It is known to everyone that Google keep introducing new features to improve the local searches that it offers to the users. It recently announced that it will be using Rich Snippets for local search results. In yet another breakthrough, Google has now made the provision for Testimonials to appear on Google Place Pages.
Google Place Pages displays all the necessary details of a local business like name, address, photos, videos and Reviews. Now Google says that it will treat also Testimonials as Business Reviews. This development has many implications for both the users as well as the site owners.
A user may find a testimonial on Google Place Page as trustworthy. On the other hand, a business will like to have its testimonial on the place page as it will be counted as a review and may help in persuading the users.
However, one negative factor associated with this is that, ‘Will it lead to fake Testimonials?’ The answer to this lies with Google who must be having some mechanism to check the authenticity of the Testimonials.
Another understanding of this initiative by Google is that is it trying to better position itself than Review Sites such as Yelp? Whatever be the purpose, if users get meaningful information, the move is justified.
October 15, 2010 at 1:33 am | Google News, Internet marketing., Search engine optimization | No comment