Google has changed the way business listings appear in local searches
September 15, 2009
It is late September 2009 and we have noticed that our long and stable listing under Dallas Web Design Company totally disappeared from the local listings (map listings for local searched) . After further research we found that Google removed web design and development companies all together from the local searches totally along with companies that focus on SEO. We are still trying to figure out what their motives are for this and if anyone has any insider information we would be very great full if you could comment on it so that everyone can be enlightened.
We do know that Google has partnered up with Pay Pal and several other large companies to provide free websites to small business owners in hopes to increase their own pockets. We also know that the web design industry is a very unorganized and shady business that is very quickly getting a bad reputation for bad practices and unethical behavior. So could either one of these have any merit on their decision to remove all web design companies from the local searches? Anyway we will continue to research and look for the answers to these and other questions.
December 8th 2009
In September we confirmed the Google had removed web design companies, and seo companies from being served in the searches for local results. All other industries have stayed the same and when a search is done you get a local result in the form of a small map with reviews and a little tear drop icon. Now since September the web industry has not been any where to be found in these types of searches however just recently they have begun to emerge, but only if you use the work "in" within your search. So before, Google would identify your IP address and location and serve local business in your area that provided web design and internet marketing, and now you have to be specific. So instead of Googling " web design company" and getting a list of businesses in your area that provide this service you get a list of companies that can be from India to Bangkok. In order to pull local searches you have to use the word "in" such as "web design companies in Denver" to see the local results. Does not make any since to us in the web industry unless enough companies complained that they were unable to capture business on a national scale because of this and the local guys were getting the local business or it could be because of the rumors of Google offering web services to businesses and just eliminating some of the competition. Who knows, but if someone has any feedback on this we would love to hear about it.