Actual SEO Media, Inc. is using its expertise in local search to explain how this new technology could affect the SEO landscape.

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, February 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — As search AI algorithms become more refined and advanced, Google and other developers are releasing new features to web browsers and platforms everyone is already familiar with. One of the more recent additions is Google’s new AI-powered search for local businesses on Google Maps, refining how users can search for businesses and shops in their vicinity, neighborhood, or city. Actual SEO Media, Inc. is using its expertise in local search to explain how this new technology could affect the SEO landscape.

Google Maps’s latest update can be summed up in one sentence: an AI feature that provides personalized local business recommendations to users. The newly added feature uses language models to analyze Google Maps’s expansive database of over 250 million locations, photos, ratings, reviews, etc. and provides users with recommendations for businesses, shops, restaurants, and other spots of interest around them.

For example, exploring the local area on Google Maps before happened either by scrolling around the map or by using key phrases, like “tea shop near me” or “Japanese restaurant.” However, search queries can now be more conversational. Searches like “an area with a pop or trendy vibe” will result in recommendations of nearby boutiques, boba tea shops, or cafes. Each recommendation will come adorned with photos and review highlights that explain why it meets with the original search query.

This feature isn’t widely available yet, as it’s still being assessed by a select group of quality testers. However, once it’s released for everyone else, it will effectively change how users are exploring their local area via Google search and Google Maps.

What Does That Mean for Businesses?

Before this change is implemented for the general public, businesses in the same industry or niche all had to vie for attention the same way: optimizing their websites for more generalized keywords. Every business has to share public space, doing their best to climb up the search result pages, which means smaller or more niche businesses could be pushed down.

The current search environment is akin to a bunch of businesses wrestling with each other for the top spot, fighting over which one of them is most “relevant” to the original query. Some of this problem is alleviated with long-tail keyword searches, such as “bakery with cream doughnuts” or “grocery store with Pocky snacks,” which are more specific. However, most searches are minimal, leaving it at “Italian restaurant” or another generic search that sums up a “vibe” that the user is looking for.

In the current environment, it makes it harder for smaller businesses to attract attention solely through optimizing their local search features. Although it will help get their foot through the door, these smaller shops and boutiques are missing out on more business than larger or older businesses that have optimized their websites, social media, and interactions for a longer period.

However, when this new update is widely implemented, it opens the door for more niche or lesser-known businesses and events. AI-powered local search will make it easier for businesses with a specific feature that allows them to stand out to appear during more conversational searches. If anything, as AI-powered searches become more prevalent across the board, every business will need to re-optimize their information to adjust to the new way Google Map searches and queries take on a more conversational tone to take advantage of the new programs and technology.

As a leading Houston SEO company, Actual SEO Media, Inc. grants its clients methods to expand their online presence. By harnessing the power of search engine optimization, the company helps businesses expand their online visibility and establish a stronger presence on the Internet. The company believes that taking time to optimize pages will further increase brand awareness online. For more information, contact the office at (832) 834 – 0661 or by email at [email protected].

Jamin Mootz
Actual SEO Media, Inc.
+1 832-834-0661
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