Google map pack confusion
-
Hi there!
My name's Rob and I'm the owner of Nimble Nerds in Sydney, Australia. We provide on-site visits to customers at their locations to provide IT Support.I would love some insight on my confusion please, as I can't get my head around it after months.
I've made individual pages targetting individual suburbs, eg 'computer repairs putney'. I noticed that only suburbs without individual tailored pages were showing in google map pack. So to test it I deleted my Putney page so it would re-index to the home page. Not only did this not result in appearing in that suburb on Map pack I also lost my SERP ranking as well.
Is it still good to make individual pages for suburbs please?
Is this going to negatively affect my map pack rankings in suburbs where they're pointing to the homepage?
Does map pack only point to homepages?Confused! Ahah
-
Google Map Pack refers to the set of three local business listings that appear at the top of the Google search results when a user searches for local businesses or services in a specific location. This feature is especially important for businesses aiming to attract local customers.
The confusion around Google Map Pack typically revolves around:
-
Algorithm Changes: Google frequently updates its algorithms, which can affect which businesses appear in the Map Pack and their ranking.
-
Optimization Challenges: It can be challenging for businesses to optimize their listings to appear in the Map Pack due to competition and the complexity of Google's ranking factors.
-
Local SEO: Effective local SEO strategies are essential for improving Map sheet sets Pack rankings, including optimizing Google My Business profiles, local citations, reviews, and location-based content.
Understanding these factors and staying updated with local SEO best practices can help businesses navigate and potentially benefit from the Google Map Pack.
-
-
Hello Rob!
Thank you for bringing your question to the forum. If I'm correct in understanding that you have a Service Area Business (SAB) then here's what I can tell you:
-
You are not allowed to create multiple GMB listings for your service areas, in most cases. Most SABs are allowed a single listing ... not multiple listings covering all the cities/suburbs they serve. So, you could be having trouble because you've created ineligible listings. Definitely read Google's guidelines on this: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en
-
It's fine to create whatever pages on your website you want to in order to represent your service area. However, only create such pages if they have a real purpose beyond targeting keywords. Recommend that you read: https://moz.com/blog/rank-beyond-location
-
For your eligible GMB location, you can either choose to point the listing to your homepage or to a landing page on your website. The homepage will typically have higher authority, so some businesses with multiple physical locations do choose to point all of the GMB listings to the homepage URL. Others feel it's better UX to point mutli-location business listings to the location landing pages on the website. It's a choice each brand has to make. So, for a legitimate physical location of the business, if you had a listing pointing to the homepage and then changed the URL to point to a location landing page with lower authority, that could cause a drop in local pack rankings.
I hope this feedback is helpful. Main thing will be for you to determine the number of listings you are eligible for, based on your number of physical locations. Please, feel free to let me know if you have any further questions.
-
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 My Business search results for multiple listings
I am wondering how people set up their Google My Business listings to appear in the search results similar to this business, Hulme Orthodontics. I attached an image below that'll give more details. I am working with a client that has two locations similar in distance to Hulme Orthodontics, and I have tried everything and have come up with no answers as to how I can properly get Google to format the search results in this way. I assume that there is no actual way to manage this and that Google decides this on their own. However, if anyone has any insight regarding this manner, that would be much appreciated! Thank you for your help! UsEr3rK
Local Listings | | DylMar1 -
Google Events Pack - Our events never show up while others not related do
When doing a search for "des moines wa events" the top results are the events pack. When we do a search, none of the events are even happening in Des Monies but in Seattle proper. Our pages have events schema on them and they do get warnings but no errors. Here is a link to one of our events pages in Des Moines that does not show up. Is there anything wrong with our page that could be preventing it from ranking? What are the factors that get events to rank in that area? What else could we be doing to improve our results?
Local Listings | | GRDigital0 -
Can having a google business listing harm a company selling services globally?
Hi, We are a SAAS platform offering cloud based solution for educators. We had a google business listing in India and recently added one for US as well. Our keywords rank significantly better in India than in US. Is it a good idea to remove these business listing? Also, what could be other factors that impact GEO SEO rankings for a online company like ours?
Local Listings | | WizIQMarketing0 -
How do you fix a Google My Business Location Issue if the road doesn't yet exist on Google Maps?
My core question is just: How do you fix a Google My Business Location Issue if the road doesn't yet exist on Google Maps? Do I have any other options other than to just wait on Google to catch up with reality? Here's the background: I work for a hospital. We just opened a clinic on a street that is real and has a U.S. Postal Address, but Google Maps doesn't recognize it, and redirects people to a house . This is our postal address: 8343 S 168th Ave Omaha NE 68136-1677 If a patient enters the following into google maps, 8343 S 168th Ave, the location the map autofills the wrong zip code, and sends them to a home that is on S 168th Ave. (where in theory a home would exist if it had that home number). The road does exist in that portion of town. If a patient enters 8343 S 168th Ave, Omaha NE 68136, google maps takes you to the correct location, but it automatically changes Ave to St. The verified Google My Business listing also lists it as Street, even though on the back end I've put in the word Avenue, and it shows up in the right place. If however someone just searches by name "Chalco Clinic" the right Google My Business comes up. This is the Google My Business page I'm referring to: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Nebraska+Medicine+-+Chalco/@41.1754796,-96.1787153,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xf77aefb4e27f865!8m2!3d41.1754796!4d-96.1787153 And even though it says it's on a Street, on the back end of the claimed listing I've used "Avenue". In case it matters, this is the landing page for the location: https://www.nebraskamed.com/chalco
Local Listings | | Patrick_at_Nebraska_Medicine0 -
Reliably Tracking Google Snack Pack Rankings
I have yet to find a way to reliably see my "snack pack" standings without going all out and using a VPN. I have moz pro and it looks like I can only track organic and local organic rankings. Anyone have a solution?
Local Listings | | zact10240 -
Google My Business - More than 1 business under same roof?
Good morning Mozzers from London, England, I have been having some issues around local SERPs and getting our businesses to rank. The issue I have is we run GYMS, however within our gyms certain locations we run additional businesses like CHILDREN'S NURSERIES or PHYSIOTHERAPY CLINICS etc. Now these are run affectively as different businesses, and you don't need to be a gym member to use these services. However Google only lets you have 1 primary category per business address. And all of our locations are rightly registered as GYMS. So I can't then produce a secondary business listing at the same address.....can I? Has anyone else experienced this problem, or know of a solution? Kindest regards Ben
Local Listings | | Bendall0 -
How does the new local pack change rankings?
So I just saw this afternoon that google has changed how the local pack displays listings, only 3 listings now show. Also Google continues to distance itself from Google+. Now it seems getting in the top 3 of the local pack is going to be even more competitive. What should the strategy be now for competing in the local pack? Has it changed? Or just stick to tried and true local optimizations?
Local Listings | | websitemusclemarketing0