Completely lost Google Local rankings for main keywords
-
Hi there,
Our website, petmedicalcenter.com, used to rank very well in Google in the local section - usually within the top 3 spots for 8 or so keywords. Then last fall our rankings started to diminish. We would rank really well for a few days and then would be no where to be found in the local section - this cycle kept going for a few months. Now, within the last few weeks our website is nowhere to be found in local for our usual keywords.
After a few years of success with SEO, I know the landscape is really starting to change. My problem is that I don't even know where to start to try and get us back on to the top spots. I know this question is rather broad, but I am really at a loss here. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
http://www.petmedicalcenter.com
Main Keywords: veterinarian las vegas, vets in las vegas, veterinarians las vegas, las vegas veterinarians, vet las vegas
Thank you for your help!
Brant
-
Brant - You are welcome. Check this out:
http://searchengineland.com/google-scraper-tool-185532
Seems like that may be totally relevant for you right at this moment!
-
Hi Miriam!
Your list is awesome and am starting to comb through it now. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!
Brant
-
Yep - that could certainly be hurting. Duplicate content of this type can definitely harm Google's ability to trust your data. I think you've uncovered a big piece of the puzzle. Hopefully, you can also take a look at the list of other issues mentioned in my reply.
-
To add, yes maybe if you put Las Vegas, NV as there is also a Las Vegas New Mexico might help
-
Thanks again for taking a quick look! I found that there is a website - justinchina.co.uk - that has copied our entire website - images, content, template, everything. All the links on the site point to our real site - so I am not sure the purpose of it. Do you think that this could be hurting our rankings on Google?
-
Might be a little spammy in your title tag with "Las Vegas"
-
Hi BCB1121,
Troubleshooting local ranking failures and fluctuations typically requires several hours of work. As I can't offer to do this within the space of the forum, I'd like to share a simple list with you of things I initially check for:
1. Violations on the Google+ Local page
2. Duplicate Google+ Local listings, including old listings, main listings, partner listings, etc.
3. NAP consistency issues across the Internet
4. Thin or duplicate content on the website
5. Known bugs or penalties reported in the Google And Your Business Forum that date from around the time you saw rankings change
6. An inequality of reviews (competitors have more than you)
7. Location of business in respect to the local business cluster (are you near the cluster or far from it)
8. Resolution of the Google MAP changing from search to search so that some businesses are showing when the resolution is broader and some are falling out when it narrows (learned this one from Linda Buquet!)
9. Are you standing still while competitors are moving aggressively forward with their marketing?
10. Sheer citation count of your business vs. competitors.
These are good places to begin your research. Hope this helps!
-
Hi Ruben,
I only looked over a half dozen pages quickly and couldn't see anything that stuck out, such as empty pages, thin content, spammy use of keywords, etc.
The pages appeared to be a decent length and didn't seem to be trying too hard.
That said, I would need to do a complete scan of the site to check for other issues that you can't just see with the eye, such as duplication and canonicalization, spelling, plagiarism (I'm sure there is none).
-Andy
-
Andy,
Quick follow-up: When you wrote "just a cursory glance at your site would suggest this" what jumped out at you? (I'd like to have better 'first glance' skills, but I really don't even know what to look for until I run the site through OSE or something like that). Is there some specific icon/layout/spacing, etc that made you think "Penguin" that you would suggest people to look out for?
Best,
Ruben
-
Of course Brant  - And the link profile is in a bit of a poor state I'm afraid. Lots of random directories and non-related site links.
Before I would even suggest looking at other possible on-page issues, I would get this link profile cleaned up. There is no doubt that some of these links will be hampering efforts.
-Andy
-
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your help! This has really been stressing me out so it is nice to have another pair of eyes looking at it. If you wouldn't mind taking a quick scan I would really appreciate it!
Brant
-
Hi Brant,
I see a lot of this and I am going to guess Penguin (bad link profile) over Panda. Just a cursory glance at your site would suggest this, although I reserve the right to change my mind if I was to spend any time looking at this
Happy to run a quick scan and give you a better idea if you wish?
-Andy
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
-
Disconnect MOZ Local and Google My Business
I've had problems with one of our eight branch locations when I connected GMB to Moz Local about a year ago. The location was suspended for being a duplicate. I would like to sever the connection so I could keep Moz Local live but at least temporarily delete the suspended Google My Business. Also, if you might have any guides or tutorials on performing this task it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Local Listings | | gallowaywebteam0 -
Google Places Competitor Category Ranks (Should we copy them?)
Competitors use "Interior designer" as primary category in Google My Business, they rank well in Google Places, across the phrases we target. Currently we use the same category, but "Office refurbishment service" would seem to be more relevant to us. Should we move to "Office refurbishment service" as the Primary category in Google My Business? If we do move would we need to change our citations? And for other keywords should we be influenced and copy the categories used by our competitors?
Local Listings | | GrouchyKids1 -
Two Google My Business accounts for two companies at same address
I have a client (flat roofing) with two registered businesses both of which are based from the same address, upon trying to create a new GMB account for the second business, it was immediately suspended by Google. So somewhat unsurprisingly one address one business, but is there a way around this?
Local Listings | | Donsimong0 -
Removing a duplicate local listing in same city
Hello, I see three locations for a client. Two legitimate which I have ownership of, the third is  a duplicate of one of the locations. Ithink it is harming rankings and I want to get rid of it. It is  service area business. Things keep changing, but how will I remove it? My client obviously set this up a while ago and it is left with wrong or missing info. When I click on the business under "more listings" on maps there is a chance to "edit it" AND "claim it" but not delete it. When I strart to claim it I go through adding in everything but then I worry I am legitimising the duplicate. How do you get rid of it? Thanks
Local Listings | | AL123al0 -
Moz Local and NAP
Hi, I go to moz local  and i get 4 listings and is shows 2 as verified: Verified
Local Listings | | dansum
Northumberland Ave, Bury Saint Edmunds, Verified
 Northumberland Avenue, Bury St Edmunds, Both of them tell me I have 13% inconsistency and the two words that are underlined in red as inconsistent are:
Ave, Saint My google places has it listed as:
Northumberland Ave
Bury St Edmunds My website and  4 of the 11 listings have it as:
Northumberland Avenue, Bury St. Edmunds The other 7 listings have it as:
Northumberland Avenue, Bury St. Edmunds Is this a problem do you think these very slight inconsistencies matter? If so should they all match what google places says the address is (I did try changing this from Ave to Avenue on google places but it wouldn't change)?1 -
Does Google local account access affect local rankings?
Is it possible that being a third party manager to a Google plus account have a negative impact in local rankings since access is coming from a different city? Example: I work in Houston but manage a client's Google account that is in New York.
Local Listings | | mgordon0 -
Help tracking phone number calls from Google Plus & Yahoo Local
Hi, I own a business in United States and serving multiple locations around US. I have listings for all my locations in Google Business as well as in Yahoo Local. To track the phone calls that are made through Google & Yahoo, I have provided a 2 different phone numbers in these listings in order to track it effectively. Recently, I read that even the tracking phone numbers will rise an inconsistent NAP in Google local ranking factors. If such is the case, how can can effectively track the phone calls separately from these business listing? Does anyone have any better idea for this? Thank you,
Local Listings | | Luckydtech1 -
Google Local Search
I have a customer who is frustrated that Google local search seems to favor businesses that are closer to the center of the city. He wants to be on the local results area on the SERP with his (keyword + city, state). His website is optimized, Google+ is using the keywords, more reviews than his competition and his MOZ local rating is 88.. It seems the only problem is his business is on the edge of town(same zip code). Google fills the local search area with businesses that are "downtown". Is there a way to overcome this?
Local Listings | | seomn0