Google’s main focus is to provide the best and most relevant search results to its users, and local search is no different. It’s no surprise that Google is at it again with its most recent update to join Panda and Penguin – the Pigeon update – released in late July 2014. Pigeon is an update to the Google local search ranking algorithm used to provide accurate and relevant local search results for Google users.
The Impact of Pigeon: 7 Packs and Referrals
The affects of the Pigeon update can be seen on the Google search pages as well as on Google Maps. You may also notice changes in Google local results “7 Packs”. These are the search results that are provided with the business’ name, address and phone number, along with a pinpoint on the Google map provided on results pages. Some businesses have fallen off the 7 pack for local searches. Some 7 packs aren’t even 7 packs anymore. The lists have also been cut down to provide the best local results and also improving distance and location parameters for results.
Business owners may also notice increases or decreases in organic search referral traffic to your site as well as local search rankings on Google SERPs. The hospitality, food and education industries have benefited from the update. Some industries that have been negatively impacted by the Pigeon update are real estate, insurance, finance, and furniture, dropping in rankings.
What’s a Local Business To Do?
It’s suggested to continue covering organic SEO basics, like optimizing your website for search engines and link building to rank in local search result pages. If you’re already doing this as part of your strategy, your business may actually see an improvement due to the update. Giving your keywords another look to make sure they are optimized for local geographical search would be helpful too. Make sure to claimed your business on Google Places and Yelp, and fully included your address on your website and social media profiles (Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). Also continue to manage your local online listings, making sure they have they are all consistent and have the correct information. If you have your SEO basics covered and are sticking to white hat SEO practices, then there should be no reason to worry.
