About new google update (Pigeon)

[yassermokhtar]

Hello ,

Today when i checked my keywords ranking i found it Not in Top 50  although some of my keywords are in the first page in google , when i searched  in internet i found the reason is new google update called (Pigeon).
the important question now , how i can get my first keywords ranking ..
please help me
Thanks

[MiriamEllis]

Good afternoon!

Given the recent release of this update, it's probably early days to be giving advice on how to overcome it, beyond the guess that as Pigeon appears to be favoring directories more on some queries, it's extremely important to have a strong presence on whichever directories Google is surfacing for your core keyword phrases.

From what I can see, the dust hasn't yet settled on this update. Check out Linda Buquet's day-to-day documentation of results for a specific query (the results show numerous changes):

http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/google-local-important/20630-major-google-local-algo-update-google-pigeon.html

The one line I keep coming back to in this update is from Barry Schwartz' article (http://searchengineland.com/google-makes-significant-changes-local-search-ranking-algorithm-197778)

Google told us that the new local search algorithm ties deeper into their web search capabilities, including the hundreds of ranking signals they use in web search along with search features such as Knowledge Graph, spelling correction, synonyms and more.

I am still trying to consider what 'web search capabilities' might mean, in the larger picture of things and what this says about the organic influence on local SERPs, but because examples seem so varied, I just haven't drawn a conclusion on this. A small business website is unlikely to 'out-organic' a big directory like Yelp, so where does this leave SMBs? Right now, I have more questions than answers. I hope the community will continue to discuss!

[irapasternack]

Assuming you are a local business, and the real reason is pigeon (vs. this just being coincidental timing), then the first thing to do is make sure your Google+ Local page is optimized, with a consistent Name/Address/Phone number.   Also, make certain that your categories are accurate.    (There was an article this morning about Expedia being improperly displayed as a Hotel due to improper category.)

Beyond that , other early analysis of Pigeon stresses the increases importance of local directories.  So, focus on making sure your NAP info is consistent across the web, and that you optimize your listings on all directories.

[Zippy-Bungle]

It looks like we lost 50% of our traffic from the 24th onwards and a bunch of keywords (though most of the traffic hit seems to come from the long tail)

Existing reports on Pigeon seem to be around local search but this isn't an area that we are interested in. We've also been producing lots of great content (from feedback from our customers) over the last month and increasing our traffic so the hit is even more gutting.