Google has made some major updates this week. Last Friday evening, the map results on local searches changed from this: To this:   Now Google prompts users to view "more home builders" beneath the map results, which makes Google seem even more intuitive about the results in the map listings. Upon clicking through to see more builders, the user is taken to a map that shows the location of home builders in the area as well as a list with links on the left.   This is arguably more user friendly than the limited amount of blue links that show up on page 1. Our guess is that over time, homebuyers will adapt to using the map list of results instead of the organic search rankings because it allows them to see more results they can quickly and seamlessly scroll through. We've been saying for awhile now that SEO is so much more than ranking #1 on Google's home page, and these updates prove that Google is moving toward a more user-focused system that will make it impossible to rank based on technical keyword tweaks. More than ever, it's important to have an SEO strategy that focuses on helping homebuyers find what they're looking for rather than simply pleasing Google. Something else worth noting is that on mobile searches, Google is filling the description beneath your link with content from your website that most closely matches the user's search term. This means that your on-page copy is more important than ever. Full disclosure, we optimize the image title of our logo at the bottom of every site we complete (as most web companies do). Google is now so determined to prove a page is optimized for a user's search phrase on mobile that it's even looking at image title tags for keywords. Clients, take note. We have said for a long time that your home page copy should, at minimum, include who you are, what you do, and where you do it. If you are optimized for "new homes in city" on your home page and have not put that you are a "home builder" in your page copy, something like this is going to happen:   *This is the same website, showing Google's changes to the page description depending on the user's search term.  The good news is this is a VERY simple fix. Just update your home page copy to read "we're proud to be a home builder in " or "we're a home builder that values ____ ." As always, if you need additional advice about your SEO or inbound marketing, give us a shout!