GBP tests ‘Places people are talking about,’ hints at unstructured citation power

Google has begun testing a new Google Business Profile (GBP) feature labeled “Places people are talking about.” Khushal Bherwhani, a social account I’ve long followed for early test captures, recently posted this screenshot of a restaurant listing in India with the experimental new display:

“Places people are talking about” contains a carousel of video shorts from Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Although I’ve not been able to reproduce the feature in the US, it’s also been spotted in Australia, according to this post from Gagan Ghotra:

An example of the content being pulled into this feature is this Instagram reel from Biancainmelbourne, showcasing her takes on the seven best ice cream places near her. The reel tags Kōri Ice Cream—Google is picking up this citation and featuring it in the experimental “Places people are talking about” segment of the Google Business Profile for this ice cream shop. 

Claire Carlile from Jepto sent me this screenshot of ice cream shops in the UK getting similar sweet treatment in the local mobile results:

Google is continuously testing GBP features. Many never get a wide rollout, but one in a while, a test catches my eye because it yields a tiny insight into the mind of Google. 

It’s worth taking a look to see if “Places people are talking about” is visible in your region or on the GBPs you’re promoting, because it sits right in the middle of two long-running local search marketing narratives: understanding citations and understanding reputation. 

Let’s look today at why a clear comprehension of both topics is critical to the success of your local SEM strategy.

What are local citations?

Local citations are online mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP), often found on directories, websites, and social platforms. They play a key role in local SEO by helping Google verify the accuracy and legitimacy of a business’s information. It is absolutely critical that these local citations be consistent and accurate, as this directly correlates with improved visibility in local search results and on Google Maps. They also help strengthen trust with search engines and potential customers.

As we will dive into in the next section, these local citations can be structured or unstructured.

The myth that citations don’t matter any more

Strange SEO myths tend to get their starts from a misunderstanding. The topic of citations is a classic example of this. In the early years of local SEO, our industry came up with the following definitions:

Structured citations: Formal listings of your business in online local business indexes like Yellowpages, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.

Unstructured citations: Informal mentions of your company’s complete or partial name and contact information on other digital platforms such as blogs, online news sites, community hubs, etc. 

For many years, structured citations were believed to be a strong local ranking factor, and while creating formal listings on high-quality local business indexes is still considered a table-stakes best practice, common wisdom in the local SEO industry is that they have less of an obvious impact on rankings these days. 

For the record, my own take is that management of structured citations is still an absolute must in 2025; neglect of these listings ensures that the data in them will become inaccurate, creating a reputational disaster when real-world customers encounter and act upon wrong information. 

A common topic of negative reviews is that patrons were inconvenienced by arriving at closed locations due to incorrectly-listed hours of operation. Others complain of not knowing a business had moved, or not being able to reach it by the listed phone number. Low-star ratings are a serious detriment to any business. 

Unfortunately, I know from consulting with hundreds of local business owners over the years that many have misunderstood the ongoing conversation about the role of structured citations, and have concluded that creating and managing local business listings is now a waste of time. 

This is a myth that needs busting, and while it’s true that structured citations appear to have less of an influence on Google’s local ranking algorithm than they once did, they still matter very much to your potential customers.

As for the less formal, unstructured citations of your business, tests like the “Places people are talking about” feature indicate that:

1. Online mentions of your business’ name and contact information are actually only gaining in importance as the years go by. A random person’s Instagram reel being given massive screen space on your GBP shows how much priority Google is placing on unstructured citations as being valuable information for users. This type of content could definitely impact user behavior and conversions.
2. Social media must be seen as a part of the unstructured citation picture. Many years ago, it was debatable whether social platforms belong in this category. If Google indexes their content, then they certainly do. Earning mentions from social profiles should be seen as core to your local search marketing strategy in 2025 and beyond.

If your local business has heard somewhere that citations don’t matter anymore and this has caused you to neglect your structured citations and ignore the pursuit of unstructured citations, let this new test from Google serve as a timely reminder to be wary of vague myths. 

If Google surfaces a particular form of content in their results, I can guarantee that you need to invest in finding out whether you can influence or manage it. 

Where does local business reputation reside?

Online reviews on third-party platforms like Google Business Profiles, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor are the obvious answer to this question. Too often, however, they’re understood by business owners to be the only answer. The ice cream shop shout-out in the Instagram reel we’ve looked at signals an important check to this narrative. 

Third-party reviews still definitely matter, but your local enterprise’s total reputation resides in many seats, including:

• Any online content that passes judgement on your business. This could include formal reviews by professional critics, hyperlocal blog posts from publishers who have visited your business, discussions of experiences with your business on local community hubs, news and industry pieces that evaluate your business, and any social media content that mentions and judges your brand. 
• First-party review and testimonial content that your brand gathers directly from customers and publishes on your website or other digital assets
• Offline mentions of your brand that influence purchasing behavior, such as word-of-mouth recommendations amongst friends and family

In effect, any content that evaluates your business and is encountered by the public must be seen as a seat of your reputation. While the local search scenario may have been a little simpler when traditional reviews were the main reputational content you had to manage, the doors have been opened so much wider by the enhanced status of social content, in particular, in modern customer journeys. 

A recent survey I conducted with GatherUp found that more than half of US consumers are now consulting social media for local business recommendations:

Google’s test of social video shorts on GBPs is in-line with these trends in user behavior. It’s clear that the public wants to see multimedia reputational information to help them evaluate and choose local businesses. A comprehensive local search marketing program should take this into account, and work to build a strong reputation beyond traditional reviews, both on and off the web.

So how should I handle “Places people are talking about”?

Busy local business owners typically don’t have the time to investigate every possible new GBP feature, but marketers can be useful to their clients in surfacing new listing elements that are indicative of Google’s trending local mindset. Whether or not “Places people are talking about” rolls out globally and becomes a permanent listing fixture, it’s one to discuss with your clients because it captures the present and near future of local search in Google’s environment.

Remember, good user experience is a core principle Google uses to evaluate sites and businesses, even if the particular metrics under scrutiny shift over time. If you stay true to this principle, you will be consistent and accurate with you present your business–and this will pay dividends.

Simple terms like “citations” and “reputation management” have become so familiar that our understanding of them can become oversimplified, and circulating myths can get in the way of fully appreciating just how broad a range of marketing activities now fall under these headings. Google’s interest in social content is clear, and a good goal for the year ahead is to get clients more excited about it, too. There is so much potential for getting communities to speak well of the brands you promote, and to have Google reward these efforts.