Whether you want to or not, it’s time to jump aboard the Google+ ship. As a marketing professional, it’s your job to not only perfect your own Google+ page, but also to warn your clients of these recent changes to ensure their continued success.

Finally integrating its purchase of Zagat, a replacement of Google Places called Google+ Local has combined the forces of Google Search and Google Maps, creating, as you can imagine, the Incredible Hulk of Google services.

The Basics
The essential function of Google+ Local is to provide recommendations and reviews of local businesses and restaurants. Whenever you search a business or restaurant, Google+ Local gives an overall ranking based on Zagat’s 30 point system (with 30 being the best) as well as individual scores based on decor, service, and cost.

Since this new software is linked with Google+, reviews and recommendations from anyone in your circles will show up front and center—giving you reviews from people you trust, rather than Joe Schmoes you’ve never met.

Why You Need to Know
Although this recent update to Google mainly affects eateries, the same 30 point ranking system will be used on any businesses searched using Google Maps, Google Search or Google+.

The ultimate goal of this update from Google+, from our perspective, is to encourage local businesses to enhance their current Google+ pages (or create them) and bring more usage and engagement to Google+.

So, like it or not, it’s time to get your Google+ page looking fine and fancy, as more and more Google traffic will now be directed to those pages.