Should You Be Concerned with Google’s Image Carousel?

While there is no doubt that it would be nice to see your website listed at the top of the Google search screen, highlighted nicely, compared to the rest of the results below, but are you really a company that will be impacted by the Carousel – or perhaps by the phasing out of Google Carousel?

That’s right! News, as of last month, suggests that the Google Carousel could be phased out, in favor of local result blocks. There are several things that you should consider before being concerned about how this might impact your own business.

Not Every Website is a Candidate for Carousel There are a number of hoops that must be jumped throughout before your website would even fall into the carousel of listings. Google likes to support itself, so you can imagine that being listed on Google Maps, having a thriving Google+ business page, featuring the ‘+1’ button on your website, and receiving Google Local reviews would be extraordinarily important for those who do wish to be highlighted in such a manner.

Carousel is Not Being Wiped Out Completely Imagine having done all of this, just to find out that the carousel is no more. The truth of the matter is, not all industries will see the switch to the ‘Local Pack’. Currently, it is the restaurants, hotels, and nightlife industries impacted by the change. Even for companies fitting in those realms, the news isn’t all bad. Being featured in the new local pack could be even more promising when it comes to click-through rates. The same efforts made to achieve carousel standing will be beneficial when it comes to making the ‘3-pack’.

If you are operating a business on a local level, it is time to start consider what local SEO tactics you can use to appeal to the search engines and how these changes to the Google Search layout will impact your own online success. For those who are not familiar, or up to date with the constantly changing SEO game, there are experts prepared to do the work for you.