Google Places became Google+ Local, which changed the approach to local SEO. Users who log into their Google+ account while performing a search will see personalized results based on social data from Google+. Google+ Local has aimed to make reviews, recommendations and opinions of those in a user’s Google+ Circles a central part of their search experience. Bing also provides what’s known as “social results,” but because Google is still the search giant, users have more incentive to use Google+ more than ever before.
Read more: https://www.seo.com/news/link-seocoms-newsletter-december-2012/#ixzz2FQ2bLNML