How will Google Possum Algorithm change local SEO

How will Google Possum Algorithm change local SEO

The latest algorithm update, called by SEO experts s Possum algorithm affects the local search and appearance of the business listing. The ranking of 3 pack and local results are affected by the algorithm.

Many local businesses that have an office address outside the main city but found it difficult to get ranked in the searches. The Possum update is going to boost the local rankings of these businesses. This is good for the businesses as they can now get listed for the keywords including the city name for their services though they are having their physical address outside the city.

Google filters the results of the businesses with the same domain name or phone number. It only shows one or two search results. The latest Possum update is now filtering more such businesses. Now any business can not show up in the search results if they are located in the same building or if the owner is the same even if the business names are different etc.

The Google Possum update made the local search result filtering more sophisticated. There is no need to worry about dropping of local rankings as the update is not going to hurt the rankings. The rankings actually will go up organically for competitive keywords.

Separation between local and organic search

Local and organic search are drifting apart with the latest update. For example, in the past if the URL you were linking to in your GMB listing was filtered organically, it would have had a negative impact. Since the update, this no longer seems to be the case.

Many local businesses will likely see positive results from this, while businesses without a local market might face some competition for rankings.

Location and affiliation

Google is now filtering based on address and affiliation. For businesses that fall outside city limits, ranking for keywords that included that city name was difficult. Since Possum, these businesses have seen a huge spike in rankings.

Conversely, this may cause rankings to drop for clients with one main GMB listing and several affiliated GMB listings.

For example, we have a client who owns a clinic with a primary location, but has separate GMB listings for individual doctors. Google isn’t necessarily removing the listing or enforcing a penalty, but is simply picking the most relevant listing and filtering out the others that are too similar – in some cases, Google is suspected to be going as far as to find an affiliation by owner, even if addresses, phone numbers, websites and Google accounts are separate.

These listing haven’t disappeared, and can be viewed by zooming in further on the local finder.

The location of the user

If you’re searching from a different physical location other than that of the business, you’re likely going to encounter a completely different result. As a general rule of Possum: the further the distance, the lower the ranking. This is unsurprising as many local businesses are looking to optimize for “near me” searches, which doubled from 2014 to 2015.

Read more How does Google Possum Algorithm change search results

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How does Google Possum Algorithm change search results

Here are the changes the search engine giant has incurred through its Possum update:

1. Ranking Advantage For Businesses Beyond The City Limits

Previously, it was a major pain for businesses located outside the city limits to appear in the Local Pack Search Results. A lot of local establishments with their services within major cities and the brick and mortar locations outside the perimeters found it enormously tough to get listings in local searches. In spite of putting all their efforts in getting highly optimized accounts, they were stuck in ‘ranking purgatory’.

Possum has fixed the issue by making the geographical proximity of a business a less important factor to get top ranking. Now, a business that is not within the physical limit of a city but close to it can experience a huge spike in ranking as the algorithm has been running a proximity test prior to preparing the listing.

2. Filter Enhancement Based On Address And Affiliation

In local search, there are tons of businesses with multiple listings, which lead to the appearance of the same listing repeatedly in search results. Till the Possum update, Google used to detect such duplicate listings based on the phone numbers provided by the businesses or their domain names.

Now, Google has enhanced its local filters by adding two new dimensions – ‘address’ and ‘affiliation’ to them. It essentially means, if the physical addresses of multiple listings in the same category are similar, only the ‘best’ and the ‘most relevant’ one will be shown in search results whereas others will be filtered out.

However, Possum is not penalizing the other listings. Rather, it is simply working as an organic search algorithm to push other listings down lower in the SERPs and ensure a better user experience.

3. Listings Made Sensitive To The Locations Of Searchers

The geographical locations of the searchers were never so crucial for ranking in local search results before the launch of Possum. Earlier, it was only the keywords or the search terms which influenced search results heavily, but now, as the latest algorithm has changed, the physical location of the searcher matters the most.

Google has decided to offer an outstanding search experience to the mobile community with the help of this location-sensitivity. It is now using IP addresses of the searchers to provide tailored search results and hence, it has become of utmost importance to set the right location in order to trigger the most accurate listings.

4. Search Results Affected By Slight Keyword Variations

In the past, two different searches with almost similar terms used to yield same results in local searches. The scenario has changed these days as Google has turned finicky about even the slightest variations in search terms with Possum.

As the local listings have become extremely sensitive to keyword changes, the results are also varying widely for two slightly different search terms. So, make sure that you test and evaluate your Local SEO efforts by using multiple iterations of a particular key phrase and pick the one with the maximum search volume.

5. Local Search Filter Precedence Over Organic Search Filter

Before the arrival of Possum, Google’s local search filter was dependent on its organic search filter. As a result, a lot of businesses, linked to certain websites which are filtered out from the organic results, were listed out from local search results.

The change in algorithm has separated local search filter from the organic search filter in order to facilitate its independent functionalities. Hence, businesses with poor listings in SERPs can now achieve good rankings in local search results.

Read more How will Google Possum Algorithm change local SEO

_______________________________________________________________________________

Please contact us for seo service packages at TDHSEO.COM.

TDHSEO Team

Email: tdhseo@gmail.com
Skype: tdhseo
https://www.facebook.com/tdhseo

Thank you!