Newsletter #55

Local Ranking Algorithm Mayhem, Here's What You Need to Know

November 27, 2019

Whitespark's Monthly Local Search Newsletter

Local InsiderNovember 2019

 Local Rankings Out of Whack and Then Making a ComebackThis month there have been shifts for both the organic ranking algorithm and the local ranking algorithm. On November 5th a major update to Google's local algorithm took SEO's and business owners for a roller coaster of a ride, and we can't say for sure that the ride has ended.

How has this update impacted businesses?Many listing’s visibility decreased during the first update roll out between November 6 and 8, but have since recovered. You may have noticed fewer calls or website visits during the week of the update.While there are many local ranking factors, the key factors are proximity, prominence and relevance. We have analyzed rankings on dozens of accounts, and this update appears to shift more weight to the relevance factor. Relevance is the factor related to the searcher’s query (whereas proximity is related to the searcher’s location, and prominence to the authority of the listing).As with previous algorithm updates, over the past few weeks we have observed a cycle of drastic fluctuations. With this update, we have noticed: An increase in spam or fake listings surfacing. An increase in snippets from Posts, Reviews or “This website mentions.” A decrease in the number of businesses ranking in the local results. Search queries that previously returned hundreds of business listings in Google Maps are now returning fewer listings.Measures we recommend to improve your relevance:  Review title tags and headings on your website. Are you missing out on optimization opportunities? Review your website for content that is relevant to your primary services, categories, and keywords. Make sure you have a page for every service and sub-service, and make sure those pages have a lot of content that answers your prospective customers’ questions. Internally link to your primary service/product pages from the content of your homepage. Ask every customer for a review that includes the service/product they purchased to increase review content relevance. Review descriptions and categories on your citations to include more of your services. Review the Local Pack and Local Finder results in your industry for spam listings that may have surfaced and report.If you want to dive deeper into the local algorithm change, you can read more about the update here.

Cheers,Team Whitespark 

From The Blog

As a small business, your virtual front door for savvy holiday shoppers is your Google My Business listing. To ensure your GMB listing leaves an informative and welcoming first impression this holiday season, we’ve put together this quick and easy guide with the

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Recent GMB Updates & ChangesThere have been quite a few changes in GMB. Stay in the know with the help of our Super Fantastic Guide to Optimizing Google My Business. The major updates you should be aware of are: You can no longer call the GMB support number. Product Posts have been removed.  Service Area Businesses are limited to a maximum of 20 service areas.Get the inside scoop on these changes and more, by checking out our guide. 

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