For a more detailed look at the new Places layout, read my in-depth post.
Mike Blumenthal was given an image from Coinso.com, displaying a new look for Google Places. Presumably a test, it seems focused on encouraging reviews in Google Places, with a large red “Write a review” button near the top of the page.
Content is simplified, with no 3rd party reviews or citations shown.
Also, strangely, I can’t get anything that takes a full-page screenshot to work, which I assume has to do with the way Google is displaying these pages. They use the same small, gray, non-standard scroll bar seen in some of Google’s other recently updated products.
Visit Mike’s post to see the image. You also might be able to find it. On my computer, it’s coming up only for certain searches, and only for Places pages that have at least a few reviews. Try searching “wedding photography albuquerque nm” and checking out some of the more-reviewed businesses.
via Google Places Testing New Layout | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the update. We were aware of this last night from Mike’s blog and are quite concerned that the “Details” area is missing. I’ve looked at our clients and other listings and no longer are “Details” showing. This is where we would add their organizations, specialty products or services, a link to a menu. Is is just us? Or, are the “Details” really missing from the Places page in the new layout.
Any input is appreciated!
Susan
Susan –
Yes, I think the details are gone. I’m guessing Google will continue to tweak these pages, but removing the details makes them look cleaner, so it’s hard to say if they’ll ever come back.
You can still enter details on the business side. My suspicion is that Google will continue to use the details as hints for ranking but might not display them publicly. We’ll see.