In a significant update to its European search infrastructure, Google has officially integrated support for local business queries into its recently deployed aggregator and supplier units within the European Economic Area (EEA). This move, logged in the company’s official developer changelog on September 18, marks a critical expansion of the search interface redesign originally introduced earlier this month. By incorporating local businesses—ranging from dining establishments and beauty salons to local service providers—into the framework previously reserved for travel and product shopping, Google is further aligning its search operations with the stringent requirements of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Chronology of the Redesign
The evolution of Google’s search results in Europe has been rapid and reactive. On September 8, the search giant rolled out a suite of redesigned result units across the EEA, designed to provide more visibility to vertical search services and direct providers. At that time, the official documentation for the "supplier unit" cited examples such as brick-and-mortar stores and plumbing services, yet the functional support for local queries remained absent from the technical specifications.
By September 18, Google updated its Search Central documentation for both the aggregator and supplier units to explicitly confirm that local business queries are now supported. This transition signals that the search giant has finalized the technical infrastructure required to allow directories and individual business entities to appear in these specialized, side-by-side units for EEA users. This update follows a broader regulatory timeline, including the European Commission’s July 23 decision, which mandated that Google overhaul how it displays vertical search results to ensure fair competition. With a 60-day compliance window having elapsed, the company is under intense pressure to demonstrate that its interface modifications satisfy the Commission’s competition mandates.
Understanding the Aggregator and Supplier Units
The two-pronged display architecture consists of an "aggregator unit" and a "supplier unit," both of which operate under specific, standardized guidelines to maintain parity in the search results.
The aggregator unit serves as a showcase for approved vertical search services, including directories, metasearch engines, and comparison shopping platforms. When a user performs a search, the top-ranked provider is expanded by default, and only one aggregator unit is displayed per search result page. This ensures that the screen is not overwhelmed by multiple competing widgets, while still providing users with a selection of third-party options.
Adjacent to this is the supplier unit, which highlights the businesses themselves. For local queries, this means that a user searching for a local service will see a dedicated block featuring directories (the aggregator) alongside a block detailing the specific local businesses (the supplier). According to Google’s guidelines, this setup is designed to replace previous units—though the company has remained notably vague about which specific legacy units, such as the traditional "local pack" or Google Business Profiles, are being supplanted or supplemented by this new design.
Technical Requirements for Participation
For local businesses and directory services, the path to appearing in these units is defined by strict data feed requirements. Directories and vertical search aggregators must first obtain approval from Google as a "vertical search service." This process involves submitting an application through a dedicated interest form, similar to the process used by travel industry partners for flight and hotel listings.
Once approved, these aggregators are required to supply a "point of interest" (POI) feed. This data feed must be comprehensive, containing critical fields such as the business’s official name, precise physical address, verified phone number, category classification, imagery, and current consumer ratings. Google has emphasized that data provided through these feeds is siloed; it is used exclusively to populate the partner’s specific aggregator unit and is not leveraged to enhance Google’s own internal ranking algorithms or to benefit competitors’ units.
Conversely, individual local businesses are not required to manage complex feeds. The supplier unit is designed to pull information that Google already crawls from the web. While businesses may choose to provide enhanced feeds to improve the quality of their listing, they remain eligible for inclusion in the supplier unit simply by maintaining an active, crawlable digital presence. However, the supplier unit only renders when an aggregator unit is also present, creating a dependency that effectively ties the visibility of local businesses to the presence of approved vertical aggregators.
Regulatory Context and the Digital Markets Act
The timing of these updates is inextricably linked to the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission has been vocal about its concerns regarding "self-preferencing" in search results, where Google allegedly favored its own vertical services over third-party alternatives. By forcing the integration of aggregator and supplier units, the EU aims to create a more level playing field where independent directories can compete for user traffic.
The Commission’s July 23 press release established a high-stakes environment for the tech giant. By mandating that Google comply with specific search display requirements, the EU introduced the possibility of periodic penalty payments if the search engine fails to achieve "effective compliance." While the recent update to include local business queries shows a clear effort to expand the reach of the new design, the European Commission has not yet issued a public statement declaring that these specific changes fully satisfy their legal requirements. Industry observers remain cautious, as the burden of proof rests on Google to demonstrate that these changes result in a truly competitive environment for European businesses.
Implications for SEO and Local Search Visibility
The shift to these units has profound implications for local businesses and SEO practitioners in the EEA. First, the visibility of local entities is now tied to the participation of third-party aggregators. If a local business relies on a directory that has not yet been approved or has failed to supply the necessary POI feed, they may find their visibility in these new units significantly hampered.
Second, for rank trackers and digital marketers, the search experience in the EEA is now fundamentally different from that in the United States or other global markets. Metrics derived from Google Search Console and third-party rank trackers must be interpreted through the lens of this regional redesign. The variability in how these units appear—depending on the query and the availability of aggregator data—means that "top-of-page" real estate is no longer a static goal, but a dynamic, feed-driven landscape.
Furthermore, the lack of transparency regarding which aggregators have been approved and how frequently these units trigger for various search intents adds a layer of complexity for businesses attempting to optimize their local presence. As the implementation matures, businesses will likely need to focus more heavily on ensuring their data is consistent across all potential aggregators, as their prominence in the new "supplier unit" may depend on the strength of the data provided by the approved partners alongside them.
Future Outlook
As Google continues to refine these units, the company is expected to release further technical guidance to help businesses navigate the requirements. The success of this model will be measured not just by its technical stability, but by its ability to drive meaningful traffic to both the approved aggregators and the local businesses they represent.
For the moment, the industry remains in a period of transition. Businesses operating within the EEA should prioritize auditing their local data to ensure that their directory partners are aware of the new feed requirements. As the European Commission continues its oversight, any further adjustments to these units will likely reflect a ongoing negotiation between regulatory demands and the practicalities of search engine functionality. Whether these changes will lead to a more fragmented search landscape or a more robust, competitive ecosystem for local discovery remains a subject of intense debate among digital policy experts and local search specialists alike.
