You may have noticed that Google has changed the Search Results page you see when searching (yet again). 2010 may go down in Google history as the most significant so far for making major changes to both the user interface and overall functionality.

Google is now integrating the Places results into the main part of the results page so it is less differentiated from the standard organic results. The map is placed in the right column and pushes down the remaining Adwords results, as shown below:

In some cases, as shown above, Google shows a few of the organic results at the top, then has Places listings in the middle (shown with the ‘A’ tag) and then more organic results below the half a dozen or more places results. In other cases Google shows just a couple of Places listings at the top then lists the existing organic results underneath. The top Adwords ads are moved to the right column below the map, as shown below):

There are a number of key points that this change in Google reinforce:

• Google Places listings are more important than ever. It is crucial that you have claimed your listing and that it is accurate. Google Places has been a little temperamental lately with many users complaining on Google forums that their listings have been frozen by Google. This may have been due to these Google updates and Google Places is now offering more fields for companies to update and manage. You should check your listing and update any other information. You should also actively encourage customers to place reviews about you in Google as this will keep your profile alive and dynamic.
• You must make sure your details on third party websites are correct. Google sometimes pulls information from third party directories such as Tripadvisor and Finda so you need to check to make sure your business details are correct on these and others. If you move premises or make other major business changes you don’t want Google to be showing the wrong details.
• If using Google Adwords you need to be at the top. As the Places map has shifted to the right column where Adwords used to show, and sometimes Google is not even showing Adwords at the top of the page, it is more important to maintain a top 3 ad position. Google may end up giving Adwords more prominence since it is a huge revenue earner and advertisers are likely to complain, but for now this is how Google has it.

The main thing to remember is that Google is still providing organic rankings as normal and the Places listings will only be shown for specific location searches. It just reinforces that Google wants you to have information coming from a range of sources such as a well optimised website, an accurate Google Places listing, reviews from customers and listings on third party sites and directories. In essence nothing has changed about the process of good website marketing, its just that Google has updated some of its presentation.