Trending [November 5, 2019 Local Algorithm Update] Unexplained big drops in GMB rankings

[gabagoon]

Prepare for another roller coaster is all I am going to say. This one won't be as big as the first update you felt, but it's still going to get a lot of people talking again.

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

I heard that most businesses are back to normal. Does anyone know whether that is true?

 

[kurtztay123]

What's everyone seeing? A site of mine that was #1 in map packs for years now fell off for 3 days, bounced back, and has fallen off again past 3 days. Not sure what the issue is, the profile is completely 100% accurate, regular posts, photo uploads, accurate info, plenty of reviews, etc. Not sure how this could not be what Google wants?

What is everyone else seeing and what software is everyone using to track map location rankings? I am using SEMRush below, using the map pack filter, and my company is the green line.

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

What's everyone seeing? A site of mine that was #1 in map packs for years now fell off for 3 days, bounced back, and has fallen off again past 3 days. Not sure what the issue is, the profile is completely 100% accurate, regular posts, photo uploads, accurate info, plenty of reviews, etc. Not sure how this could not be what Google wants?

What is everyone else seeing and what software is everyone using to track map location rankings? I am using SEMRush below, using the map pack filter, and my company is the green line.

We are the same. But we have seen movement in the top 3 over the last 24 hours, and we moved up for a couple of searches (back into the three pack for 2 of the 4 searches we track most closely, but not at #1 when we were before, and not in the three pack for the two phrases that matter the most to us).

But we are hoping that some movement means that the current results aren't final.

We did see another major competitor drop completely out of the three pack (overnight) down to #20 or so. They have been doing everything right for years.

 

[Aimee Jurenka]

I heard that most businesses are back to normal. Does anyone know whether that is true?

Not me. I'm in the senior living industry and we tanked on the all three major fluctuation dates. The number one listing in Dallas that replaced our listing is a spam listing for "Dallas Assisted Living" that is attached to a public library for the website and the phone number. Makes zero sense to me.

 

[Tim Colling]

We work with companies of all sorts that provide services to the elderly and their families. We have seen many clients' local rankings get hit in the past month and there is no sign yet of any recovery for them.

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

We work with companies of all sorts that provide services to the elderly and their families. We have seen many clients' local rankings get hit in the past month and there is no sign yet of any recovery for them.

Have you found any solutions that have helped improve their rank?

 

[Tim Colling]

We have noticed that in a number of cases, there are newly-visible fake listings that are in the local pack for the first time, so we have been filing redressal reports on those situations. Other than that, we haven't found any white hat solutions.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Yep, seeing changes here too. This is one that originally jumped up from position 9 to position 2. Google is now not showing local results at all for this keyword so the client is showing as 51+ position. This is using BrightLocal.

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

Yep, seeing changes here too. This is one that originally jumped up from position 9 to position 2. Google is now not showing local results at all for this keyword so the client is showing as 51+ position. This is using BrightLocal.

We saw a 3 pack disappear too, for a competitive but less volume search phrase.

 

[MarianoF]

I am up and down every 3 days while my competitors are more stable. I am the green line

 

[kurtztay123]

I am up and down every 3 days while my competitors are more stable. I am the green line

This is nearly exactly what I'm seeing, 2-3 day dips, followed by a return to normal for day or two, then another 2-3 day dip. Really only for local map rankings though, organic holding strong.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Jason Parks sent me this on Twitter. It's a really interesting theory. Are you guys seeing this trend where the listing in the 1st position isn't changing but positions 2-3 are?

Swapasaurus GMB Theory

What if Google decided that the three Google Map rankings that were displayed weren’t a mainstay? They were essentially going to swap in and out different local businesses at different times?

www.themediacaptain.com

 

[Tim Colling]

Are you guys seeing this trend where the listing in the 1st position isn't changing but positions 2-3 are?

I don't think we're seeing that, really.

 

[Matthew Summers]

Jason Parks sent me this on Twitter. It's a really interesting theory. Are you guys seeing this trend where the listing in the 1st position isn't changing but positions 2-3 are?

I can't say I'm seeing that precise pattern - and even in the "Swapasaurus" article, his second example doesn't quite match that pattern either.

However, I really wonder if he's on the right track about this being the new normal, rather than a long algorithm update. Algorithms don't usually take this long to roll out - am I correct?

Some possibilities:

• The local algorithm is now more reliant on signals that vary considerably from day to day
• The local algorithm is running a lot more extreme tests
• It's not an update at all, it's something going haywire in Google's infrastructure. (Though if that were the case, you'd think they'd have fixed it by now.)

I might be way off base here, but it's worth considering.

 

[Fabiano]

Hi. This is my first post here. I'm a new user, and it's really nice to meet you all. I'm writing from Brazil and I found you guys exactly because I was searching for an explanation about this volatility thing that's spread all over the gmb structure. The same thing is happening here in this part of the world, with many spam listings taking the first positions on the map. Just for the record, however, I saw a change today with no spams hitting the top, but of course it's still too early to say if that's already settled or not.

 

[ray]

Hi we have seen a massive drop yesterday from number 1 to number 40 after years of being on top and our organic ranks are still number 1 there is no clear pattern and seems that some ads that do not deserve the rank are pulling up instead dose not feel like an update looks more like a mass of spam and data making the results go crazy anyone has any true real input its almost a month to this mess.....

 

[IMP]

What's everyone seeing? A site of mine that was #1 in map packs for years now fell off for 3 days, bounced back, and has fallen off again past 3 days. Not sure what the issue is, the profile is completely 100% accurate, regular posts, photo uploads, accurate info, plenty of reviews, etc. Not sure how this could not be what Google wants?

What is everyone else seeing and what software is everyone using to track map location rankings? I am using SEMRush below, using the map pack filter, and my company is the green line.

I'm experiencing the same. The business was #1 for years, fell off, came back now slide back out to around P 7-9.

 

[IMP]

Jason Parks sent me this on Twitter. It's a really interesting theory. Are you guys seeing this trend where the listing in the 1st position isn't changing but positions 2-3 are?

Swapasaurus GMB Theory

What if Google decided that the three Google Map rankings that were displayed weren’t a mainstay? They were essentially going to swap in and out different local businesses at different times?

www.themediacaptain.com

Joy I didn't see this article but was starting to theorize this. Either the algo is still updating, or the new algo may be where there is a rotation. I have a client that was #1 then dropped out then back to #1 then has dropped out again...

 

[Tim Colling]

Sorry, but I think we're all just flaunching and flailing about here, trying to guess without very much success.

The only certain way to show up on page 1 is to buy Google ads, sometimes at enormous expense.

But that's just a coincidence.