Back in June of this year, Google introduced a new feature to local search results: Google Carousel. What’s special about Carousel is that it brings an entirely new layout to the results pages of restaurant, hospitality, and travel-related queries – a noticeable change in the eyes of the consumer. While Google has presented local businesses in these categories with yet another opportunity to optimize their sites for local search, they have also challenged companies to understand the best practices of this new feature. Our Michigan marketing agency can help you take advantage of Carousel and keep up with other local search marketing techniques to enable your business to benefit from visibility in local search results.
Understanding the impact of Google Carousel for your local business is crucial. Although the Carousel currently appears primarily for restaurant, hospitality and travel companies, it is sure to be added to more keywords and categories as Google continuously updates the Carousel feature.
What do Google Carousel results look like?
The visually appealing Carousel results are a horizontal row of images against a dark background across the top of the traditional Google results page. For each of the 20 results in the carousel, users can see things like an image, address, Google’s star rating based on Google+ reviews and price rank. It’s important to note, however, that not all restaurant, hospitality and travel searches yield carousel results as of now.
How does Google Carousel work?
Carousel enhances the user experience by adding a visual nature to search results and providing more results in a smaller space for a more complete picture. Appearing in the Carousel for your local business’s category is therefore highly advantageous. If users select one of the Carousel results from a local search, they will be redirected to a results page specific to the brand and location of the Carousel result they clicked, which has obvious visibility benefits for local businesses. With 20 results in the carousel as opposed to 6-10 local results on a traditional search engine results page, businesses are presented with an exciting opportunity to be seen, but they are also competing with 19 other businesses.
How can your business optimize for Google Carousel?
The first thing you can do is set up both a Google Places for Business and Google+ Local page, and merge the two, as described in Clarity Quest Marketing president Chris Slocumb’s Patch post. Additionally, your business should ensure that the images on these pages are high quality and up-to-date because images are such a huge aspect of Carousel results. Lastly, encourage loyal and happy customers to review your company on Google, as reviews impact placement in the Carousel as well.
Contact our healthcare technology marketing agency online or call 877-887-7611 today for more tips on local online marketing or to request a quote.
Author: +Brian Shilling
