I have noticed two changes in SEO from Dec 2014 to Now
-
Why has most of the local pages from google disappeared? There were normally 3-6 local listings on Google but now it has vanished? Has the algorithm or rules changed?
Secondly i noticed a massive swing in seo rankings. I have done some testing i i found that google now gives you different rankings depending on the area that you in. So i can safely assume that the algorithms have changed and you now get results based on your area? The top 4-5 rankings stay the same but everything else changes to your current location.
Am i wrong, what has changed. Please help.
-
Thank you for your valuable feedback, i appreciate it.
-
Hi Ashwin,
You asked: "So what happens to my Google plus page now? Do i discontinue using it"
No I'd still keep it current and use it, for reviews for one thing. But additionally the data from your G+ L page still gets used and fed to other places like the knowledge graph. And your page may still show up and rank in Map search and Google+ search as well. Plus you never know when she'll come out with some new display format and use that local data.
But the other thing to keep in mind is that sometimes packs disappearing is temporary and based on a wide variety of factors like query volume. So the pack could come back. I've seen packs disappear for a week and then come back.
-
I did stick to this, because the situation that you have described matches the pigeon update.
And, as Linda Buquet has mentioned in her response to this question, with this update some 7 packs are reduced to 3 packs, but there are industries where it has completely disappeared.
The only thing which would stop me from dropping Google+, is that you may never know when it will come back (it could be only a large scale test for South Africa at this moment), and if you stop totally working on it, then you are loosing there.
Like I usually mention in my answers, this is a personal opinion.
-
You seem to be clued up on this subject. Maybe i could ask you another question?
Why doesnt the local pages (Google Plus pages) Show up anymore, are they doing away with that now?
-
Then it could be, that you are experiencing the Pigeon update.
-
English is the official language in South Africa Correct
-
I was asking for that info, because maybe you are in an area which was affected by this update. Although this update was meant for UK, Canada and Australia, I could believe that it has also affected other English search queries (especially that English is considered as an official language in South Africa - right?).
-
I am from South Africa, thanks for the response
-
In my belief:
You shouldn't drop any inbound marketing channel, just because there has been a Google update, which currently doesn't work as you wished.
Maybe I would reduce the number of hours that I spend on this task, but for sure, I wouldn't drop it.
But that is me, I like to have more than one channel working around me.
-
Thanks for your response. So this technically means that very little or no local pack details will appear anymore because of the update and this also means that Google is focusing heavily on Local SEO. So what happens to my Google plus page now? Do i discontinue using it and focus on backlinks. Im very confused.
-
Yes if you are outside the US, then I agree with the others. The Pigeon algo expanded overseas and exhibits many of the characteristics you are describing.
Many report 7 packs being reduced to 3 packs, but in some industries packs are totally gone.
-
Google has rolled out the Pigeon update to some countries outside the US including the UK, which has changed the landscape of local SERPs.
The top listings will now often be sites such as Yell, Yelp, Trip Advisor, etc with the local results then coming in underneath.
-
Hi!
I do not know where you are from, but I think what you may have seen is the Google Pigeon update, which was rolled out to the UK, Canada and Australia on the 22nd of December 2014. Read more about it on: http://searchengineland.com/google-pigeon-update-rolls-uk-canada-australia-211576
I hope it has helped. Gr.,Keszi
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
-
Unsolved Has anyone noticed the Google quote request response rate never changes?
We respond to almost 100% of our quote requests, yet every quote email that comes in from Google shows a 27% response rate and it never changes. Has anyone else seen this or have any insight into it?
Local Listings | | r1200gsa0 -
What's the 20/80 rule in local SEO as it relates to health care organizations
Hello all, I'm in charge of local SEO for a health care system that covers the entire state of Nebraska, with dozens of clinics all over the state, but mainly Omaha and Lincoln. I'm trying to build a cohesive local strategy for our organization, and a big part of that is figuring out what are the 20% of the actions I could take that will get me 80% of the benefit. Based on your experience as a local SEO specialist or ideally someone who does local SEO in a health care setting, what are the key things I should focus on? I'm not new to local SEO (just new to health care). My guess would be to focus in on getting a good local page on our website for every clinic/location etc., and getting a good Google Page listing for each one as well. But I figured I'd seek out advice on this before I plunge ahead.
Local Listings | | Patrick_at_Nebraska_Medicine1 -
Concerned about cannibalization for local SEO results. Should we move some of our location pages to a subdomain?
Currently we are providing local SEO recommendations for a well known pharmacy chain. Like most major brands they enjoy multiple organic (not just 3 pack results) listings when people search for local phrases such as "Dallas pharmacy clinics'". The issue is that all these listings are coming from the same domain page. We are seeing multiple listings both branded and non-branded search queries. Our concern is that Google will someday decide to choose one listing as the most authoritative and nix the rest of the local listings which will reduce their first page search engine saturation. To maintain first page saturation we are considering recommending to the client that they move some of their location listings
Local Listings | | RosemaryB
to a subdomain (different IP address) to avoid a Google "clean up". Please note that our client is certainly not using any "doorway" pages but some of these are very scarce on content. They do not have an issue with duplicate content either. By using subdomains could we help maintain our client's first page saturation? Any links to articles would be much appreciated.0 -
Should I change my listing title or even my domain
I have a domain for a lawn maintenance company. The domain is something like mycompanyyardcare.com Even though this company do yard care most of the business that is trying to attract is Lawn maintenance. The keywords that most people type when they are looking for this service is "lawn care". Should i change my domain to mycompanylawncare.com instead of mycompanyyardcare.com? Other thing, in the listings or links that I'm creating in directories, the company name is Mycompany yard care & snow removal. Should I change to Mycompany lawn care & snow removal?
Local Listings | | Brumas0 -
What is the best address format to display for a buissness for SEO?
There is a new location opening soon and would like to set up local pages for it. What is the best/most SEO friendly way to write out the physical address? I looked on USPS and they show: 7227 W GRAND PKWY S
Local Listings | | nat88han
RICHMOND TX 77407 But local businesses seem to have the West and South written out: 7301 West Grand Parkway SouthRichmond, TX 77407Is there a best practice for this, or does it not make much of a difference as long as the website/local listings all match exactly? Not sure about writing out "West" or using "S." for the cardinal direction.0 -
SEO strategy local service area business
Hello, I run a service area business that rents and delivers moving boxes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our service area spans 75 cities and many millions of people, and several major metropolitan areas, including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, but there are also numerous smaller cities that collectively represent a large number of monthly searches. I would like to rank well for the higher level search terms, like “moving boxes” and “moving supplies”, but also city-specific searches like “Moving Boxes San Francisco.” What’s unclear to me is the best strategy for organically ranking on the specific cities in our service area. As I see it, it seems there are several approaches. Is the best approach to either to: A.) Create clean “universal” web pages for pricing, products and landing pages and use blogs to build up content keywords for each of the cities B.) Create 10-15 city-specific web pages with the hope they'll each rank well (e.g. Moving San Jose, Moving in Cupertino) C.) Other? Thanks for your comments.
Local Listings | | bruteboxmoving0 -
Foreign languages and SEO: product description
Hi everyone, I have hit a brick wall with regards with the SEO of one of our sites. This is concerning a Belgium based webshop which sells toys. The server is based in the Belgium and the domainname ends also .be . They try to put as much possible dutch/belgium text on the website but the amount of this is very low compared to the english text on the website. The problem starts when they import product description from the main manufacturer which is in english. this means when the customer visits the website, it's dutch, but the product description is in english I have pointed out this but they pointed out the fact they import with 1 click 500 products, but it takes them ages to translate this to dutch. Now is my theory, the way they are doing this, will hurt their ranking a lot in the google.be search engine compared to their competitors to the point that less than 10% of their site is in dutch/belgium and the rest in english. I am thinking of the possibility of suggesting to let them use google translate to automatically translate the products before putting them on the website. It won't be a great translation, but it will stop hurting their ranking and will even contribute to increase their ranking. I thought they do this, and put a small link to the english version of the manufacturer. I would love to hear others thoughts on how to do this with as efficient and fast as possible.
Local Listings | | sami800 -
Can't Change My G+ Pages Address?
Our zipcode is wrong on our Google Plus page for one of our offices. Exactly, one month ago I corrected it, but it immediately reverted to the wrong one. Then, I think I read the change can take 4 weeks...we'll it still hasn't changed. Two weeks ago, someone from Google Places even called and I told him to change it manually, he said he would...still not changed. What can I do to get this zip code corrected? Thanks, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0