Google Places and the Rise of the Vending Machines
Over the past couple of months I’ve been spending as much time figuring out trends and local visualization of Google Places (the the incorporation of Places oriented and influenced results) within Google listings. Simply stated, the localization of Google has led to a user in Miami, FL seeing totally different results than a user in Cleveland, OH or San Diego, CA.
For the most part, traditional rankings or Google SERPS are still the base core of the Google Results, but on a local level, Google Places results AND the web results from local businesses have made their way into Universal SERPS, and in some instances, knocking a “core” #2 or #3 well below the fold into a #7 or #10 level.
I’ve previously written about Google Places issues, false positives and the incorporation of User Generated Content into Google Places results via Google Hotpot, but this time, I’ve found some very interesting examples of businesses that are being highlighted in Google Places that have no permanent location nor do they actually have a location. It seems that after doing some targeted searches for several local terms, that Google Places is considering vending machines as local locations.
Now whether the Google Places results for vending machines mirrors the modern choices and the transition of established brick & mortars into outdooor businesses. I mean, haven’t lunch trucks been ALL OVER Food Network lately? Let’s take a look :)
Redbox
Redbox is a chain of video rental vending machines that along with OnDemand and NetFlix, drove the traditional video store model to extinction. When searching Google, Redbox places appear for their brand name and for “video stores”, but without permanent real estate or on-location employees.
Zooming into one of the location results, we see that the Redbox is located at 13151 Race Track Road, Tampa, FL, the address of a 7 Eleven.
What’s interesting is that although these are vending machines, they are ranking for terms like “video stores” and “video rentals”.
Citibank ATM’s
Taking a page out of the Redbox book, Citibank has altered its business model to be much more of a kiosk model in many areas in the US, and consolidating branches into versatile ATM stations which are convenient and carry the trusted name of Citibank. I had originally ran into this issue years ago when searching for a Citibank in my area for an International deposit. I was new to town, and after finding Citibank locations listed in Google, I ended up driving to a 7 Eleven.
This still holds true today, in fact, a search for Citibank in my area leads me to a familiar address : 13151 Race Track Road, Tampa, FL!
Google must be sending this 7 Eleven A LOT of business!
Coinstar
I was thinking of other vending machines (no, a search for Coke or Pepsi did not result in Google Places listings) so started brainstorming around other semi-businesses in the form of machines that lease spaces outside or inside of other stores. Here’s a Coinstar that’s located in a grocery store :
Other Kiosks & Machines?
Does this mean that vending machine based companies are taking advantage of Google Places? Of course not.
In fact, these are all thriving businesses that people are more than likely searching for or engaging with using Google. And given the direction of the video rental business (that is, actually renting DVD’s in person vs. downloading movies on iTunes, Netflix or your cable company) to Redbox and other vending machines vs. traditional stores, it makes sense for businesses to look into optimizing for local search and getting these Places pages authorized even if they are not permanent locations.
Kiosks, booths and other seasonal pop-ups [Christmas tree or decorations stores that pop-up in November] are all good examples – especially if Google can serve seasonal results based on trending.
I would also suggest :
- Setting up a Foursquare, Google Latitude or Facebook Places account for physical checkins & specials (this is great social proof that a location actually exists)
. - Setting up a Yelp profile and other local profiles such as Citysearch and other local directory listings. These also serve as proof that your location exists and are aggregated by Google Places.
Stumbling across some of these results, especially the Redbox ones, which are dominating keyterms in Places and not just branded searches, really got me thinking … what other opportunities are there?
When I search for “photo printing” the results are all traditional B2B printing and copying centers, but not the Kodak or Fuji kiosks that are available in CVS or Walgreens that regular people use to print their photos daily. Do these photo kiosks deserve Places?
Can you find other examples of vending machines or kiosks being indexed and served in Google Places? What about locations that deserve to be listed but are not? If so, please share them in the comments below.
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Loren
Surprisingly enough, there are no listings for condom machines, although some results are triggered by the reviews of certain establishments.
No comment on your choice of search term ;)
You do bring up an interesting point in the inclusion of content within local reviews and how that UGC can influence results. You also just gave me a great idea for a mobile app!
I actually searched around for newspaper vending machines and a few other topics first without finding anything satisfying. The key to Redbox and Citibank, of course, is that these are points of presence for a brand and have a network infrastructure behind them; they are more like a brick and mortar franchise than a a traditional vending machine owned by an individual.
Good information and funny at the same time when you look at the bigger picture. I’m guessing that most “temporary” location type businesses don’t even look at Google Places as an option simply because they are more mobile than planted businesses so the thought of creating listings and citations hasn’t come up as much. Creativity will show through I’m sure for certain sectors like those that you pointed out.
I wrote a similar, but very different piece, on an interesting nuance of Google Places (back when it was Local/maps) that considered heliports as local transit options – http://www.digitalthirdcoast.net/blog/google-maps-for-the-rich-and-famous-heliport-transit-options
Taylor, thanks for sharing the link and yes, as consumer behavior and business models change, so will these listings. One note : I did not see any Blockbuster machines in my searches :\
Too new?
This find is GOLD Loren. Places has got a lot smarter in many ways at detecting spam, but some things never change.
Thanks Dev. It’s been a while, how have you been?
Do you think spammers would ever go the route of setting up vending machines to sell items that appear in Places for exact match terms?
I wonder if Google is aware of this or if it has been swept under the rug so to speak. I mean someone might look at it as a manipulation but if someone was looking for an actual Red Box location that might make sense. I think the whole ATM thing might be pushing it a bit.
I’m sure that given Redbox’s popularity and that people are searching for their brand, it has to flip some trigger on the Google side. One thing that is interesting is that having these machines on a property could even become more appealing and a competitive advantage for stores like 7 Eleven or Albertsons.
Very interesting observations, I agree that this has implications for this type of business, however it is unlikely these listings originated in google places. From my experience if a listing is created in google places with the same anchor data, name address phone, or components of that mix, they will merge. This speaks to your recommendation to establish the listing on other sites- which can provide accurate, desired, citations that will help to build the listing so it is less likely to merge.
I think Google is aware of these types of results and as you say, people are looking for these types of businesses, knowing full well that a kiosk or machine may satisfy their need.
It’s sad to see so many services becoming automated, but yes, I agree. Thanks!
Part of this I guess is due to the fact that you can confirm your listing through SMS before. Hopefully the post card only option would help lessen these instances.
I’m wondering if Street View or Latitude is also helping to confirm such locales.
The photo kiosk is a great example. My girlfriend
(much to my dismay) keeps using them around
holidays. There is a need for an instant print
service for those of us who don’t want to buy
and deal with a photo printer at home.
But standing, choosing and editing the pints
in fornt of a kiosk is such a pain in the rear
I don’t belive she’s actually doing it.
Maybe one of these kiosk manufacurers will
integrate the web editing and payment form
any home computer and then send the printing
job to a local kiosk .this one would simply scan
the receipt barcode or have the user enter the
order number and print the prints at that time.
Of course in a broker model a web application could
do that and offer local printers to do bid on the job…
Great post on local search.
This is a great post! It seems to me that having a “vending machine” will still benefit the business next to it. In a way I believe they are taking double exposure on Google Places and Google Maps.
Thanks again for the post! :)
The process of getting these setup and appearing consistently is more intensive than simply uploading them to Google Places. The listings will often go through third party verification processes, which prevent spammers from gaining traction, not to say its 100% spam proof.
Yeah, and it looks like Redbox is one step ahead of their competitors yet again :)
Next stop -> Places profiles for Lunch Trucks? Can Google track moving objects?
Ahh I see!
Thank you Phil for your input! :)
Loren, that would be cool if Google could track moving objects! There would definitely be a lot of people wanting to get a listing! :D
Great post, because at first I was pissed that Redbox was gaming the system. But the more I thought about it and as I read the rest of the post I feel that they clearly belong in Places, along with ATMs and other “places” we look for and visit locally. I mean just from a purely functional standpoint those locations belong in Places.
What I have issue with is that Places is a stinking mess that Google is not supporting properly. There are all sorts of examples of functional issues with editing, claiming, and moderating Places accounts. Bulk uploads, suck and have very limited functionality. There are just so many SMBs out there that are having a hard time with this. But Google has been quickly ramping and staffing up the “paid” side of Places and other paid departments because those generate revenue. But the service, algo, and quality of Places pages has been suffering greatly in the past 3 years. Even by Google’s “guidlines, Places pages should be considered “thin” and not of high quality and not of unique content. That TechCrunch April Fools Day post about this was VERY ironic.
It
was specially registered at a forum to tell to you thanks for support how I can thank you?