The current state of Google local justifications

Local justifications are bonus textual snippets Google can use to enhance your listings in their local pack, local finder, and Maps results. Not all listings in a given set of results will feature them, but when they are present, the chief benefit is their ability to impact clickthrough rates (CTR) and conversions because they inform potential customers that your business has exactly what they’re searching for. One of the most appealing aspects of local justifications to local business owners and their marketers is that many of them can be directly influenced.

I first began seeing these special snippets in 2019, and first heard their official name from former Googler Joel Headley, but it’s been three long years since I’ve done a formal checkup on which justifications are currently available and what you can do to win them. 

Time to check back in and see what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what you should be focusing on to optimize your listings.

‘Review’ justifications

“Review” justifications attempt to serve searcher intent by finding wording in Google Business Profile (GBP) reviews that closely or exactly matches search language. A searcher looking for “gluten free pizza near me” is likely to be shown a review snippet (like the one above) excerpted from a review like this one:

Can you influence them? 

Only indirectly. An advanced local SEO tactic is to let customers know how much you’d appreciate a review about a particular aspect of your business. For example, if a pizza place you’re marketing has just debuted a gluten-free crust, part of your promotional strategy could include mentioning in your review requests that you’d love a review of the new crust. 

‘In stock’ justifications

A searcher looking for “halloween costumes near me” can be shown an “in stock” justification if your business has taken Google up on the invitation to list your products for free on your GBP. If you use a Point of Sales (POS) at your local business, you should strongly consider all that the Google Merchant Center can do to productize your listing, including earning you this type of justification.  

Can you influence them? 

Yes—by getting set up with the Google Merchant Center, you can influence your chances of being given “in stock” justifications. 

‘Website mentions’ justifications

Even if you haven’t signed up with Google’s Merchant Center, they can still pull text from your website to match searcher intent with a “their website mentions” justification. As we can see, Google is accurately reflecting that the site of the listed business features the phrase “gift wrapping”:

Can you influence them? 

Yes. If you’re doing a good job with your keyword research and on-page SEO so that your website comprehensively describes the goods, services, and features of your local business, you can increase your chances of winning this type of justification. 

‘Years in business’ justifications

There may not be industry-wide agreement whether the snippet shown above, “10+ years in business,” should be officially categorized as a justification, but I think there’s a strong argument in favor of it. Just like other justifications, it has the ability to influence searchers, as in the case of someone looking for an attorney with proven years of experience. 

Can you influence them? 

Yes. When you create a Google Business Profile for a location, you’re allowed to provide the date it opened. If you miss this step in the creation of your listing, go to the New Merchant Experience (NMX) and add it here under the Contact tab:  

‘Sold here’ justifications

Like the “in stock” justification, the “sold here” justification highlights inventory, and it’s worth noting that Google has customized the image being shown to match both the justification and my search term “accent chairs.” The photo of the accent chairs is not the profile image for this business, as you can see here:

Instead, Google is pulling that image of the two accent chairs from a photo uploaded to the GBP by the business four years ago: 

This is one of those searches that shows Google’s keenness to closely match user intent with a relevant result.

Can you influence them? 

Yes, as we can see by photographing your inventory in detail, you may be rewarded with a “sold here” justification. I consider this one of the more mysterious justifications, however, because its appearance could be influenced by other aspects of your listing or website. It’s a good one to experiment with. 

‘Provides’ justifications

These useful justifications feature the services provided by a business. They appear to stem chiefly from the services section of your GBP, which can be managed via the “Edit services” link in your NMX, as shown here:

Sometimes, the wording in the “provides” justification is a bit clumsy, as seen in the above example. This likely stems from Google pulling this language directly from the custom services business owners add, as opposed to the pre-set ones. 

Can you influence them? 

Yes. Be sure you’re fully detailing all of the services your business offers in hopes of winning this variety of justification. 

‘Menu highlight’ justifications

This is one of two types of “menu-oriented” justifications, and I find it worthwhile to point out that the example featured comes from a business which has not uploaded a text-based menu to its GBP. 

Instead, the only thing on the profile which I can find mentioning that this restaurant offers “ensalada de frutas” (fruit salad) is this rather low-quality photo of a physical menu:

Meanwhile, the business has no actual website, and is merely linking to their Facebook page. It’s a good demonstration of Google’s willingness to dig deep to match intent. 

Can you influence them? 

Yes. While adding a photo of your menu is a good start, a full effort will include getting comfortable with Google’s menu editor capabilities. Be sure all of your offerings are accurately listed in your menu and photograph all your menu items to improve your chances of earning this justification.

‘On the menu’ justifications

I’m including a mention of this justification here because I’ve encountered it from time to time in the past, but have not seen an example of it in several years. This type of justification reads along the lines of “on the menu: lobster” as captured in this 2021 article from BrightLocal. It’s always important to remember that justifications come and go, so don’t be too tied to a particular variety.

Can you influence them? 

Possibly. If this justification version still exists in the wild, best practices for winning it would be the same as for the “menu highlight” justification covered above.

‘Updates’ justifications

This is another variety for which I have historic screenshots, like the rather grainy one above (sorry about the quality), but for which I can find absolutely zero current examples. These justifications featured a textual snippet pulled from the relevant businesses’ Google Updates, as in the above screenshot of a jeweler posting about their custom engagement rings. In speaking with peers in the local SEO industry, there’s a consensus that Google may no longer be showing justifications based on the Google Updates (formerly known as Google Posts). 

Can you influence them? 

Unclear. If these justifications still exist somewhere, they would stem from your publication of Google Updates via the New Merchant Experience, which controls your GBP. If you’ve seen an example of these on a live listing in recent times, feel free to @me on Bluesky or LinkedIn. 

‘Seen by shoppers’ justifications

This historic screenshot from Brodie Clark shows a variety of justification that reads “seen by shoppers: sport shoes” which he captured in 2021. It’s still occasionally spotted today.

Can you influence them?
No, apart from what you stock in your offline inventory. The source of this UGC-style information appears to stem from the popup questions Google pushes to some Maps app users, asking for them to provide information about your business.

My top takeaways from this justifications checkup

I have 3 main takeaways after doing this informal study of the current state of Google’s local justifications:

1. There are at least 10 known varieties of justifications we’ve seen Google experimenting with over the past few years
2. The majority of the existing justifications can be directly influenced by local business owners, which is great news
3. Regardless of industry, Google seems really tied to the “review” justifications variety

On this last point, my study has indicated to me that, even when I think a different justification would be more appropriate based on my query language, Google frequently shows me a “review” justification instead. 

For example, a query like “platanos near me” would seem to have an intent of knowing which local restaurants have this dish on their menu. But, far more often than not, Google is showing me a “review” justification excerpted from a review mentioning this menu item instead of showing me a menu-based justification. 

There could be good sense in this. Surveys like this one from Ipsos routinely indicate that the public trusts what fellow consumers say over anything a business can say about itself. Perhaps this is the thinking behind Google’s clear preferencing of “review” snippets? They may believe that a searcher will be most influenced to choose a business when they see customers praising it.

Summing up: how to win at local justifications

The following habits are ones you can develop to improve your local business’ chances of earning a variety of justifications: 

• Experimenting with any GBP or NMX field Google offers you (such as services and menus) 
• Photographing every possible aspect of your business
• Acquiring reviews that detail particular aspects of your business
• Participating in programs like Google Merchant Center
• Ensuring your website is properly optimized to reflect all that your business is, does, and offers
• Performing regular manual searches in Google for your most important keyword phrases so that you’ll know, first-hand, if a new justification variety emerges
• Regularly reading publications like this one to keep pace with announcements of new fields and features being added to GBPs that might influence justifications

While you can never force Google to display a particular justification on your listing, your SEO and marketing habits can be fine-tuned to create more positive outcomes and better chances of standing out from the crowd. 

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