Shane Vaughan

Big news for local internet marketing - Google Places is being discontinued in favor of Google + Pages. There is some great coverage out there already, my favorite is from Greg Sterling and can be found here: http://www.screenwerk.com/2012/05/30/google-goes-social-local-turns-all-places-pages-into-google-local-pages/ 

Greg also posted links to some of the other great coverage online, which can be found at his post here: http://www.screenwerk.com/2012/05/30/roundup-of-useful-pieces-on-google-local-so-far/  I'll recreate the list below: 

David Mihm:

• Google +Local NAP Info Pulling From Mapmaker (not Places?)
• Rankings on Google+ Local: Some Observations
• The Coolest +Local Feature No One’s Noticed?

Mike Blumenthal:

• Google Places Pages Are No More – But What has Changed?

SIM Partners’ detailed overview and discussion:

• So Long Google+ & Google Places, Hello Local Google+ Pages

Chris Silver Smith:

• Google+ Local Pages Delurk At Last (with bonus video of Marissa Mayer)

Matt McGee:

• Google Places Marries Google+, Gives Birth To New Google+ Local Pages

Google product forum discussion of business-focused page management questions:

• from Vanessa Schneider, Google community manager (scroll up and expand)

OK - so lots of changes are happening, but what exactly does this mean for the local marketer?  While we're still watching this story develop, there are certainly a few key things we can see early:  

1. Google + just bumped to near the top of the list for social.  If you're a local marketer (or brand advising local marketers) and have been avoiding G+ in favor of Facebook or Twitter, it's time to reconsider that strategy. 
2. Google continues to invest in local.  Understand their priorities (consistent NAP, lots of citations) and deliver against them to win in local search. 

Lots more to come soon!