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Top of Places Better than Top of Organic?

by PaulintheSticks
3 replies
I noticed that when I'm looking for a local product, I seem to ignore the top results because I know there are going to be ads there and even if there are organic results, I don't feel like trying to separate the wheat from the chaff and tend to just go straight to the first places result. Anyone else have this experience? Is the top spot in places a better lead generator than the top organic in local SERP's? I'm guessing it probably depends on the niche and whether the top places listings have a website listed. Any thoughts?
#organic #places #top
  • Profile picture of the author PaulintheSticks
    Hello? Anyone?
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    I think it depends on the search but for many small businesses this is a very true statement. This isn't just how you search this is how a lot of people search.

    But don't ignore PPC as every study I have seen shows that is the ad is at the top and truly is what the person was searching for they are likely to click it. This is part of the reason businesses PPC their own names. Being organic wasn't enough for them.
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    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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  • Profile picture of the author Kung Fu Backlinks
    If you look up Google heatmap images, it would certainly seem that places listings grab the most attention, even more than organic above them.

    My theory is that they grab the eye first since they look so different. Not only that... Phone number, reviews, and address are right there, so it's less effort for a searcher to evaluate who gets their business. Back in the day when they were still showing stars, this was even more true. Fortunately, we can sometimes get those stars again using rich snippets.


    Anyway, this is why I got into google places a year ago - I had numerous top ranking sites, but I wasn't getting the traffic I wanted for my clients.
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