Why I'm I ranking so low on Google Maps
-
About 3 months I started a website (www.guyetteroofing.com) for my roofing business in Montgomery, Alabama. The site is still a work in progress, however, because the competition doesn't really market via internet it was fairly easy to rank on Google Maps. Within 1 month the business was letter "A" in Google Maps. About 3 three weeks ago my ranking was dropped considerably, not showing up at all in letters A through G. The business is still indexed in Google Maps, but only represented by a small red dot.
My website is still ranking pretty high for "roofers in Montgomery", but my position on Google Maps has all but disappeared. I have no idea what I've done to be rank so low on Google Maps but still have a solid position on regular Google Search. I've checked my citations and my NAPs, there are a few inconsistencies but nothing major. How can I rank so far below my competition if I have twice as many citations, an actual website, and a Google Plus page?
-
It's my pleasure, Billy, and kudos to you for working so hard to grow your business!
-
Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response. I'll systematically go through the points in your message and the links provided, I just need to devote a couple of days to doing it. It would have taking me a lot hours to gather all this information, I really appreciate it.
Billy
-
Hi Billy,
Ranking drops in Google's local packs usually boil down to one of these 3 causes:
-
Internal changes to Google's algo or filters that cause results to be re-ordered
-
Being surpassed by more active or powerful competitors so that you previous authority is no longer strong enough in comparison to the authority of your competitors
-
Negative outcomes of issues like duplicate listings, merges or spammy activity on the part of the business owner suddenly coming into play
I'm stating these three things quite broadly, and while I don't know if there have been any recent changes to Google's algo or filters in your industry/geography, it does sound like you are already aware of the fact that you are lacking in authority (point 2, above). Things like citation inconsistency can definitely drain away your authority and this can become even more apparent as your competitors get their businesses into better shape and begin to surpass you because they are stronger/cleaner/more active. It also sounds like you are aware of some negative issues (point 3, above) like reviewing your own business, which Google would consider to be spammy. Obviously, you shouldn't do things like that, and it's good that you removed the review:)
Likely, your ranking drop is the result of a combination of several different factors. Hopefully, going step by step through the article I linked to in my earlier reply will help you troubleshoot a number of possible issues. Ideally, what you want to shoot for looks like this:
-
I'm running the fastest loading, most user-friendly site with the best possible content in my industry/geography.
-
My site is well optimized for Local, but is not over-optimized. All of by basics (like title tags, headers, etc.) make sense to human visitors and gently highlight my core terms without going overboard.
-
My citations are consistent and clean around the web.
-
My Google+ Local page is perfectly optimized and obeys all guidelines. I've chosen the right categories.
-
I am not violating any of Google's guidelines by any of my marketing or SEO practices.
-
I have checked for possible duplicate and merged Google listings and have none of them.
-
I am earning real Google-based reviews at a slow, steady rate, rather than in big, quick chunks. My reviews are in alignment with Google's policies. I have more reviews than my competitors do - but I don't have a TON more. My review profile looks and is natural.
-
I'm earning diverse, genuine reviews on other important review sites.
-
I'm socially active in the right places, engaging with my customers where it matter to them most.
-
I'm earning links naturally, based on merit.
There's more to it than this, of course, but this would be a 10-step rundown of what I'd consider to be a local business doing the right things to earn the kind of authority over time that leads to high visibility in the local packs.
Hope this is helpful!
-
-
Thanks for the responses. I'm taking my time reading through the links you guys have posted, it's very informative, and very new to me. I know there is still a lot for me to do, especially in regard to my NAP inconsistencies. But if those inconsistencies have always been there, how did I ever rank so well? Our roofing business recently changed locations, from one warehouse in Montgomery to another warehouse/office. It wasn't until we moved that I started placing citations in the different directories, we shot up in the rankings quick, number 1 in a matter of weeks(roofers in Montgomery, Alabama aren't exactly SEO gurus). Then, out of the blue, dropped. I've been retracing my online steps, but nothing stands out, apart from the inconsistencies that have always been there. Right before we were dropped I reviewed my Google Business page using my personal Google Plus page. Could this be the culprit? I've since deleted the review. Do you think Google could be penalizing for that?
-
Great discussion going on here! Just thought I'd add a link to this Moz blog article, dealing specifically with troubleshooting Local ranking failures: http://moz.com/blog/troubleshooting-local-ranking-failures
That article should walk you through a lot of things you should check off, Billy. Hope it helps!
-
Hi,
You've had some great responses above. I did a quick search of your business name + address. I quickly found some inconsistencies that you want to fix asap.
For example, your YELP listing has the wrong zip code: http://www.yelp.com/biz/guyettes-contracting-montgomery (little things like that, especially from a trusted source, can really hurt you.)
Take a moment and review your listing using: https://moz.com/local/search. This is a great tool to discover any problems with your online listings.
Good luck!
-
You're welcome.
In regard to Schema, you'll probably be ahead of most contractors in the Montgomery area in adoption. It's been around for a few years, all major search engines endorse it's usage. It makes their job easier, so there are some perks.
You can go nuts with Schema markup. Fax, hours of business, logo, reviews and your second cousin's brother... well almost.
Though you will need to edit source code to implement the markup. You can get away with copying and pasting my first example (Though I think this editor trimmed off the word 'Map'.), once you get there with the Weebly WYSIWYG.
This is more of a 'nice to have' in regard to the site's blog; maybe add a little bit of text describing what's happening in the images. Sites get found in ways we never targeted. Mixing up the media a bit helps a lot.
-
Wow! Thanks for taking the time to respond guys. This forum is proving to be a tremendous resource. I'm very new to SEO and every bit of advice helps. @biron29 I've already started synchronizing my address, I didn't realize Google picked up on details that small. @ matt-williamson Thanks for the link, I've started going through the list. I think it will help a lot. @ Travis_Bailey You're right, I do have conflicting names. We've recently put more of an emphases on roofing so I thought a name change was appropriate. I'm slowly changing everything over. Thanks for the advice on Schema markup, I'd never heard of the term before. I'm already researching it, and hopefully I'll figure out how to implement into my site.
Thanks again guys!
-
Dang it, the WYSIWYG stripped out the code. That feature is wonky... so... here goes....
Example: Filled Out
Guyette Roofing and Construction
1849 Upper Wetumpka Rd
Montgomery,
AL
36107
Phone: 334-279-8326
URL of MapExample: Blankish
,
Phone:
<a href="" itemprop="maps">URL of Map</a> -
First, in regard to 'After' on http://www.guyetteroofing.com/blog/montgomery-roof-115. That weird little split looks a lot better than the crazy cobbled psuedo-valley they had going on. I've done some roofing in the past, as a home owner and a starving student (Local job boards - between 15 credit hours - it helps if you can do construction). That job was a big improvement. I would imagine the ridge vent will add a bit of life to the job and make summers a little more bearable.
I've worked with quite a few commercial and residential contractors in the DFW area. There was a common theme that I noticed that I like to call 'Contractor's Syndrome'. Usually I would run into 'Name Roofing and Construction', 'Name Construction', 'Name Contracting', 'Name Contractors' and a few other variants. If the business had been around for more than a few years, the NAP cleanup was usually pretty involved.
I think this is the case here. There are a lot of citations for Guyettes Contracting LLC including the BBB listing. All in all, I picked up Guyette's Roofing and Construction, Guyette Roofing and Guyette's Contracting. The last being the most prominent. So it's safe to say there are actually a lot NAP inconsistencies happening.
There are a lot of great local citations for Guyettes Contracting, so if I had to do it myself and run a business - I would probably err towards using that. The site seems to be doing okayish in organic for three months old. So just make sure that you're properly categorized in your local listings.
I noticed that you have another domain, which is owned by Hibu. If it's not doing anything for you, shut it down and ask them to transfer the domain to you. I've seen domain transfer requests go both ways with Hibu, but I wasn't handling the admin stuff at those times.
As an on-site consideration, I would recommend using Schema markup on at least your contact page. I noticed you're using Weebly, so I'm uncertain of your level of skill with site editing. I'll post a couple of snippets after this, one filled out with Guyette's Roofing - and one that's blank-ish. That way you'll have an example, should you go with a different name.
First Example: Filled Out
Just note that Schema markup isn't cruise control for local/organic rankings. It's just a nifty way to spoon feed search engines and possibly get some nice snippets. Hopefully that will help some.
-
As Brian said it is really important to make sure that your business name, address and phone number (NAP) match on your Google My Business Page and your business landing page (website). There are also many other important factors that you can use to optimise your local presence and re-gain that A spot. Have you got your business listed in local relevant directories and do your NAP details match across the board? There are so many factors for optimising your business for Local I would recommend that you have a look at Local Search Ranking Factors 2014 - http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
If you have any specific questions once you have had a look at these ranking factors just reply to this thread or drop another question to the community and you are sure to get some great help.
I find consistency is key and you need to make sure you push forward with optimising all the different factors that will benefit your business locally.
-
Biggest thing I am seeing is on maps your address is listed like this "1849 Upper Wetumpka Rd, Montgomery, AL 36107"
However on your site it is listed like this "1849 Upper Wetumpka Rd; Montgomery, AL 36107" I have seen before where having a small difference like you have after "Rd" can lower the ranking on maps purely because the address in not exactly the same. Seems dumb but I had it happen to me on a site recently. I would change each of the address listings on your site to match how maps has it listed. Hope that helps.
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
-
GOOGLE SERP HELP
hey guys - a new member here, and huge issue i can't seem to wrap my head around where i could really use yalls help! I oversee about a couple firemen in my local neighborhood - however the issue lies in this: Lets say theres 50 firmen total if i look up lets say his name is 'john james fireman' on google then him and his GMB appears - great awesome, right?
Local Listings | | Johndavisx
Well then, if I search a second employee lets say her name is jill jansen and i look up 'Jill Jansen fireman' what happens is that john james GMB appears when i search her name then lets say i search another employee - calling him "jake bo" - if i look up "jake bo fireman" john james GMB STILL shows up - even though no where are there names related THEN the confusing part is that he only appears for select employees, not all of them. I don't know if this a metatagging issue, i went through his content seo and nothing seems to trigger it, so im at a loss - Any help would be greatly appreciated1 -
Hi all, we recently started to claim Apple Maps listings on behalf of our agency's clients, is it possible to transfer ownership of an Apple Maps listing from one Apple ID account to another Apple ID account?
We'd like to claim and complete our clients' Apple Maps listings with our agency Apple ID, then once we're finished completing and verifying each listing, transfer to the client's Apple ID. Is it possible to transfer ownership of an Apple Maps listing from one Apple ID to another? Thanks
Local Listings | | NOUS-Australia0 -
My Company Doesn't Appear in the Search Results on the Right When I Search for It
Hello, I just found that one of my companies (iFix Appliances) doesn't show on the right in search results when I search for it. I found it accidentally, I just wanted to check if it shows Request a Quote button as recently I enabled messaging on GMB. Yet it's not there at all. Could you please help me figure out what happened and why it's not there? Is something wrong with its GMB listing? I have two locations so I created 2 GMB listings for one company. Is this something that might have caused the issue?
Local Listings | | VELV1 -
How do I rank inside the knowledge panel in the "people also search for" section?
Hello fellow Mozzers, In Google's knowledge panel there is a section at the bottom that says "people also search for" and a list of competitors is displayed. I'm hoping to get some information I can use to get my client listed there on top of the local organic results. The more SERP presence, the better. Attached image should provide clarity to those who are confused. I suspect I know the answer to this question, but since I can't find a source to verify my beliefs, I'm crowdsourcing. Thanks in advance! NhoihY1
Local Listings | | brettmandoes0 -
Google Business - Adding location into business name
Hello, I've a client that has many services in different locations and addresses with the same website and phone number. But the thing is they want me to involve location name to business name. Is there a way to add and verify as bulk ?
Local Listings | | omeryamac0 -
How to Rank in Places Across Range Keywords
Having some success in Google Places but would like to rank across the range of phrases that we work with. To give you an example where LOCATIOn is the city we are based in: office partitions LOCATION
Local Listings | | GrouchyKids
Position 1 Local Results office refurbishment LOCATION
Position 29 Local Results office fit out LOCATION
Not present office partitioning LOCATION
Position 3 Local Results suspended ceilings LOCATION
NA What can I do to achieve results across the range of phrases? Am I missing something fundamental like not including something in Google Places? Justin How to Rank in Places Across Range Keywords LOCATION0 -
SEO Google local listings
Hello We've recently started a campaign for a local business, and now the domain authority and the number of links to the site are equal if not more to all local major competitors (bar one) and organic rankings for relevant terms are increasing well... However we still do not appear in the google local listings, despite having a verified location business account - fully set up and active and linked to the website. Does anyone have any advice for increasing local rankings? Thanks in advance kind mozzers
Local Listings | | wearehappymedia0 -
Google Local and Seasonal Location
We currently rank in the local 3 pack for multiple keywords for our first location. We just opened a second location which is currently hanging at around #20 in the local results. We have decided to close the first highly ranking location seasonally. We do not want to send customers to that closed location. However we also do not want to list the address with google as "permanently closed" in fear of losing all ranking power of that listing. Is it possible to transfer ranking power from location to the other or merge 2 different locations? Has anyone had any experience with this, tips, advice?? Thanks in advance! Chris
Local Listings | | enjoiart0