Goodbye 7 Packs! Only 3 Packs with No Phone # or Address for All Local Results

[ingenioussem]

It has been almost 2 months since this update. So what do you think guys and gals? Did it screw up local SEO as much as we suspected?

 

[Shawn Morgan]

I think it has caused a lot of people to panic because they can not seem to get in the 3 pack

 

[ingenioussem]

I think it has caused a lot of people to panic because they can not seem to get in the 3 pack

I have to agree, I was one of those people . It is not that bad and local is still as powerful as it used to be. I think there is even a very good outcome to this story. Now I tell my clients that due to this update I need to work more, therefore the price has to be higher....

 

[chadkimball]

My main concern was the lack of phone numbers in the listings. Getting into the top 3 is only slightly harder than getting into the top 7/10 so thats not so bad, but no phone numbers was a big problem.

fortunately they seem to have put phone numbers back in so let the good times roll!

 

[JoyHawkins]

I did a webinar on it earlier this week. The short version is that we've seen a decrease of about 30-50% in impressions for all clients in GMB (we manage about 1300 accounts) and people that were in spots 4-7 experienced a slight drop in clicks where businesses in the top 3 (not for all keywords, just some) experienced an increase in clicks.

Here's the full slidedeck:

<iframe src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/xxIF2zFtcJq9cN" width="425" height="355" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC; border-width:1px; margin-bottom:5px; max-width: 100%;" allowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="//www.slideshare.net/imprezzio/google-shrinks-the-7pack-to-3-now-what" title="Google Shrinks the 7-Pack to 3. Now What?" target="_blank">Google Shrinks the 7-Pack to 3. Now What?</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="//www.slideshare.net/imprezzio" target="_blank">imprezzio</a></strong> </div>

 

[ingenioussem]

Thanks a lot Joy, these are very informative slides.

 

[CodyBaird]

Awesome deck Joy! Best summary I've seen to date on the new 3 packs. To the point.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Jeannie]

I am not a fan of this new layout. So many great businesses that ranked D, E, F etc are now completely shut out. I'm expecting lots of calls today.

I also really don't get why Google removed reviews from branded queries. See the post I wrote up about it this morning:

4 Observations about Google?s New Snak Pak Local Search Display | Imprezzio Marketing

Are you guys seeing the photo display for any other industries other than restaurants, hotels, DJs, bed & breakfasts and banquet halls?

Great article in SEJ:
Local SEOs still seeing volatility in ranking with Google’s latest algorithm update


FYI - The above link is broken. I'd love reading your observations, Joy.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Hey Jeannie,

That company (that I used to work for) deleted their entire blog so a lot of the articles I wrote for them don't exist anymore.