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
-
Is having two websites with the same NAP equal to the local search visibility issues?
My company works in two directions: printing and website design / development. I have one website for both printing and website development but it doesn’t have “printing” in domain name (velvdesign.com) I would like to rank higher for printing related keywords. Do you think I should have two separate websites, one for printing (velvprinting.com), another for website design /development (velvdesign.com)? If yes, am I going to get into NAP’s issue because my company has only one location? I can get the second phone number to improve local search visibility. Thank you very much in advance for your time!
Local Listings | | VELV0 -
When I search my business, how can I make all my locations to a multi-location business appear in the map pack?
I have a question about local SEO. I do the marketing for a multi-location medical facility. When I search the facility on Google, the website appears on the left and the Google My Business information for the nearest facility to me appears on the right. However, I would like to see a map-pack of all facilities appear under the website information as well. How can I make all locations appear in the map-pack form below my basic website information?
Local Listings | | FlynnZaiger0 -
Website showing #1 in Local search, disappeared from Organic search - previously #1?
We manage a website santamaryflorist.com - a local Ohio florist. She is #1 ranked on Google Local results (and also on Yahoo and Bing). The site's homepage was previously #1 ranked for Organic but has disappeared from Organic ranking over the past few days. It shows occasionally as #1 in organic, like every few hours, but typically does not show. - Sub-pages are still showing on organic but not front page- Last week we had some issues with crawl errors but those seem to be resolved for several days (pages not available)_Why would the site be showing #1 in Local but only occasionally as the #1 result in organic but most of the time not showing in Organic results at all? _
Local Listings | | william20390 -
Home-Based Business
Can a single business list multiple locations that are home-based? Will Google find this acceptable? More details. The business is a service based business that operates in two states. The owner has one approved Google My Business listing for her main location - her home in DE. She also has employees and stores supplies at her in-law's home in PA. Separate phone numbers are used for each business location. We have tried to create a Google My Business listing for the PA location and it has been rejected for quality reasons. We've asked clarification and received none. Is this worth pursing further or does it violate Google guidelines?
Local Listings | | DonnaDuncan2 -
New design for Googles Local Search results. No more "7 Pack"
Hello MOZ-People,
Local Listings | | Andre-S
since yesterday I see (here in germany) for many keywords, that the local results in Google (the so called "7 Pack") is just a "3 Pack". AND, and this leads to my question, for keywords that suggest Google that you want to rent a vacation home, I see the possibility to enter the dates for arrival and departure (see the pic). But for now, it seems that changeing the dates has no impact on the results. Has anyone a clue, what Google has in mind with these dates? Is the an official Google response I have missed? Thank you for your answers. Best regards
André 9pIG7CV1 -
address on my websiteto help with local searches
If I put my address on my website, does it help that page to rank for local searches? especially if it's the same address that i am using for moz local and all my citations? I want my other pages to rank in different cities as well as i have a service that travels to all cities in my state. Will that address of my home town on my home page make google think that i don't service other cities? Thanks, Ron
Local Listings | | Ron100 -
Business from UK Showing up in Canada local search, how can I report it?
Hello Everyone, So we have a problem. There is another business with the same name as ours showing up on Google Local/ Google maps when I type in our business name in Google. Our name is Brighton College, and the other business is Brighton College, however they are from the UK. They are showing up on the right hand side with their wikipedia page and on Google Maps and we aren't, but I'm searching in Canada on Google.ca across the street from our college. Any idea on how to fix this? Thank you!
Local Listings | | jhinchcliffe1 -
Help Understanding Localized Search Results/Ranks
I have a Moz campaign for duvalasphalt.com where I want to track a non-location specific keyword, then variations that include a location. For example, here are the rankings for a keyword and the 2 location variations. asphalt company (not in top 50) asphalt company jacksonville (ranked 6) jacksonville asphalt company (ranked 6) When I do a search for just "asphalt company," I see duvalasphalt.com ranked 11. Why does Moz not show an 11 rank? I understand Google tries to show me location specific results even if my search is not location specific. Is Moz's ranking crawler searching from a location where Google will not serve Jacksonville-related results? It would make sense, but how can I get Moz to capture the rankings that are important to my client? The rankings we want to see are the results made from in and around Jacksonville. Any help here is appreciated!
Local Listings | | ElykInnovation0