Google has, once again, changed the way the internet works. The website that sees roughly 90 percent of the World Wide Web's traffic has not only recently changed the way users are given information through its search engine algorithm update, but it has also changed the way the viewers will look up places on the internet they may plan on visiting, including small or local businesses.
With these updates, when users look up a business on Google or their smartphones, rather than being brought to a Google Places page when they click on the red pin on a map, they will instead be brought to a Google+ Local page, which is part of Google's overall social media network, Google+.
"With these updates, we're connecting the millions of people on Google+ to local businesses around the world," wrote engineering vice president Jen Fitzpatrick in Google's small business blog. "With one listing, your business can now be found across Google search, maps, mobile, and Google+, and your customers can easily recommend your business to their friends, or tell the world about it with a review."
This may greatly change the way some companies conduct their local business internet marketing. As of now, when customers searching for, say, a restaurant in Denver on Google, instead of coming across what was the standard Google Places page, they now have a Google+ Local page, which can be managed.
This may result in an upswing in the amount of businesses on Google+ in general, as that will now be one of the main ways users will access the company's location and contact information. With the help of internet advertising agencies, local businesses can engage in targeted internet marketing that will help them get the best most out of Google's changes.