Not displaying the address and its effect on local rankings.

[yabyy14]

I have just started working with a plumber in my local area to provide a website and generate leads from a combination of SEO, social media and advertising.

The issue is that he is adamant that his address should not be displayed anywhere on the site or on any of the citations we are looking to build. This is even after I explained the importance of this information to rankings and the fact that his address can be hidden from view in local listings.

I have already come to the conclusion that getting in the typical 7 pack will be near impossible without verifying the address or building citations without a address. But I would like to hear your thoughts on whether you believe ranking organically is still a possibility or whether I should just focus on social / advertising.

[MiriamEllis]

Hey There!

Paramaya has given such a great answer (including that very important link to Phil Rozek's work on directories that support hidden addresses) that I have only a couple of things to add here:

• This is not an uncommon situation, with home-based businesses. Owners' privacy concerns are legitimate. While it is believed that the lack of a street address will have some negative impact on Local Pack rankings, the degree of negativity is speculative and is industry-dependent in some ways. I would like to see a side-by-side study done on this, but am unaware of one. There is likely some negative impact, but the amount is not set in stone.

• Be sure that the client understands that he can have a Google+ Local page with a hidden address. There is nothing to prevent him from gaining inclusion in Google's local product.

• In your client's industry, if everyone is abiding by Google's guidelines for SABs (see: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en), the only competitors who will have an edge on him in Google's product will be those who have a staffed, physical office. This is the only type of scenario in which Google states the address of an SAB should be displayed. It's important to be aware of this, because if every other plumber in your client's city is working from home, then their addresses shouldn't be displayed either, leveling the playing field.

• Where the playing field becomes less level is actually outside of Google's local product. There is some thought that any competitor who displays his address on his website and on his other citations may have an edge on a business that doesn't do this. So, this is where your client may fall behind competitors who do not mind having their home address published on the website and their non-Google citations. This then trickles back toward Google, as Google will find less instances of the address contained in your client's dashboard (and hidden to the public) to match up with references around the web. This decrease in NAP prominence could speculatively lead to a decrease in 'confidence' on Google's part that could, to some degree, decrease rankings.

Once you've educated the client about all of the above, he can make an informed choice. He may change his mind and decide to display his address on his website and non-Google citations, in which case, he has every chance of leading the pack with the right marketing efforts. Or, if he remains resolved to keep his address hidden, he should get a Google+ Local page, hide the address, build citations on only those directories that support hidden addresses and then will have to get as far as he can ranking-wise with making the most superior effort he is capable of in terms of building his website authority, content, social presence, earning links, reviews, etc.

[yabyy14]

Thanks for the reply.

I guess some people are very worried about privacy online (which makes our jobs a whole lot harder).

[yabyy14]

Thank you very much for the answer. I will use a couple of your suggestions and was already planning to focus quite a lot on the content generation, particularly focusing on local.

[RangeMarketing]

Does he have a strong reason why he is so against displaying his address?

Your conclusion about showing up in the local listings (7-pack, or what have you) is definitely right. Without an address on Google Maps and other citations confirming the address you don't really stand a chance. I think you just have to keep reminding the client that they are a local business and how important citations really are for local SEO.

You may still be able to rank organically (aside from the local listings), but again, if you are optimizing for geo-targeted keywords, it's going to be a challenge.

PPC can sometimes be beneficial in addition to SEO efforts, however, I wouldn't suggest putting all your time / money into it. We have clients in similar industries and the majority of the traffic is organic. This channel simply cannot be ignored.

Hope this info helps a bit!

[LauraSultan]

Assuming the plumber provides services at his customer's address, it would be considered a service area business (SAB). Consequently, you would need to add it to Google My Business with the "I serve customers at my business address" option.

While it's much more challenging to get an SAB in the local pack, there's a lot that can be done to improve organic performance for location-based queries.  Assuming you've covered your bases with on-page optimization, you'll want to focus on content and off-page optimization.

Add content with a local focus:

• Does the plumber belong to any local organizations like the chamber of commerce? Be sure to include those on the website.
• Is he active in any local charities or fundraising events? Include those in his bio.
• Are there any local laws or regulations that you can add content about on the site?
• Add case studies or testimonials that includes location-based content.
• Is there a way to add photos from the target city?

Off-page

• Try to get links from websites with a local focus in your area, including the local organizations, charities, etc mentioned above. Some old-fashioned local PR will help.
• There are quite a few local search directories that do not require a visible address.
• Develop a process to encourage customer reviews.