Does "Located In" affect GBP rank?

[cfazio]

I have noticed a handful of competitors lately that absolutely dominate local rankings, and the one thing they all have in common is the "Located In" being relevant to the search.

All of the searches are for "apartments near + university" and the "Located In" is linked to the university in question. Most of these competitors are not technically located within the university, they are in the city of the surrounding area.

For example, this listing dominates for "apartments near uab", their proximity is not closer than our clients physical address, and they have no site optimizations to be ranking for this keyword - seems to be solely from the located in.

Has anybody noticed this actually affecting rank? Seeing as it is user-submitted information ... seems strange to have such a strong effect.

 

[ElizabethRule]

I did searches for "apartments near the University of Alabama Birmingham" and "apartments near me" in incognito mode and as if I was on the University campus and was not seeing the listings with "located in" dominating the top spots.

Honestly, I do not think that it affects rankings at all. You can test it by "suggesting an edit" to remove the located in and see if you notice a change in the rankings.

 

[cfazio]

I did searches for "apartments near the University of Alabama Birmingham" and "apartments near me" in incognito mode and as if I was on the University campus and was not seeing the listings with "located in" dominating the top spots.

Honestly, I do not think that it affects rankings at all. You can test it by "suggesting an edit" to remove the located in and see if you notice a change in the rankings.

More specifically, should have mentioned in original post. Kw is "apartments near uab" the abbreviated version may give different results.

I was going based off of geo grid scans in Local Falcon... top 2 listings in the city has this... I know no rankings tracking tool is truly accurate though.

Interestingly, I tried to remove it but seems to be a bug where you can't click the "post" button the bottom right with only removing the located in.

 

[chadkimball]

I was going based off of geo grid scans in Local Falcon... top 2 listings in the city has this... I know no rankings tracking tool is truly accurate though.

thats more accurate that the way ElizabethRule tested it. would probably need a more thorough analysis to answer your question

 

[nixid]

When I use the Valentin app I see listed first in map pack

University Place​

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3.747 Google reviews

Apartment building in Birmingham, Alabama0.7 mi

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Located in: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Address: 951 18th St S, Birmingham, AL 35205



Hours:
Closed ⋅ Opens 8AM Thu

Phone: (205) 933-2822


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but Flats, number 3 in Map pack does NOT mention UAB

Flats on 4th​

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4.611 Google reviews

Apartment building in Birmingham, Alabama0.6 mi

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Address: 1508 4th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233



Hours:
Closed ⋅ Opens 8AM Fri

Phone: (205) 323-9777


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