Local map grid and local search positions fluctuations. What`s inside?

[Timur]

I started tracking positions of my business (appliance repair) fairly recently using BrightLocal. I submitted 10 citations, optimized my GBP, and started to post photos and updates on a regular basis. So my positions started to move higher, and I earned +1.7 positions overall on a map grid from Feb 11 to March 21. I don`t know if it`s a good velocity of progress, but anyway, it was some progress. Then my positions dropped 0,4 points from March 21 to March 28.
I am wondering what happened. Is there a way to determine what causes exactly affect your positions to work specifically on them? Or it`s a guessing game? What if you do everything well, but ratings are going down all the time?

 

[keyserholiday]

A lot is going on here, so I will do my best to weigh in. A. you are not going to rank in all of those cities for appliance repair. B. This report makes it hard to tell what is going on with your GBP and rankings because you have areas you will never rank for based on how many other appliance repair businesses there are on Google. I would change the map to be closer to where you rank or use Places Scout.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Echoing what @keyserholiday said. You need to reduce your grid area to use a smaller distance increment, such as 1/2 mile distance and increase your grid size to maybe 11x11.

Also, you may want to consider expanding your report keywords to include "appliance repair near me", "appliance repair city name", "refrigerator repair near me", etc.

It is really hard to answer your question precisely because it is a very broad question. There are literally dozens of factors that can influence local pack/map ranking. Some that are within your control and some that are not within your control (such as what your competitor's are doing). In a competitive area, a few citations are not going to do much (if anything) to improve your GBP. You mentioned that you optimized your GBP but didn't mention the work that was done.

• Is the GBP associated with a physical location or a Service Area?
• What is your Google review strategy and are you getting regular reviews every week/month?
• Are you adding custom photos?
• Are you simultaneously doing reciprocal work on your website? Specific appliance repair pages? Specific city page content?
• Are you comparing your competitors GBP listings with yours? What about their websites, how does your website content compare against the top competitors?

In an earlier post, you received very good feedback from another forum member about localized landing pages to help with your local ranking: What radius is my map listing good for?

I'd suggest reading more about how to achieve your desired results:

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet to Google Business Profile Landing Pages - Sterling Sky Inc

Ultimately the most important page for Local SEO is the Google Business Profile (GBP) Landing Page. This page is how you can increase visibility in the map pack for your GBP listing or listings. Many people wonder if the URL you link to in GBP impacts rankings in the local pack, and we confirmed...

www.sterlingsky.ca

Do Services in Google Business Profiles Impact Ranking? - Sterling Sky Inc

Wondering if the services menu in Google My Business impacts ranking? Does adding services to a Google My Business listing increase ranking for keywords related to the service? See what we found when testing this on a couple different business listings.

www.sterlingsky.ca

As you are using Brightlocal's services (we do too), I'd encourage you to watch/read all their content in their free academy courses: Learn Local SEO the easy way

Good luck!

 

[Timur]

Thanks @JeffClevelandTN

1. It`s an SBA

2. We`re aiming to get 2-3 reviews a week consistently. It doesn`t work exactly like that all the time cause people reluctantly leave reviews but yes, we have a strategy in place. Now I have 58 reviews with a rating 4.9 (there is one fake 1-star review, supposedly from competitors)

3. Yes, regularly along with updates, deals, etc

4. Not very often but I do some updates from time to time including new blog posts, city pages, and so on

5. I track competitors but I am not sure I quite understand what exactly they are doing because it might be 2 companies with different website designs, titles, SEO approaches, and GPB content strategies, that are ranked equally. In fact, I have a competitor with 10 reviews (the newest is about a year old) and the last update in 2021, who is ranked higher than me.

Here is a grid I ran with your recommended settings. The funny thing is that I ranked 1 in areas that are further from my registered location, while the area where I am located in, it`s only a 20-ish position.

By the way, here is the link to the GBP

 

[keyserholiday]

I found your business profile as I am familiar with that area. You have been getting an excellent steady flow of reviews. Review Recency is a major ranking factor. You need to add more secondary categories to your GBP. Add these additional categories; Refrigerator repair service, Repair service, Washer & dryer repair service. Make sure that you create services with pricing as you can. Don't worry about that one star-only rating, as it doesn't hurt your business ranking and click-through rate.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

You need to add more secondary categories to your GBP. Add these additional categories; Refrigerator repair service, Repair service, Washer & dryer repair service. Make sure that you create services with pricing as you can. Don't worry about that one star-only rating, as it doesn't hurt your business ranking and click-through rate.

Jason's advice is spot on! Any major services and/or categories that your client provides need to be added. Be specific: ovens, stoves, dishwashers, etc. Also, be sure to mention brand names where appropriate.

I'd strongly recommend having a corresponding services page on their website for the major specific appliance repairs with proper markup. I'd suggest having pages similar to this:
Page Title: Refrigerator Repair in City, ST | Professional & Certified
H1: Refrigerator Repair in City, ST | Professional & Certified | All Manufacturers
Meta Description: We offer professional & cost-effective refrigerator repair for all brands, including: LG, GE, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Samsung, Insignia, Bosch
H2: As close to the Meta description as possible (if not identical)

These pages can influence your Local Pack ranking but most importantly, and hopefully, get you more prominent organic ranking positions which still account for a high percentage of clicks. When someone searches for a specific brand to be repaired, it may also result in a justification on the local map pack.

With most grid reports, I find it frustrating sometimes to add more keyword phrases because each keyword phrase costs more credits. But after implementing Jason's advice, you really want to track things like "refrigerator repair", "refrigerator repair near me". However, if you just want to spot check occasionally, you can do this using free tools like these:

Google Ads - Sign in

Advertise with Google Ads in the Sponsored Links section next to search results to boost website traffic and sales.

ads.google.com

Local & International Google SERP Checker

valentin.app is an easy way to get localized SERPs at an exact location without any additional tools.

valentin.app

Keep up the good work!

 

[JS Girard]

Make sure to fill in the services section of the GBP if you haven't, both google-suggested and customs. The former have recently become an actual factor and there's hints that customs may well be also now (we're still awaiting the definitive conclusion on that one).

 

[Timur]

Thanks, @keyserholiday @JeffClevelandTN ! Already implemented your recommendations. Will report how it performs.