How Restaurants show on a mobile device//starting today

[DaveO]

Starting yesterday or today Google just changed the way restaurants are listed and shown on a mobile device in a google search of various types. A screen shot is provided:

If mobile users are searching using terms such as:

coffee shop, restaurants, italian restaurants, seafood, and the searchers location is known by google this new type of visualization will show with 3 or 4 restaurants taking precedence on the page and gathering a lot of visibility.

If one searches for any restaurant/coffee shop etc and adds the type of restaurant and a location/  ie DC, U Street, Annandale, Bethesda, Georgetown, etc. the search will narrow in on the *highest rated* restaurant in that neighborhood.  Its not highest rated by any type of review metric, but rather highest rated based on any type of local/maps type of ranking.

In an area full of competition that top ranking in a group of only 3 or 4 could have significant impact.   At least for owners/operators I'd check it out.

I did a search on a mobile for restaurants U Street, DC.  With so many restaurants on that corridor Ben's Chili Bowl showed first with a picture.  From a google maps ranking perspective, Bens Chili Bowl has a unique advantage that would be difficult to match for most restaurants anywhere;  it has thousands of references in web documents over many years because of its very long history.  In other areas though, where the existing restaurants don't have those decades of references its something for restaurateurs to investigate, I would imagine.