I first wrote this article a few weeks ago and now I am asking everyone to send Google Feedback to have Google Places results shown below the "classic" Google search results. Please see screen shot below. Please forward this to other people and ask for their support.
1-23-16
I am very disappointed in the new Google search results format, I think what Google has done is terrible. They should just go back to the previous format.
Maybe someday these choices of what is shown to us will be ours, e.g. they will be options in our Google settings that we could choose ourselves instead Google forcing them upon us.
Now low quality Yelp Reviews are making a big jump in the Google search results. So the only good results Google had below the fold are now getting pushed down even further by Yelp crap.
I hope Google reads below. That is another problem, you almost feel internal struggle at Google over these issues and to be fair they are highly debatable topics.
I have been doing some more testing and thinking about what would be the best way to decide when to show "Places" search results on top, and when to show "Traditional" search results on top. I still prefer to see Places results below all the time. If that is not possible at least if I search a keyword phrase e.g. "Internet Marketing Company" show me national firms and no Places listings.
Then if I search "Internet Marketing Company New York" then put 1-2 Places listing above the "classic search results".
I cannot see the results for a Google search physically located in Chicago or New York unless a friend or co-worker takes a screen shot and emails it to me. I feel it is ridiculous that Google will not let me set my geo-location. I think this is a "Google Big Brother" job that I do not appreciate.
Please look at the screen shot below, it is just Google Ads and unwanted crappy Places links and a map.
Why would anyone want the map in the prime viewing area?
I am starting to wonder if we are literally seeing the first major factor in Google's decline. I wish it was not true, as I own google stock, yet I hate the Google search engine now. It is just advertisements and terrible low quality "Place" results. The good classic/traditional results are all pushed below the fold (LAME). The only reason I can see for Google to do this is in order to force people to click on more Ads. What happened to the concept of giving the Google user what they are looking for?
Google, the map should be to the right and please put the Places links to the right side of the page also.
Why Yahoo is Better Than Google Now
In the Yahoo search below, I see the #1 listing on Yahoo is a world famous expert, compared to the #1 listing on Google, perhaps a high school student working out of his parents house?
Update: 1-14-16
I am very frustrated as a Google search engine user and I am starting to use Yahoo more often.
Google keeps making too many changes I do not like.
- I am still unhappy I lost the Google PageRank meter updates.
- I am very unhappy that I cannot set my geo-location. Please read details below.
- Google keeps going back and forth with all the different names for "Places" over the last several years and Google keeps changing if Places results are above or below the natural search results.
I want Places results lower and always below the traditional search results.
To most people the local Google Places results are generally inferior in multiple ways to the "traditional Google search results".
So they should always be below the superior normal non Places search results. - I feel that Google just forces whatever they want on people and does not listen and does not care about negative feedback when they frustrate their loyal users.
- I prefer this layout for my search results even if it may harm how much traffic I would receive to my websites. E.g. If I did a search and one of my sites come up at the top of Places results, and my traditional search results were much lower, even not on the fist page, I still want that traditional search results above the generally inferior Google Places results. I mention this as I want people to understand how important this is to me as an almost ex Google user.
Another interesting SEO article to read about Google Places:
blumenthals.com/blog/2016/01/11/google-implements-direct-knowledge-panel-editing-on-desktop-and-mobile/
It does not seem wise to me that Google keeps making so many changes all the time, with all the money Google has you would think someone would explain to Google that people hate constant changes and it makes people feel uncomfortable about using the Google search engine. It has only been a little over a month from the last big set of changes and knowledgeable people are really unhappy with Google now.
It does not seem wise to me that Google keeps making so many changes all the time, with all the money Google has you would think someone would explain to Google that people hate constant changes and it makes people feel uncomfortable about using the Google search engine. It has only been a little over a month from the last big set of changes and knowledgeable people are really unhappy with Google now.
I published the article below on 12-1-15 and at first I did not see any other articles about it, and then I checked again and Barry of SearchEngineLand must have published his article about Google secretly dropping the ability to set your search geographic location, just after I did my first Internet search.
Currently the top 5 results are the US search results and the local results start at #6. It will be interesting to see if this changes over time or how soon Google will change it. As many people including me think Google makes too many secret changes and does not care about user feedback. The comments below support what I am saying.
Okay I did not see any articles about this topic, however it is in the Google search results. Google just took my setting of USA and automatically changed it to Thousand Oaks CA. The new way that Google says to change the geo-search-location does not seem to work.
Very frustrating, Google changed my search location and I have no way to change it back. What Google states below does not work.
I liked the "old way" much better, just click a drop box and set your location. Google please bring it back ...
So now I tried https://www.google.com/advanced_search
Same problem, when I pick search United States, Google still shows me local results.
