Have You Seen A Google Result Like This Before?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Everybody!
I came across a Google result for the search term 'bakery mendocino' that struck me as odd. Mendocino is a small town in N. California with perhaps 3-4 bakeries and a few cafes. So, in doing this search, I was quite surprised to see the attached result.

Note:

There is no Google result at the top of the page. All of the organic results are from third parties (Yelp, Tripadvisor, the company's website), and yet, there is a knowledge panel coming up on the right side, apparently detached from any Google result.

I have not clicked on anything on the page prior to taking the screenshot. These are the results, as-is.

So, it's like an authoritative onebox/knowledge panel detached from any type of Google result. Odd!

Have any of you come across anything like this before? This isn't a client of mine. Just an oddity I encountered. How would you explain it?

 

[whitespark]

Very interesting, Miriam. I haven't seen anything like this before. Try checking with Dr. Pete.

 

[Vivek]

Hi Miriam,

I have noticed this for queries for the hotel industry. It appears that Google is no longer 'ensuring' that there is an organic listing on page 1 of search that matches the knowledge graph. Instead the "Website" button, which was recently added to/given more prominence in the Knowledge Graph, acts as the link to the company website in lieu of an organic listing on page 1. Its almost as if knowledge graph is an alternative position 1 now for generic searches...?
For branded searches I have seen a "Website" button URL on page 5 or 6 of organic search and sometimes I see it in position 1 of organic search. It has been extremely inconsistent.

As for the 'why?'. For generic searches, I'm not sure why this is happening (probably just good SEO) but it must be a good thing i suppose. You could argue that being in the knowledge graph for a generic term is as good as position 1 for a small business - ESPECIALLY on mobile.

Thanks,

Vivek

 

[Phil Rozek]

Hey Miriam,

Yes, I've seen that kind of thing before. By which I mean two odd things:

1. The one-box result in which the website of the brand Google thinks you're looking for isn't ranked #1, but in this case ranked #3. I think that's just a result of the search term; it's not a brand-name search, so Google's hedging its bets. Kind of a halfhearted one-box.

2. The lack of map pin, address, and phone number. Mike did a good post on the topic: Google Nukes the Local Pin for One Boxes? | Understanding Google My Business & Local Search

 

[MiriamEllis]

Good suggestion, Darren. Thanks for letting me know you'd not run into one of these before.

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Vivek!
I will totally do some hotel searches to see if I see this. Really appreciate you letting me know you've seen it.

" You could argue that being in the knowledge graph for a generic term is as good as position 1 for a small business"

Absolutely!

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Phil,
Okay, this is my new favorite term "halfhearted one-box". In fact, Mike would probably like that one. What you are saying in #1 makes a great deal of sense. Thank you so much for responding. Well, variety is the spice of life

 

[JoyHawkins]

Miriam,

Yep, I see it all the time. It's the new version of a one-box. For example, search "Imprezzio Marketing" and you'll see the same format. Unlike before, you'll notice there is no pin beside our website indicating it's what's tied to this listing. The listing it's tied to is also not necessarily what shows up in organic. It's just basically what you see when there is only one local result that Google decides to show (so think one-box).

Mike blogged about it back in December which is when I think it rolled out: Google Nukes the Local Pin for One Boxes? | Understanding Google My Business & Local Search

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Joy,
Thanks so much for pointing to that. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't remember that post of Mike's at first, because I remember reading it. I think what threw me so much on the result I saw is that the business isn't the first result ... it's the third one, so it just looks completely disconnected, and not what you'd expect from a onebox-type result.

BTW, nice post on Moz!