Main Category Change Plummeted Map Rankings and Traffic

[luischavez0104]

Hi,
One of our clients was noticing that some of his competitors were using the waste management service main category for their GBP. Our client is part of a Junk Removal Franchise Home. We did some research and found that based on Google trends waste management company does have more volume than garbage collection service (which was the main category). A few days later we ended up changing the category back (per his request) as we noticed there was a sharp decline in traffic and leads. I read an article saying that rankings do end up recovering after switching the main category back after changing it to an unrelated category.
Does anyone have a timeline where they've noticed a recovery after a main category change, or any ideas we can do in the meantime. I suggested to upload photos, create posts, ask questions and respond to reviews in the meantime.
Thanks!
The Junkluggers of Berks, Chester, & Lancaster

The Junkluggers of Berks, Chester, - Google Search

 

[Colan Nielsen]

You should see things go back to the way they were 24 to 48 hours after changing the category back. How much time has passed in this case?

 

[luischavez0104]

You should see things go back to the way they were 24 to 48 hours after changing the category back. How much time has passed in this case?

Hi Colan,
Thank you for responding! It's been about a week.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Were any other changes made to the website or GBP before the ranking dropped or after changing the category the first time?

 

[luischavez0104]

Hi,
There were no GBP or website changes before or during the category change. There were some PPC updates a few weeks prior but besides that no.

 

[keyserholiday]

I suspect that they might be a victim of the latest Kansas bug. Did the rankings drop off on Sept 7th? I changed my IP to their area and address and can't find them in the local finder. When I searched for Junkluggers of berks, I got another franchise and your client's location was listed below their KP. This is what I am seeing a lot with this bug.

 

[luischavez0104]

Hi jason, the traffc did drop on september 7th.

 

[keyserholiday]

Hi jason, the traffc did drop on september 7th.

That is the new Kansas SAB bug then and not the category change. Google is aware of the issue and working on fixing it. There is no eta on a solution.

 

[luischavez0104]

That is the new Kansas SAB bug then and not the category change. Google is aware of the issue and working on fixing it. There is no eta on a solution.

Thank you so much! At least there is a reason this happening.

 

[luischavez0104]

Hi, we have noticed that if you search their name directly then you can find their listing. But if there is any variation or the location isn't exactly where we sent the postcard then it's not showing. We noticed that another service area Junklugger is showing up in search instead of them that wasn't affected by the bug. I submitted a ticket to google and they just said to make sure the listing is live.
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