Google offers a new product (with no official title) that is currently in a test phase with a few businesses. This new tool allows a brand’s content to be featured directly on the first page of Google. These Local Business Cards are influenced by “Google Posts” which appear as scrollable cards at the top of results pages.
The Candidate Posts and Local Business Cards are displayed on the following:
Google’s Local Business Cards indicate that Google may be indexing websites based on user appearance and patterns – not links. Non-local businesses may not be able to qualify for cards, and service area businesses may see a dramatic drop in search results. Since local businesses will be taking priority, e-commerce sites could also lose their rankings. On top of this, Google wants to display custom information directly from the site, rather than show directory sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. Additionally, websites such as eHow and wikiHow could see a decline in traffic.
Mobile optimized businesses and digital marketing agencies will be the most likely to succeed. High-quality content that is designed to satisfy specific local users will be key. When deciding who gets the local cards, Google will take into account websites that are publishing multimedia frequently and businesses that post to Google + on a regular basis.