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Google Testing New Mobile Looking Local Desktop Search Results

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andrewshotland fbGoogle is testing yet another new local search result style, this one looking much more mobile-esque than previous tests we have seen.

Andrew Shotland from Local SEO Guide was the first to spot the new style.

Here is the initial screenshot of the search results.

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Then if you click through on the “More movers” link (something Shotland noted has been mostly absent post-Pigeon), you get an expanded results page, again with the same mobile-esque look.

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And finally, when you click one of the results in that mobile-esque unit, it results in another search result page, this time as a Google search for the company name and geo-location from the originating search.

andrewshotland3“I think we are still in the midst of the creation of a new Local SERP reality and by releasing a number of variant designs incrementally, Google is treating us to a Frankenstein monster experience and I think the brain and a few limbs are still missing,” says Shotland.  “This current iteration seems like a big step towards mobile-fying desktop SERPs. And on mobile, users don’t want to have to click around to different websites to find what they are looking for. This new design keeps you within Google to find most of the info you’d want for the business.”

He also has reservations about how the results look within the results.  “Unfortunately the design looks half-baked, the data looks super spammy and IMO it hurts the user and potentially local businesses more than it helps,” Shotland says.  “I have no doubt Google will improve this experience over time, but at the moment Pigeon feels like Google taking ten steps backwards so it can move some indeterminate number of steps ahead.”

We have been seeing quite a few local search tests lately, such as this Google AdWords extension and the significant local Pigeon update several weeks ago.  This one also seems to be a limited test at this time.

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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