Are Keywords Being Replaced in Local Search?
For years, keywords and key phrases have been the guiding factor in deciding results for search engine queries. Businesses planning to improve their rankings simply needed to plant the keyword among content to help boost its rating when consumers searched for that word. Now, it looks like keywords may be on their way out, replaced by addresses and locations.
The campaign hosted by AdWords is called the Local Search Ads Experiment Campaign. The tester campaign is only being used for some content at the moment, mainly those affiliated with the Google Maps feature. It works by using data stored through the My Business tool in Google to determine relevance of the query in relation to the user’s location and type of business they are searching for. This could be particularly useful to those hoping to locate a certain service or product within their home area.
How This Helps Local Businesses
The “no keyword” search method is beneficial to local searches because it blocks out the ranking of national or global results which could populate for a certain product or service that is irrelevant to the searcher. For example, if you’re looking for a plumber in San Diego, California, but you simply type, “great plumber”. You could get result for plumbers around the country, or even in another country. By searching by the location of the user, rather than the “great plumber” search phrase, Google can help you reign in your search to your country, state, town, and even street.
Ecommerce businesses won’t find this to their advantage, as it doesn’t matter where shoppers are coming from. However, brick and mortar businesses will benefit greatly with an increase of online traffic, which could transfer into physical traffic and an increase in sales as well.
So, if no keywords, how is Google determining where to send searchers? Some of the information is coming in through location extensions. “Location extensions” is a tool implemented by Google which helps consumers to find businesses by adding the address to an advertisement. This allows searchers to click on the location extension for directions or a street view of a business. It isn’t a new feature by any means, but it is just now becoming popular, as local businesses have begun to understand its relevance.
The Link to Google My Business
Google My Business is a tool that helps customers determine what a business does, where it’s located, and more. For businesses, it is an app which enables you to configure this information and update it as necessary. It used to be specifically catered toward restaurants but has since been expanded into several other fields of business as well. With the new “no keyword” trial concept, Google has also implemented new changes in the Google My Business setup. Business owners can now add 750 characters to describe what their business is sharing with consumers, as well as other pertinent information.
Of course, as always with Google, there are some restrictions to what business owners can and can’t add. For example, promotional content, such as coupons, advertisements, or contests should not be updated in this area. Similarly, HTML code and URLs to other related sites should not be added here.
These changes makes it easier for advertisements to be directed to customers as well, because they use the information loaded into Google My Business to generate the correct marketing content to locals. The hope, as always, is to promote a more organic and genuine mode of connecting with consumers.
What Does This Mean For the Future of Advertising?
This trial may catch on and generate a new form of “keyword free” searching for local businesses, but it isn’t assumed that it will stick around for other types of searching. Keywords may be easily generated, but they’re also critical in determining what a searcher wants to know. Not all search queries are business related, with some being completely information based. For this reason, Google would need to find another way to deliver these results if keywords fell by the wayside permanently.
Keywords and key phrases are definitely here to stay, but how relevant will they be in the future? With the evolution of search engines and ecommerce, it’s hard to say now whether keywords will evolve into something new in the coming years. For now, it seems like businesses will continue using keywords in content to grow traffic and increase search engine rankings. Just remember that this must be done organically, and without spam, keyword stuffing, or other types of false representation.
Google algorithms are structured around delivering the best possible experience to the searcher while offering legitimate businesses access to the best ranking positions. Google may be a tool, but it’s also a business, generating its own form of revenue by offering these services to the public. Remember that for your business to get on top, it must perpetuate the standards of Google. This search engine giant has made a name for itself as the most used search engine in much of the modern world because it carefully combs through information and puts the best information first. Users have come to trust this method of searching, which is why it’s used so often and why so many businesses that rank at the top of Google will see an increase in traffic over those which rank poorly.
To Use Keywords or Not to Use Keywords
For the time being, abandoning the keyword ship isn’t necessarily a wise idea. However, if you are a brick and mortar establishment, it could be wise to update your Google My Business app and stay abreast of new updates to the search algorithm.