Is the new local 3-pack the death of Google+ as factor?
-
So now we have the new 3-pack local results, which obviously cut the listings Google+ link from the results.
What I find strange is that is now even when searching the business name alone, there is no sign of the associated Google+ page in the results. I still get other local third party listings like Facebook, Yellowpages, and Yelp – but no link anywhere for the Google+ page.
I noticed this today when I wanted to verify something on a client’s page. There was nothing I could do search wise to bring up this business Google+ page. I finally got it by clicking the link through Moz local.
After exploring this with some other clients, when I do get a Google+ page in the search results some have produced a 500 error when clicked on.
If Google wasn’t killing off Google+, why would they completely omit the pages from their own search results?
Another extremely strange thing, the majority of my clients are independent local businesses inside a large national company. Their Google+ listings have always been managed corporately using a bulk listing feed. We could never gain access to these pages and would always manage our listings to match that of the corp. controlled page. Well the last week of July they announced they were giving us the option to take control of the page. This happened with two different companies, MAJOR national competitors in the same industry, within a couple days of each other. They now treat it just like another version of social media, instead of a major factor within search. I find it hard to believe that something isn’t going on…
-
Hey Richard,
I'm sorry I didn't see this until today. Yes, Google definitely seems to be demoting Google+ in a big way. Recommended reading:
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2015/08/07/thoughts-about-the-new-local-stack-display/
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2015/08/06/7-pack-becoming-3-pack-with-mobile-like-snak-pack-rollout/
I'm not sure I'm totally following your last paragraph about the national agencies. Are you saying they no longer seem to feel G+ is as important as they used to? Sorry, not quite sure that's what you're explaining, but I can see why people would feel that way, given that G+ links have become so invisible. Nevertheless, the Google My Business dash remains as important as ever as the main source for the data now featured in the new Local Stacks/Local Finder and the other types of Snack-Pack style results. So, the dashboard is still important, but the front-end display represents a genuine departure from what we'd grown accustomed to. Many Local SEOs feel the Local Stack is a step toward a paid inclusion model and this could certainly be true.
Glad you used my favorite little trick - looking up the business on Moz Local to get to the Google+ page. Works like a charm every time
Thanks for starting a good discussion!
-
I'd assume from Google local or Google maps in short a system similar to that which is what "my business" part of Google does anyway really it would just perhaps have less social aspects associated with it in my opinion, will have to wait and see though. I don't see G+ going any where any time soon.
-
Hey Chris,
I understand that Google+ will stay in some form because that is the primary way Google collects and verify listings. With out Google+ where would the local result info come from.
What I'm interested in is why the pages themselves, with the about, shared info, and photos are now more difficult to find.
Thanks for your input.
-
no, the same reason people keep shouting the sky is falling that link building is dead, they are just trying something different to best help users, they may revert in a few months or not. Google plus might be going away at some point but its not now just because a page didn't appear in a new layout. Google plus reviews are still part of the local pack. I might agree that Google may start to use Google local data more, but just because you can't see something in search doesn't mean its not part of their algorithm.
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
-
Why my logo is showing in map pack results
I run the SEO for a multi-location retail company. All of our locations, except one, show our cover photo from GMB in the map pack in the other city the logo shows up. Why would that happen and how can I change it? My competitors have much more attention-grabbing pics than a logo.
Local Listings | | danieldaher0 -
Phone number inconsistencies - local search
Hi, Can you help me with something that is probably straightforward? A website which displays a different phone number to visitors to the one in the source code is using this for tracking purposes I assume? Since the phone number in the source code matches with the local citations I am assuming that there is no harm here in terms of local ranking? Thanks
Local Listings | | AL123al0 -
Fake Yahoo Local Listing
I've recently discovered a fake yahoo local listing for one of my clients. The listing uses the office managers name along with the business, and all the correct contact information. The listing is not verified. I've tried to claim it but it just forwards me to the yext service. Under yahoo help, it tells that if the listing is not verified I will need to contact the database provider to have the info removed (Localeze, InfoUSA, Yext, YP) Problem is there is no listing in any of these data bases. Any ideas?
Local Listings | | masonrj0 -
Why I'm I ranking so low on Google Maps
About 3 months I started a website (www.guyetteroofing.com) for my roofing business in Montgomery, Alabama. The site is still a work in progress, however, because the competition doesn't really market via internet it was fairly easy to rank on Google Maps. Within 1 month the business was letter "A" in Google Maps. About 3 three weeks ago my ranking was dropped considerably, not showing up at all in letters A through G. The business is still indexed in Google Maps, but only represented by a small red dot. My website is still ranking pretty high for "roofers in Montgomery", but my position on Google Maps has all but disappeared. I have no idea what I've done to be rank so low on Google Maps but still have a solid position on regular Google Search. I've checked my citations and my NAPs, there are a few inconsistencies but nothing major. How can I rank so far below my competition if I have twice as many citations, an actual website, and a Google Plus page?
Local Listings | | billyguyette0 -
Will local optimization effect international ranking?
Lets say a company serves Canada and US customers regularly, but they are based in Canada. They currently have no local optimization or confirmation of their location on their website. If I were to begin local optimization (google my business, local content, link building, schema etc), would Google recognize this website as a Canadian business and remove rankings in the US that it is currently appearing in now without any locational information?
Local Listings | | aaronleven0 -
Google+ Company Verification Help
I am in a huge Google+ pickle. Backstory: Client's past marketing manager set up a Google+ Company Page with their old work email as the username - that marketing manager is now gone Client also moved into a new unit within their building, therefor keeping the same address but a different suite # Client's President (my point of contact) created a new (unverified) Google+ Company Page for the new address & suite # If I verify the correct Google+ Company Page, does this overwrite the old one with the incorrect suite #? Or will I still need to dig up their old company page login to transfer ownership? Also, does anyone have any helpful beginner articles on setting up Google+ Company Pages for businesses with multiple locations? Thanks!
Local Listings | | BopDesign0 -
How can I add another Google Places listing to my existing business?
Hey there, Does anyone know how I can add another Google Places listing to the following account? The company now has two stores so I'd like to get both listed. https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/107389046695957843430/+FinsahomeCoUk/posts I've tried using https://www.google.com/local/manage but that only appears to let you add a minimum of 10 locations?
Local Listings | | Webrevolve0 -
Question about domains with 2 or 3 hyphens
I have a client who has 3 domains in the following format: keywordkeywordkeywordkeyword.co.uk keyword-keyword-keyword.co.uk keyword-keyword-keyword-london.co.uk And needs advice on the best one to use. The client is leaning towards the one with 3 hyphens because it has more keywords but I am a bit worried about using it at the risk of it looking too spammy because of the hyphens. So my question is will 3 hyphens as in the above example cause anything negative in terms of SEO? We will not be doing any black-hat seo tactics but even so will 3 hyphens cause any problems or is it safer to go with just two hyphens? And secondly the client asked if Google can understand different words or is it better to have hyphens so Google can understand that there are different words?
Local Listings | | impliweb0