Updating address in Google Places

[neooptic]

My client has moved address to a location in the same city. Will updating his Google Places page lead to a drop in rankings? If so, what is the best way to resolve it?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Neooptic,

Here's a recent tweet from the Local Track at PubCon:

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from Google's point of view, when you move locations, you're starting a new business @marybowling #pubcon

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) April 24, 2013

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Unfortunately, there is some truth in this. I recommend you read this thread over at the Local Search Forum, outlining Google's most current change of address policies:

http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/moving-name-changes/3138-business-moves-procedure-changes-again-just-edit.html

You may experience a fluctuation in rankings or not. You may also lose your reviews, so brace yourself for that. Changing an address or phone number can lead to some unwelcome surprises. Read up as much as you can on this topic so you are prepared to expect some fluctuations.

Good luck!

[wreevesc]

Also check out http://www.seomoz.org/webinars/a-foolproof-process-for-scrubbing-your-local-footprint about making sure your addresses are consistent across directories.

[EEE3]

It's likely your client will still maintain his rankings for "city + service" searches since the city is not changing, but, remember, your client does have competitors out there working on local search too. Regardless of your street address change, rankings may fluctuate based on how hard they're working. A drop in rankings would occur if you sit back on your laurels and all of your competitors are working tenfold (naturally, organically) on local search, but I don't think changing a street address would have a major effect.

I hope someone on this thread will comment about their tested results with having to do the same thing, since I don't have direct experience here.

To add, you absolutely have a big task at hand to make sure all of the downstream listings that feed into the local search algorithm (and Local+) are all corrected to reflect the new street address.

Maybe check out this link from Blumenthal's about moving a business to a new location: http://blumenthals.com/blog/?s=changing+address

Also, the readers at Blumenthal's are also very committed to giving advice and answering q's. Might be another resource for you on this question.

[SEOAndy]

nope though you may get a drop in traffic if there isnt as much search volume in the new local area