Time based search positions, are they a thing?
-
I've been working on a particularly competitive keyword which I have been obsessively checking twice a day for a couple of weeks. I have noticed something odd which I'd like to check if anyone in the community has picked up too.
If I check the SERP position in the morning, before 8am, my rankings are gaining, but not as quickly as I'd like. If I check the positions in the afternoon, before 5pm, I notice a gain of two - three SERP positions.
The site I'm working on is listed as a local business and it's opening hours have been added. Is Google serving SERP positions based on opening hours? That's my best guess, but I'd appreciate any other possible explanations.
Thanks in advance
-
Hi Matthew,
You write:
"... my client operates as a financier. As a result, the company offers online finance applications, which are supported by an effective call centre."
I want to verify:
1. Does this business actually make face-to-face contact with its customers?
2. Are the ranking changes you are noticing in the organic results or in the local pack of results?
-
Hi Dave & Miriam,
Thanks for your responses. They both have me intrigued.
To clarify a couple of points, I'm checking the rankings from my machine in the office. I don't think the results are being affected by my search location or my client's as we're based in the same area and I'm the one picking up the fluctuation. I'd like to know if it's possible that I'm accessing a different database at different times of the day?
Alternatively, is it possible that the rankings are changing over a period of hours on a daily basis? I've never noticed swings this quickly or with such a regular difference on a daily basis. I'm noticing the exact same shift today.
Miriam, to give you a little more information: I'm based in South Africa and my client operates as a financier. As a result, the company offers online finance applications, which are supported by an effective call centre. Applicants can apply for finance at any point during the day, however, the call centre and offices are only open during business hours and their company listings note this. My only competitors on my target keywords are our major local banks, so the space is competitive.
I'm watching the keyword very closely and would appreciate any suggestions on documenting the shifts so that I can get to the bottom of it.
Again, thanks for the input.
-
Hi Matthew,
Well, I'm fascinated! If I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that the business seems to rank better in the local pack during the hours you've stated it is open for business on the Google+ Local page. This is something I've not seen documented anywhere, but I just spoke with Nyagoslav Zhekov of WhiteSpark.ca and he mentioned that he had once come across a discussion in which a business was failing to rank apparently because their stated hours of operation wrongly represented the business as only being open in the middle of the night.
I don't have any documentation or examples, but an anecdote like this does make one have to consider that Google may well take hours of operation into consideration. I am curious about what your client's business model is, if you can share. Like a retail shop, an emergency service? I wonder if it could be more of a factor in certain industries. Google must get it that people looking for certain things might want them right away. For example, if I'm searching for a pizza, I'd probably want to know which restaurants are open right now. If I'm searching for a lawyer ... maybe not so much.
I'd be interested to read any other details you can provide. As I've said, this isn't a well-cited phenomenon, so you may be breaking some ground here with what you've noticed.
-
This is not the full answer, but I'm guessing that the explanation you've already given may have some weight. But also Google doesn't use one database and they can often be out of sync. I've had examples where I say something is #1 anonymously and my boss checks in London and he says it's #2. I then check again and it's moved to #2.
Great to see if there is a more definitive answer on this subject.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google is indexing pages but they do not list on a brand search
One of my websites does not display sitelinks when using a branded search on mobile. Desktop , it is fine. Moz tells me I have no crawl issues. What could be reason for sitelinks not showing on mobile? Any thoughts?
Local Listings | | Web_Prosper_SEO0 -
How do I rank inside the knowledge panel in the "people also search for" section?
Hello fellow Mozzers, In Google's knowledge panel there is a section at the bottom that says "people also search for" and a list of competitors is displayed. I'm hoping to get some information I can use to get my client listed there on top of the local organic results. The more SERP presence, the better. Attached image should provide clarity to those who are confused. I suspect I know the answer to this question, but since I can't find a source to verify my beliefs, I'm crowdsourcing. Thanks in advance! NhoihY1
Local Listings | | brettmandoes0 -
Local search traffictwo locations
Hello, Can I ask for some advice? A client of mine is located in two cities. The first one was his original city and he has lots of traffic for various search terms and is very happy. He then expanded and has a branch in a second city. We created a unique landing page for it and a Google My Business page, built citations and it is ranking quite well (on first page for the two keywords that we targeted). But traffic is not great as city 1. His main navigation has a list of services and also a locations tab which has the two locations. The services pages are all unique and target specific keywords and I added location to the end of them - : e.g. **SERVICE KEYWORD CITY 1, CITY 2. ** A search for SERVICE KEYWORD + CITY 1 is on first page and lots of traffic. For SERVICE KEYWORD + CITY 2 it is on page 2. How would we increase the traffic to the second city? Should we create sub pages of the services he provides with the location set as city2 only (and keep the original ones only as city 1)? These would kind of duplicate the services pages we already have so we would have the problem that we might be duplicating stuff. Since SERVICE KEYWORD CITY 1 are doing really well (he's either first or second) I am loathe to change it too much but not sure how to get more keywords for city 2 without duplication the services pages. Any advice?
Local Listings | | AL123al0 -
Has Google Local search algorithm changed in the last 6 months?
My organic search results have increased, but I noticed that my Google local search results have dropped drastically. I haven't changed anything on the local side. I consistently get reviews. In my industry, I have more reviews (all 5 star) than anyone else. It actually shows weird results, like competitors that have no reviews and don't even have all of their information filled out. It is even showing competitors that are out of business. I have a lot of citations with the same NAP. I use Moz local for this purpose as well. So, I am wondering if the algorithm has changed and if I need to update my profile to match it. Thank you in advance!
Local Listings | | CalicoKitty20000 -
No Location option in Incognito Search Settings
I was checking on a client ranking and went to Incognito in Chrome for the search. I went to search settings to set the location and thought I had done something wrong. I closed and went back to search settings and still no location setting. See attached. Interestingly, when I went to my signed in Chrome and set the location and then went to incognito and went to search settings, then location showed up for me. This also begs a question about why Google has this where you must be signed in to set a location in Incognito mode. Thanks for any input you have, Robert G1lS9EK.png cRRlULo.png
Local Listings | | RobertFisher0 -
Google Local Listing Ranking/Traffic Metrics in the Google Search Console?
A client of mine asked me if it was possible to see local listing data (ranking/traffic stats) in the Google Search Console for a URL. I figured the Google Search Console only shows organic metrics not 3-pack/local listing performance. However I could be mistaken. Does the Google Search Console report this?
Local Listings | | RosemaryB0 -
What is personalisation when it comes to local search?
Hi Everyone. This may be a silly question but I was reviewing the 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors article produce by MOZ:
Local Listings | | coolhandluc
https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
I am unsure about the reference to "personalisation" which seems to account for 8.4% of the overall weight. Everything else is pretty clear as there is a quick description and examples for each topic but not for personalisation. Does anyone know what it includes?0 -
Menu Headings Local Search
Will my pages rank better in local city search if i have menus like "seo tips city" , "city google maps", "city electricians best online directories", . So a Google searcher in x city looking for seo services for his electrician business types in G box "city electricians best online directories" would having this term in the menu help or is it waste of time to have it in menu? thanks
Local Listings | | nickowain0