A new local search feature gets people talking about themselves and the places that people highlight, for example in Reels.
On social media such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Threads, people often find out which topics, products or social developments are currently trending. But this also applies to places that people want to discover for themselves and share with others. Reviews for bars, restaurants or sights can often be found in Reels, TikToks or YouTube Shorts. Google is responding to this display of relevant local aspects with a new feature that is being introduced on a test basis: Places people are talking about.
What people are saying:
This is how Google is now pushing popular TikToks
What users are talking about: Google gives creators more space in the SERPs
After What people are saying comes Places people are talking about. The former feature is an update to the SERP area, in which text posts that match the search query from Reddit or Quora, for example, as well as forum discussions and videos from TikTok and other platforms are displayed. SEO analyst Shameem Adhikarath referred to this in 2024 on X. He referred to the discovery of SEO expert Barry Schwartz, who discovered the area in 2022 – still without short videos.
Looks like the ‘What people are saying’ feature is back in Google SERP, now showing video results. I think Google is still testing this along with ‘Perspectives,’ and it’s query-dependent. cc: @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/z6lqoZVQA7
— Shameem Adhikarath (@shemiadhikarath) October 6, 2024
This area in the search results, which not all users can yet see, could be an experimental modification of Google’s Perspectives. Via Perspectives, Google News provides snippets from various publisher sources, journalists, experts and other voices that comment on a topic. Content from Reddit, YouTube, TikTok and Co. is displayed. Instagram posts and reels have recently even appeared in the Perspectives area.
Recently, as SEO expert Khushal Bherwani discovered, the Places people are talking about area, which is similar but focused on local search, has appeared. For example, videos such as Reels that provide content about a specific location, such as a restaurant, are grouped in the dedicated section in the SERPs.
Google with new “Places people are talking about” section.
This is about a particular local restaurant; for them people are talking on social media.
its different from – “what people are saying”
— Khushal Bherwani (@b4k_khushal) December 30, 2024
With this feature, Google could address the changing search habits of younger users in particular. This is because they often search via short videos, especially in a local context. This is what Google’s former senior vice president explained Prabhakar Raghavanwho was responsible for the Knowledge & Information area, as early as 2022:
We keep learning, over and over again, that new internet users don’t have the expectations and the mindset that we have become accustomed to; the queries they ask are completely different. In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.
Google relies on videos and creators in search
The new Places people are talking about feature is currently in a limited test. We haven’t been able to access it yet. But Google often tests such options in order to make the search experience as comprehensive and up-to-date as possible.
More and more advertisements of short videos and also very current clips indicate that Google attaches a lot of importance to the creators’ content. Most recently, the search engine officially made creators relevant sources, similar to publishers. This is likely to be the case, as many users are now used to searching via video contexts like on TikTok and obtaining information via (short) videos. And so Google is adapting to changing usage behavior and the immense relevance of formats such as TikToks, Reels and Shorts. The weight given to creator content is further underscored by the fact that Google offers dedicated first-person markup for profile pages (on social media) and discussion forums. The company also introduced a filter specifically for short videos last year.
Rubella, Stefan Raab and expensive butter:
Googles Year in Search
Source: onlinemarketing.de
