Google has added a new addition to its social network to assist users in learning about their local surroundings. This section is dedicated to local businesses that will be able to be found more easily by Google+ users in their area. Any type of thing that a user searches for such as "ice cream" will create a list of local places selling ice cream along with reviews from customers and directions via Google Maps.
When a user selects a business page, it will incorporate everything there is to know about that business from its operating hours to reviews of the business that were made by people in your Google+ circles. The important part of having these pages is for the business owner's SEO value. Business owners are encouraged to keep their page updated with everything from photos to special events to interacting with customer reviews.
Google bought Zagat, the business rating company, for over $150M last fall and has finally begun to incorporate the purchase into its own products. Zagat will be included in the listings and will help rank local pages based on the specific ranks including food, ambiance, etc. Zagat's 30 point scale will be used to better assist users in picking specific locations to go to.
This blending of Google Places and Google+ will be interesting to see how it competes with Facebook Places, Yelp, and others. Will the SEO value integration cause mass movement over to Google+ rather than the other platforms? Only time will tell as Google+ Local has only been available for one day thus far.