Loading ...Developments and changes to Google’s local search algorithm have recently been put in place and many businesses have been noticing the differences in the past months and are some are unhappy with what they have been finding.
One development from Google is that websites found to be entering under many categories featuring keywords relevant to their business and location will now be ranked lower by the search engine. The local business centre requests that businesses suggest one category when they are adding their business to a map but often users ignore this and enter multiple categories in order to increase exposure and the chances of being ranked highly for one of their keywords. This has always been unacceptable according to the guidelines provided by Google and now websites found to be doing this will be punished accordingly.
It has also been noticed by some businesses that only a few results are being displayed in local searches for queries that could provide numerous different options. The reason for this is unclear but websites that were previously ranked highly for certain keywords in local search are now finding that are no longer being ranked on the first page of the local search results. It is important to remember the key points of optimising a website for local search and hopefully this will be able to keep some websites being ranked in good positions.
It is even now the case that many listings that have been fully optimised are being ranked in lower positions than before with other listings that have not been extensively optimised featuring in a higher position. This is baffling and incredibly worrying for those businesses that have been used to be ranked highly in local search results and are now losing out on these top positions to less optimised competitors. Many businesses have been reaching out to Google for assistance and some information as to why their rankings have dropped so considerably with the changes to the local search algorithm.
It seems that Google has been making some significant changes to the algorithm it uses in local search results and will likely try to keep the important factors that contribute to how these websites are ranked hidden.
There are many different ranking factors involved in Google Local and ensuring that these factors are taken into consideration can only be beneficial for your business. Whilst it may be unclear what the future holds for the local search and which websites will be ranked highly and why this is the case, it is advisable to continue optimising your website within the guidelines provided by Google.
We at SEO Consult can advise you on a number of different ways to help your website be ranked highly in various different search engines. We constantly monitor any significant changes and developments taking place with search engine technology so that our clients use the most effective SEO methods available at that time.
Related posts:
- Changes to Google local business guidelines
- Using Google Local as part of SEO
- Common issues with the Google Local Business Centre
- Google gives insight into algorithm updates
- Optimisation for regional and local companies
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