Google may also have pushed an update to the local search rankings around September 7th. This is in addition to his helpful content updates from August 25th through his September 9th and his September 2022 core update which started on September 12th. Let’s not forget, we are on the verge of his fifth product review update.
A thread on the local search forums has many local SEOs reporting changes in client rankings around September 7th. Note that this has nothing to do with core updates or helpful content updates and is likely an issue in and of itself.
Joy Hawkins, a seasoned local SEO, said on the forums that “we’ve heard a few instances like this recently” where local rankings have changed significantly. “Analyzing a drop in ranking is very time consuming and requires a fairly in-depth knowledge of your site, your business and your competitors, so I hesitate to offer advice on this.Is your organic ranking dropping as well? I’d recommend checking if it’s just local pack rankings,” she added.
Some say this is only affecting local packs and not other organic search results. A person said.
Another company said it removed the listing from its local pack two days later, on September 9th. “This issue occurred prior to that as he can confirm it occurred on Friday September 9, 2022,” they wrote. Someone else said it was Sept 6th but “I have a SAB client but it completely dropped from maps and local map packs as well. Drops started Sept 6th and now all reported zero GBP views,” they wrote.
Here’s a chart from that story, shared by Adam DiFrisco on the forums.
Local SEO Jason Brown writes: Instead, you’ll see a similarly named business with your address displayed. ”
Some say it was a temporary glitch. “I noticed some listings like this on Friday. I just thought it was a glitch and thought it would go away soon. I remember some of the listings being back to normal today. .” But others still have problems.
Again, this thread is full of examples of significant changes in Google local search rankings. Check it out on your local search forum.
Service Area Business (SAB) route icons appear on Google Maps, but they do not work. Perhaps this is related to all the insane variations seen in SAB. something is broken… pic.twitter.com/iJq66XGTV4
— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) September 14, 2022
Have you noticed any changes in your or your client’s local rankings?
Forum discussion in local search forums.
Update: A fix is coming soon:
A fix for the SAB issue causing Google rankings to fall off the map is in progress and we don’t have a definitive timeline, but it will be out soon. @rustybrick
— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) September 16, 2022
Update 2: Resolving now – details here:
If you were affected by a recent version of the Kansas bug, it looks like a fix is out. https://t.co/QLTXuXzDhL
— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) September 23, 2022
