Updated January 13, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Google SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) has a new feature. Have you noticed the “carousel of images” located at the top of your search window? Carousel has launched for English Google SERPs and is the newest release from Mountain View, and it can be great news for restaurants, hotels and other consumer retail businesses. They have been testing this design since the end of last year for Nexus and iPad tablets. Carousel is just the newest change to local search. I’ll explain what it is and how businesses can benefit.
What Is Carousel on a Google SERP?
Carousel is an interactive, revolving band of images (with a black backdrop) that’s at the top of a search results page. When you click on one of the images you’ll get more details, including reviews, an address, and photos. It also integrates with Maps so you can zoom in to a specific area. As the product matures, new features and languages will be rolled out.
More Pressure to Jump on G+ Local Bandwagon
Google Places is morphing into Google Plus Local. If you had any doubt about search has become social, then brace yourself. Google made this announcement not on their blog but as a Google Plus post.
If you haven’t nabbed your Google business profile, now is the time. Local search combines Places info with maps and reviews. Carousel on a Google SERP is the latest update that allows searchers to zoom in on more businesses, consolidating G+ profile, location information and customer ratings. It’s a more visual presentation of search results. If your business has a retail presence — like a bar, restaurant, or shop — it’s in your best interest to optimize your Google Plus Local profile. If you also have a website and add content (e.g., blog articles) then you’ll also want to activate Google Authorship to further take advantage of social search.
photo credit – top: Rob Pongsajapan
photo credit – body: Daniel Oines
More Panda Updates: June 2013