Google rolled out a brand-spanking new algorithm for their local listings. It appears that local listings are now tied more closely to traditional SEO signals, something we had been hoping for, for quite a while. Though the dust still appears to be settling, we are seeing several major changes. DUI attorneys, mold removal and real estate agents have all taken hits. These changes will be visible on all search platforms
Unfortunately for those businesses who were enjoying the fruits of their previous local listing rankings may have to go back to the drawing board and see what they’ll have to do next to fix their presence. We recommend monitoring your leads acquisition closely.
Please bear in mind that your visibility now appears to be affected more by your local searches. Thus having a gmail account, and being logged into it, will affect search results more dramatically.
Google did let us know that LSI (latent semantic indexing) continues to play a big role in the ranking factors. Items such as spelling correction, synonyms and more will determine rank. Google also allegedly improved the distance and location parameters.
Currently the algo is only rolling out for English keywords with google.com. Other countries have not been updated.
