Over the past month, I’ve noticed that local businesses have been receiving less website traffic from both “Sponsored” and organic search results, despite holding high positions in search rankings. Now the reason is finally clear!
The reason was that Google has started experimenting with which information blocks it displays in search results for local queries.
Local search on Google is a type of search that helps you find nearby businesses, services, or places. For example, if you search for “cafés” or “hairdressers,” Google will show you results that are closest to your current location. This makes life easier when you need something quickly or don’t want to travel far.
3 different variations
The first variation is similar to the earlier classic version: Sponsored results, locations, and organic results.
Previously, after the sponsored results, Google simply displayed a map and a few Google My Business references (equivalent to the “Places” block). Now, however, a new section called “Sites for places” has been added, which includes additional results from larger portals where users can find more relevant information.
This new block draws additional attention, which means that websites ranking in the organic results receive less visibility and fewer visits.
Teine variatsioon: pisut erinev eelmisest
Here is the order as it used to be, but now an additional block called “Places sites” has been added, which appears right after the “Places” information panel.
Here again, the effect is that the website ranking first organically in local search receives fewer clicks.
The third variation: places, sponsored results, and organic results.
What’s notable about this layout is that no sponsored results appear at the top. This specific arrangement of search results is exactly what causes the drop in click‑through rates (CTR) and conversion rates for local Google Ads campaigns, because users get the information they need directly from the “Places” block shown above.
Summary
Google is experimenting with different layouts of information blocks, which affects where users focus their attention. One of the key changes is the addition of a new block called “Places sites,” which gathers extra results from larger portals. This block draws attention away from organic search results, causing both organic and sponsored listings to receive less visibility and fewer visits.
The most important takeaway from this story is that the central element is always the “Places” block, which consistently appears above the organic results. If you want your business to be organically visible to people nearby, you need to create a well‑optimized, information‑rich Google My Business profile — assuming you haven’t done so already.