There is an interesting article on Web News that discusses a significant change to local search when it comes to SEO and web design, which are no longer appearing in simple local searches. For example, a search for “SEO Minneapolis” is not likely to return any local search results. Add the word “in” – “SEO in Minneapolis”, and the local search results appear. While it is tough on web designers and SEO businesses, there appears to be more here than meets the eye.
Google’s focus is about improving search results and producing results that more specific to a query. If the search engines can train users to be more specific in their search queries, results should be more specific. The search “SEO Minneapolis” is not specific. Is the searcher looking for an SEO consultant in Minneapolis, or and SEO company that will provide a service to someone in Minneapolis? The same can then be said for spare tires, books, and millions of other products.
Google may be tweaking local search and using SEO as the guinea pigs or simply attacking SEO people because of the black hats out there abusing Google local maps search results for themselves and their clients.
SEO consultants and Minneapolis web designers are easy targets when it comes to tweaking anything related to searching and SEO writers will notice and discuss a change in searching. You have to wonder if Google made this change to test a more general change in local searching. If this one little change improves search results and also trains searchers to be more specific in their queries, this change could spread to other areas of local search.
