Local ranking dropped but organic position remained the same

[atalooseend]

Hi,

A website I designed for a local builder was in the 3 pack (local) and the top 3 for the organic results but has now dropped out of the top 20 for the local results whilst remaining in the top 3 for the organic results.

Can you think of possible reasons for this?

Thanks very much.

 

[50Bubbles]

I haven't seen a shuffling like that since the PANDA update. However we do know that Google is rolling out their AI algorithms. Still, I haven't seen anything that drastic but time will tell. It would be interesting to know if all of your keywords are affected or only a handful.

Is it possible the site was hacked? Check links in webmaster tools and look for anchor text that just doesn't make any sense. Google may not have flagged the site as hacked but you can scan the site with Sucuri https://sitecheck.sucuri.net// to see if your site has been blacklisted.

 

[atalooseend]

Many thanks for the reply.

I checked the site with the Sucuri scanner and there were no issues.

The home page is in the top 2 to 4 in the organic results for all related keyword but has dropped outside the top 20 for the local results for all keywords. All the keywords have the name of the city in them.

Do you think it is possible to optimize for organic search whilst over-optimizing for local search?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Was any of the core data changed recently for the Local listing? (Name, address, phone, categories)

Have any duplicate listings popped up?

Are there any NAP consistency issues that may have resurfaced?

If you would like to post the page URL I wouldn't mind taking a deeper look for you.

 

[atalooseend]

Thanks very much.

The URL is Wagga builder - Wayne Carter Homes

The business is a builder and the city is called Wagga Wagga but is just called Wagga by the locals so the main keywords are wagga builder, builder wagga, wagga wagga builder and builder wagga wagga etc.

They moved a few years ago and have gone through all the directories to change the address (they haven't changed their phone number). However they were not ranking in the top 3 for local search until the website was changed about a year ago (when they were at the latest address). They only just dropped out of the local search and the organic search ranking has been improving.

 

[heckler]

Have any duplicate listings popped up?

Are there any NAP consistency issues that may have resurfaced?

Knowing that there was a move in the mix, my money is on these 2 points ^

 

[Ben Bowen]

This would be beyond me to figure out, but did notice maps listing shows office phone # but G+ page (which you link to on home page) displays cell #.

 

[50Bubbles]

There definitely are NAP inconsistencies that need to be corrected. I don't think that explains the recent drop but still they'll have to be fixed.

Google has the location is Tatton

The website and Yellow pages show Wagga Wagga

One Yellow Pages listing has the name of the street spelled wrong: "Brindabellla"

Phone number on two different Yellow Page sites I looked at were different

and on and on.

 

[atalooseend]

Thanks for taking the time to help.

I keep changing the location from Tatton in Google MyBusiness (a small suburb of Wagga Wagga) to Wagga Wagga as the city is tiny and no one will be searching in Tatton. Some how Google has changed it back twice.

Is there anywhere else apart from MyBusiness where I can change the address from Tatton to Wagga Wagga that Google Maps gets its info from?

I will change every phone to the cell number and correct the spelling.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Did the ranking drop occur around the time you started editing the city in your dashboard?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Ben Bowen]

I saw the Tatton thing too and thought that might be it, but I don't think so. That just happens to be the part of city his office is located in. My G+ page has my zip code highlighted the exact same way. But if you go to the actual Maps listing (mine or his) it shows the proper service area.

 

[atalooseend]

Strangely enough no. However if Google MyBusiness somehow defaulted the address to Tatton rather than Wagga Wagga even though Tatton is in Wagga Wagga I guess it would be a NAP conflict.

I have changed it back to Wagga Wagga NSW in Google MyBusiness but Google maps still still states Tatton NSW.

Hopefully it will update soon.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

I've had this happen twice in the last 4 months. Had a vet of ours go from around 9 or so on average in maps to 50+ for almost every category. Granted, their NAP is an absolutely mess/nightmare. Old tracking phones, wrong locations, etc. Also, I changed their main category from "dog boarding" to "veterinarian" a week and a half before the drop. But who knows.

Also had this happen for a roofer. Top 3 for all keywords in maps, then one day just dropped to around 10'ish for all keywords. No NAP issues, couldn't figure it out. Still working on it.

 

[atalooseend]

Tracking phone numbers are an issue for this business too. They are trying to get yellow pages to change that.

By the way if I just set my location to Wagga Wagga and type builder they are in the top 10.

As an aside for my business I used to not have my address sgown however I wanted to show my google reviews on my site and the API required that I also see clients at my address (which does happen occasionally). Once I did that my position dropped significantly (probable NAP issues as Google thinks I am on a street but the physical world says it is an avenue etc)

 

[addaminsane]

organic ranking and pagerank strength for a particular keyword are only a portion of the local ranking algorithm. Location of where your google account is signed in is the primary factor.

your organic rank gets you in the conversation, but the location of the searcher will trump the organic ranking, especially when it comes to high volume searches. For longer phrases, the google box is nothing. It then becomes all about your organic serps.

 

[atalooseend]

I found the NAP spelling mistake (Brindabellla) and changed it. It was the Facebook page one. Hopefully that was a big one. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Dr GMap]

I'm finding a big difference in local searches when it's 'keyword' vs 'keyword + city'. There's an article on this topic somewhere here.

 

[atalooseend]

I think I may have found the reason why my client dropped out of the 3 pack listings and down to page 5. As mentioned they have moved address but we changed all the NAP listings.

However, they moved to a newly built house and when you look at street view it is still being built.

Could this be the problem?

 

[atalooseend]

My client is back in the 3 pack. Weirdly it coincided with me adding a security certificate to their website

 

[willieaames]

Might be you got backlinks from .com international domains instead of local sites.