Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant Flux

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Bumpity bump.

Since I did the post above at dinner time last night, some may have missed it.

 

[Louis Nava]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Thanks for the update Linda, this is pretty interesting.

I saw your post last night, went to check on listings then so wrapped up in it I forgot to come back and comment. The joys of internet distractions. LOL

I haven't seen much non-favorable activity. Most of the listings I am responsible for are pretty stable. One client in particular stays at #1 while the rest shuffle around.

All this data is great and it gives some food for thought. But I think for many it's all about "what are the action steps?", or "what do we do now?" , "Do we do something about it or do we wait?"

You can't go wrong with those best practices you teach. It's what has saved me from not having to worry too much about the craziness of the flux. Much Thanks.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

All this data is great and it gives some food for thought. But I think for many it's all about "what are the action steps?", or "what do we do now?" , "Do we do something about it or do we wait?"

You can't go wrong with those best practices you teach. It's what has saved me from not having to worry too much about the craziness of the flux. Much Thanks.

You are very welcome Louis and yes that's exactly right! Just keep working on those best practices. Many of my clients are holding steady in the A spot too.

It's just when Pigeon lays a big turd like it did on Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney, putting 2 fake KW stuffed names listings for the same attorney at the top of the pack. That knocked out 2 attorneys that ARE playing by the rules. So when that happens, you are just at the mercy of the Pigeon.

But the good news is this algo won't last forever, so in the meantime work on the things you CAN control because you can't control the Pigeon. Having said that, maybe it's time to say the "Serenity Prayer"!

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference. ​

Amen!

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Joshua, meant to say too...

Good to know others are following Seattle Chiro like I do. And I do it specifically because I know there are some aggressive spammy marketers there.

Thanks for investigating Freemont. I thought it must be some kind of penalty but assumed if they were penalized on the organic side they would not rank in blended either. That's the way it worked pre-Pigeon, but Pigeon let's a lot of listings rank that would not have before.

I only follow it because you do

Pre-Pigeon I still saw Penguin penalized sites ranking in the local results. Whether they were blended or not, I have no idea. I quit trying to figure out blended vs pack when blended and pack results because visually identical (that happened, right?). It was too cumbersome for my brain at the time haha.

So, I can't vouch for whether they showed in blended or in pack, I just know that they still showed in local results, whichever they were.

Not very helpful, I know.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

So, I can't vouch for whether they showed in blended or in pack, I just know that they still showed in local results, whichever they were.

To me blended and the pack are the same thing. The pinned pack results are blended results. But I use the terms interchangeably sometimes, so maybe it's confusing.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

To me blended and the pack are the same thing. The pinned pack results are blended results. But I use the terms interchangeably sometimes, so maybe it's confusing.

I don't think it is confusing. I just remember when "blended" and "pure" were different. Are there any "pure" left anymore? Are they all "blended" now?

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Opinions were still differing on that pre-Pigeon. Post-Pigeon who knows.

I was just meaning that the way I talk about it, I don't make the distinction.

To me there is just pure organic or pack results, which I also refer to as blended sometimes.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Heads up for those who use the AdPreview tool, it is producing pre-pigeon Google+ Local results. HT to Nikki for pointing this out to me https://plus.google.com/105756066114957454721

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Opinions were still differing on that pre-Pigeon. Post-Pigeon who knows.

I was just meaning that the way I talk about it, I don't make the distinction.

To me there is just pure organic or pack results, which I also refer to as blended sometimes.

Ahh, good to know. Makes sense to me.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

See this new post for actionable advice.

<a href="http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/google-local-important/22174-pigeon-algo-advice-top-experts-checklist.html">Pigeon Algo: Advice from Top Experts and a Checklist</a>

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Brian Barwig did some deep analysis - mainly looking at backlinks as a Pigeon ranking factor. That's something I've been pondering but have not taken time to research yet and I've seen others speculate about this as well.

But he does some other deep analysis too, so his post is worth checking out!

<a href="http://www.integratedigitalmarketing.com/pigeon-algorithm-analysis/">Pigeon Algorithm Analysis | IntegrateDigitalMarketing</a>

 

[Brian Barwig]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Thanks for posting my analysis, Linda! I appreciate it.

I think more analysis is needed but there could be some correlation between links and ranking in the new algorithm. Im interested to see what other people have analyzed/think about this.

As with Nikki, I work closely with the insurance and self storage markets which is the reason I analyzed those so heavily.

 

[steven]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Interesting analysis. Seems worth my time to investigate in my niches, so I'll try my best to do just that.

 

[Dialady]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Wow! It might be all about links again. Linda, can you clarify what he means by "links back to Landing Pages?"

Thanks!!

Theresa

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Wow! It might be all about links again. Linda, can you clarify what he means by "links back to Landing Pages?"

What who means? Brian in that last article I linked to?

I assume he means backlinks to the landing page.

HOWEVER, it's not just all about backlinks I can tell you that for sure.

If so why are there listings in the A spot that are unclaimed and have no site at all?

Why are there listings that rank A and do not rank in organic at all? If it was just about links they the top spots would also be ranking high in organic.

So don't put all your eggs in the BL basket because 1) You still need to be very careful about how you get BLs. 2) Pigeon won't last for long and will settle into something more stable I hope. When the final iteration of the algo shows up it could be different than what we see today. AND what we see today is flip flopping all over the place anyway.

 

[Brian Barwig]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Sorry for the confusion. I meant links back to the landing page.

I also agree with Linda - it is not all about links because there are some websites listed which are simply G+ pages or even parked domains! I dont think links are the end all be all like they were in previous years, but I do think they are more important than they were 1 year ago, even.

Im interested to see any other conclusions/hypothesis and results come from other tests. I dont think this algo is niche by niche but as I said, more testing is needed.

 

[HurricaneK8]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

I'm finally starting to see clients effected by Pigeon. Has anyone seen anything in the organic yet? We have a home inspector in Tulsa who has never had map placement (NAP mit-match hell....) but previously had great organic placement. He's now dropped off from the TOP of page 1 to PAGE 3 for "Home Inspector Tulsa".

One thing I noticed is that the first page is now filled with homepage urls only + 2 directories (BBB & Yelp). His url is a sub-page as he's part of a HUGE franchise, which we've previously been able to leverage to get more links/citations etc. Now that he's off the organic SERPs on page 1, I'm going to try to clean up NAP mis-match... but the map results are all over the place. There's only 3 results from Tulsa out of 7!

Has anyone noticed anything on the organic side?

I had the thought last night that it's almost like they turned an algorithm/filter OFF... not added a new one.

 

[Brian Barwig]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

I havent noticed much change in the organic rankings lately. Most of the searches appear to be directories or larger brands while the Map Pack is a mess.

One of the searches I constantly use is "Cleveland Car Insurance" simply because the Map Pack is a disaster. I noticed this morning that the results are a bit different and the Parked Domain - cheapautoinsurance2010.com - has now been removed. Only the URL has been removed though. It is still ranking 2nd in the Map Pack but now instead of the website being listed, the G+ page is listed.

Here is a screenshot:



The organic results and Map Pack hasnt really changed other than that. Other searches Ive been monitoring look to be similar as well.

 

[Celeste]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

One strange thing I have noticed is categories of keywords that used to present in local search results (and enable my clients to gain exposure) no longer present in local search results. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Linda Buquet]

Re: Pigeon Analysis - New Insights about this Crazy Google Local Algo & the Constant

Are you talking no local pack results at all for some keywords, Celeste?

Yes that's been discussed a lot. Real estate and divorce attorney type keywords are 2 of the most notable local queries where packs have gone missing.

Many other packs were reduced from 7 to 3.