Don’t Worry About Confusing Google Local Changes

Google has been making changes to their SERPs and algorithms effecting local search. As a local business, it can be alarming to go online and see that things appear differently than they did a week ago. Some businesses are showing up sooner on local search results or SERPs, where others have apparently lost their primary spot on the top carousel. If your business has been impacted by these changes, working with Local SEO Sites can help.

What Are They Improving?

One of the things Google is doing with these updates is improving their location targeting. The goal is for local businesses to come up in the carousel results, rather than businesses which are too far away to be considered “local”. For example, how many people want to drive fifteen miles for takeout? If necessary, Google will also expand the reach in order to provide the requested results. Better location targeting is important, especially on mobile devices, and will improve the user experience overall. This is important for Google marketing since an improved user experience will generate more positive results for businesses they connect with.

You may immediately notice that some business types have been removed from the local pack listings, which can negatively impact their overall Google marketing. Realtors and DUI Lawyers, for example, have been removed while other service oriented businesses are now showing up. Business categories that are showing up in local pack results have a higher risk of falling off, simply because Google is now showing a fewer number of local businesses, with three seeming to be the average. This makes a well-optimized website and Google profiles even more important to coming up faster in a local search. Google+ also seems to be playing a more prominent role as one Google+ page outranked a well-known brand in a recent search.

Getting Past Google Local Updates Unscathed

The challenge is that with any update there is bound to be hiccups that have to be worked through. Google is addressing several bugs currently, and it make take a while until everything is moving smoothly. By working with Local SEO Sites, you don’t have to worry about changes to Google algorithms and local search features. We are a certified Google Partner, which means that we are aware of changes immediately and can plan for them. This allows us to transition our clients and position them for success, regardless of what the update entails. Google marketing can be challenging on its own, without worrying about updates. We take the stress out of the process by managing our clients Google marketing and local search efforts. Our customers experience positive results combined with robust tools and reporting.