Service Area Businesses with Hidden Address Missing from Google Search Map?

[Scott Rawlins]

For me, Austin TX Plumbers is showing a 3 pack and the only one showing on the map is one with an address showing. The other 2 are not showing on the map.

 

[Linda Buquet]

For me, Austin TX Plumbers is showing a 3 pack and the only one showing on the map is one with an address showing. The other 2 are not showing on the map.

BINGO! So glad you said that Scott.

My main browser is FF. And with FF I get a 7 pack with 4 hidden and 3 addresses.
But all have normal markers.

BUT with chrome I see what you do. The map looks like a one pack.
But it's a 3 pack with 2 hidden.

I just did a BUNCH of searches in FF and most packs were normal.

Now I'm thinking I need to run a bunch more with Chrome to doublecheck.

 

[Brian Barwig]

A bit of a follow up to my previous comment, I analyzed a few more local SAB's. Im still seeing some Map Packs which show zero SABs on maps, some which show SABs in the map with a circle pin and others which still show SABs on the map with a balloon pin.

Here is a screenshot of SABs with a fake address with no Map pin at all:



Here is a screenshot of SABs with a fake address with listings in the Map Pack with the circle pin.



If this is an algo update, it looks to still be in flux. As Phil mentioned, this could also be a glitch. Anyone else seeing similar things?

Edit: All of my searches were done in Chrome on desktop.

 

[heckler]

Map markers don't appear, but it makes me wonder if this was the end game for SAB from the change over a year ago (for desktop anyway).

When was the last time you could edit a feature for a SAB? 2-3 years ago? (I can't even remember)

 

[Scott Rawlins]

It's the same 3 pack for me in both Chrome and FF.

 

[Ben Bowen]

I am seeing this for my main SERP "Portland Landscapers". Our business, a SAB, has a round marker in the pack and is not present on the map. The other biz that have a physical location get a pin and do appear on the map. When you hover over my listing the flyout shows our service area- not just a pin on the map.

To me this makes sense. For my vertical I can't imagine it hurting me. No one wants to visit a landscaper, or cares where they are located. But I would imagine some verticals could see this as a disadvantage, as Linda mentioned above.

 

[Linda Buquet]

plumbers santee ca - 5 Pack. Only 2 on map - 3 hidden
(With both FF and Chrome)

So far I'm seeing no rhyme or reason as far as which packs are normal and which are this new hidden display or glitch.

 

[heckler]

I'm getting some interesting results by shifting the geo-modifer in the query.

'computer repair stevensville MI' vs 'stevensville MI computer repair'

One returns a 7-pack, the other a 3-pack. I can't seem to get this same kind of result by doing this with larger metros though.

But all markers are appearing (even those hidden).

 

[mborgelt]

This is definitely something I'm going to keep an eye on. While the ramifications (to click-through, search visibility) seem to be low, I wonder if this is a sign of bigger things to come. It seems differentiating and ranking with SAB's has been a struggle for Google. Hopefully whatever they end up doing will be a make-up call for some of the things that happened after Pigeon.

 

[Amber Robinson]

We deal with quite a few SABs. The issue I think we're going to have is that many of the listings with 'proper' pins actually should have round pins because they're operating from home. Meanwhile, our clients who've been successfully persuaded they should play by the rules and have a round pin are going to have their round pin disappear from the map while their competitors who are breaking the rules still appear.

I await calls of complaint from clients who have never liked not having the pin, and I anticipate some of them changing it back to a pin regardless of what we say.

I agree, Kate. It was like pulling teeth with one of our clients to convince them that following the rules is safer in the long run. But situations like this don't make that conversation any easier.

Fortunately I am not seeing the map issue for electricians right now. But if I search for plumbers I see the missing map markers.

Best thing we can do is let the client know before they let us know.

 

[CyberOcelot]

Hi All,

My first post here. Sorry for the bump of such an old thread, but I thought it would be handy for reference, since this issue has apparently resurfaced...

To clarify, I am the owner of an SAB called, "Foxhound Locksmith". It's suspected that this issue hit us on Tuesday, Aug 8, 2017. Other SABs brought this to my attention as they have been affected as well. What makes this so odd is that, if you search my business by name or home city (Locksmith Ringgold, GA), I appear just fine. However, once you search for a locksmith outside of my city limits, I have disappeared. To see what I'm seeing, do the following...

Search "Foxhound Locksmith" or "Locksmith Ringgold, GA" and you'll see I come up just fine. Then search "Locksmith Dalton, GA" and you'll see that only physical locksmiths appear and all SABs have been removed. I have checked most cities in my service area and I no longer list in any of their packs (Chattanooga, TN, Lafayette, GA, etc...)

I have attempted to contact GMB on numerous occasions and they insist it is an optimization issue on my end, but the locksmith who brought this to my attention has been top ranking for 4+ years and also has the same symptoms as me.

At this point, we're not sure what we should do. Should we make moves to convert our businesses to physical businesses? Should we just wait it out and hope Google catches on? Did Google make a change to how people should optimize that somehow knocked all the SABs out in one fell swoop?

I'm really desperate for help here guys. I only earned $48 in the last week as a result of this. Can anyone in the know please advise?

 

[JoyHawkins]

I believe this is because Home Service Ads just got launched in the Atlanta area. It cold be expanding rapidly but I can double-check. When this happens, every listing without a storefront gets removed from the 3-pack. See this write-up I did last year: Google's advanced verification test in San Diego just dropped over 89% of listings from the 3-pack

 

[heckler]

I believe this is because Home Service Ads just got launched in the Atlanta area. It cold be expanding rapidly but I can double-check. When this happens, every listing without a storefront gets removed from the 3-pack. See this write-up I did last year: Google's advanced verification test in San Diego just dropped over 89% of listings from the 3-pack

I didn't realize they were (essentially) forcing SABs to sign up for the HSA program. I suppose we have spammers to blame for this G behavior.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Yep, pretty much.

Sent from my XT1563 using Tapatalk

 

[CyberOcelot]

I believe this is because Home Service Ads just got launched in the Atlanta area. It cold be expanding rapidly but I can double-check. When this happens, every listing without a storefront gets removed from the 3-pack. See this write-up I did last year: Google's advanced verification test in San Diego just dropped over 89% of listings from the 3-pack

Thank you, Joy!

We suspected that may be the cause, as the other SAB was located much closer to Atlanta.

If this was the cause, do you have any advice to lend? We have considered adding signage to our homes and converting to physical By-Appointment-Only businesses. But we would, of course, prefer to be strictly SAB if possible.

Will our SABs return? Or are our chances of coming back to the organic packs gone forever?

 

[JoyHawkins]

So after reading the the thread over at the GMB forum where Tom was advising you, it looks like HSAs may not have rolled out to Dalton yet. That being said, I would anticipate that Google will continue to roll them out to more cities fairly quickly an when that happens, you would disappear from the local results if you don't have a storefront.

If you're okay with having your home address visible and putting signs out front, you should be fine given what I'm seeing at the present moment.

In your case, Tom pointed out that your listing is very new and that's probably why it got filtered out.

See this article for more on that: Is Google filtering your business in the local search results?

 

[CyberOcelot]

So after reading the the thread over at the GMB forum where Tom was advising you, it looks like HSAs may not have rolled out to Dalton yet. That being said, I would anticipate that Google will continue to roll them out to more cities fairly quickly an when that happens, you would disappear from the local results if you don't have a storefront.

If you're okay with having your home address visible and putting signs out front, you should be fine given what I'm seeing at the present moment.

In your case, Tom pointed out that your listing is very new and that's probably why it got filtered out.

See this article for more on that: Is Google filtering your business in the local search results?

Joy... Thank you SO MUCH for keeping an eye out for me, and for your advice. Of course, it's not preferred to have a sign on my home, but if it's necessary, I'm prepared to do so. I have already started work to convert a portion of the home for the business and to accept clients at my residence.

One final question, if you don't mind...

The sign I plan to create for the home will state that I am "By Appointment Only". This is of course to regulate traffic coming to my residence. But, more importantly, it's so that I can serve those that are locked out of cars and homes without making people wait in my driveway for me to return home.

Do you think Google will have a problem with that? Their terms state I need to have staff on-site during store hours to receive customers. But, I'm on call 24 hours a day.

 

[JoyHawkins]

This is where it gets tricky.

A SAB should set their hours based on the hours they receive calls. A storefront should set their hours based on the hours they are staffed at that location.


For listings for storefronts that are appointment-only (think of a massage therapist), they are permitted on Maps as long as they are staffed during stated hours.


So what you're describing is not allowed.

This is honestly why the entire SAB set up on Maps is a bit of a disaster and always has been.

This being said, I have absolutely no idea how Google plans to enforce any of these guidelines.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Hey Joy,

Is there a way for us to know where they're rolling out Home Service Ads so our clients are caught by surprise?

Also, does that mean SAB's have to pay to be in the map pack now if HSA is rolled out to them? Or will they be allowed in the map pack after advanced verification, just pushed down further below the advertisers?

 

[JoyHawkins]

Hey Joshua,

That would be nice to give us some warning. Unfortunately, I doubt Google will.

The HSA ad pack at the top of the page is paid but the regular 3-pack lower on the page will only list business listings with their addresses showing (so storefronts).

I added a ton of pages to the training guide this month explaining everything about HSAs so you should get a copy of that next week.

I work with someone in HVAC and it's not in his area yet but I've already warned him it's coming. Luckily he has a storefront already so this will help him.