Rising to the Top in The New Google Places Search

It’s been a couple of weeks now since Google rolled out its new Google Places Search. In case you haven’t noticed, the Google 7-pack, which is a location-based search with a different algorithm from the general search listings which have been called Google Universal Search, has been merged with Universal Search. It has thrown some of the SEO world into a tizzy.

Our clients, however, have fared well with the change. In general, when we have had these Google upheavals, we have actually become even more competitive. With this Google update, Dr. Shayne Guffey, who has been #3 for Mesa Dentist, has jumped to #1. Dr. Brian McKay, who has faced extremely stiff competition in tech-savvy Seattle, has been #2 for Seattle Cosmetic Dentist. He has finally landed the #1 spot. Dr. Art Chal, who has been primarily optimized for Phoenix Cosmetic Dentist, has retained his #1 ranking for that term, but in addition has jumped from #10 to #2 for Phoenix Dentist. Dr. Coleman Burgess has been #10 for Wilmington Dentist, and has moved to #1.

People ask us how we are able to do it. I think it comes from my long history of search engine optimization and the insight that has given me for how the people at the search engines think. They are ultimately looking for quality content, and if you focus on that, you tend to rise a little higher every time the search engines discover newer and better ways for ranking websites. For this last upheaval, we also have to credit our staying on top of all the news coming out of Google. Back in March, we invested a significant amount of money in a high-powered course that helped us dissect the thinking behind the algorithm driving the Google 7-pack. We had just hired Wes Harder, and gave him the assignment of optimizing our clients’ Google Business Listings. So when that algorithm was merged with the Universal algorithm, websites that were not keeping up with everything new fell in the rankings, and ours rose.

– Dr. David Hall