Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Google My Business- Will a large service area dilute local search results?
-
I am considering adding our actual service area to our Google My Business profile, but I don't want this to dilute our local search results. As it is, we come up in the top 3 or so when searched in our HQ's city and several nearby cities when you search for us in Google Maps (although when I look at the top 10 organic for Google for some reason when you search for these cities + our keywords Google doesn't show any local results).
Our actual service area is fairly large, comprising the states of CA & Hawaii & parts of CO, AZ, and UT. I would be adding the service area by zip code rather than radius, as a radius wouldn't make any sense in this case (particularly considering the distance between HI and CA). Is it better to keep our relatively high ranking in local results? Will adding the service area not affect local results negatively?
Also, do you know why Google isn't showing me local results when I look for our keywords + our nearby cities? When I look for these keywords in larger cities like LA or San Diego, Google always shows me local results.
-
Hey Brett!
There are some nuances to this I want to be sure I'm understanding.
-
How many physical locations do you have? Are you saying that you have 1 physical location from which you are serving all of those states, or do you have physical locations in each of the states?
-
Are you meeting face-to-face with your customers in each of these states, either at your office or at their homes/businesses?
Please, answer these 2 questions as fully as possible.
Regarding instances in which Google does not show local results for a given query, this is based on their internal interpretation of what is most relevant. Google makes a decision about whether a searcher's intent is local or not, and also, they determine whether there is enough relevant local data to show on a given query. No one (but Google) knows all of the ins and outs of these decisions, but it's not something you can really influence. The important thing is to recognize whether Google is showing local or organic results for your core queries and then do everything you can to become dominant in those results, either via local or traditional marketing methods. Remember, too, that results are personalized - so you searching from Hawaii are not seeing the same results that your customer is searching from California

I'll look forward to your replies on questions 1 & 2.
-
-
Hi Brett. The biggest changes that you'll want to address / consider when working on this come from last July's Penguin update: http://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/google-algorithm-change (see: Penguin - July 24, 2014). Mainly that, "Google has released a new algorithm to provide a more useful, relevant and accurate local search results that are tied more closely to traditional web search ranking signals." It sounds like you'll want to create content on your site that does as well traditionally as your HQ content for: CA, Hawaii, CO, AZ, and UT. This will help spur your localized results on as well.
More in-depth on the disappearance, check: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2014/07/25/google-updates-local-algo-with-more-web-based-signals-turmoil-in-serps/, "In searches I follow there has been both ups, downs and the disappearance of the pack where it was previously prominent. In one case a detached listing which had been doing well both organically and locally but wasn’t in the pack returned to the pack."
It's likely your current listings will stay as long as you don't nuke content on your site. The addition of service areas else where matching additional content on site would be a natural fit. Cheers!
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Verifying Google My Business After An Address Change
Hello,
Local Listings | | Ben-R
We are trying to verify our Google My Business listing, however, the current unverified listing is using an old address we no longer have access to. The only option for verification is through the mail. We tried requesting an edit but it didn’t go through. Would the best option be to create a new one and try to have the old (unverified) listing removed? Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Best,0 -
Fighting spam on Google Maps
"Suggest an edit" on Google Maps works occasionally and so does Google's Redressal Form. Sending a DM to @GoogleMyBiz on Twitter does too. But it seems like the vast majority of spammy businesses that I report, go unnoticed by Google. I'd really appreciate hearing from some other SEOs on how they remove crap from the map, with better results. Thanks.
Local Listings | | Jason_Taylor0 -
Tracking Phone Numbers in Google My Business Listings and Beyond
Hey all, Wanted to run something by you. I am getting pressed to use tracking phone numbers for all of our GMB pages for over 100 locations across the country. Has anyone done this for their own listings or for their clients? Because I will have to do it for GMB, this means I will be sending these same phone numbers out to the other major directories and data sources around the web. The phone numbers do contain the local area code for each city and do directly connect our customers to their specific location without any kind of redirecting. How is Google looking at this? I have read before it is a no-no but have also read it is not a big deal. Any thoughts would be much appreciated! -Ben
Local Listings | | Davey_Tree0 -
How to verify Google My Business (GMB) account in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Hi folks, I know the majority of you are based in the US, so won't be experiencing the same problem as me. I have set up a Google My Business account for a company here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The only problem is that I can't verify it using the normal methods like a postcard being sent out as the UAE doesn't have a postal service, so there are no postcodes to target an address. Basically I go through the process of creating a GMB account, setting the address details and map marker, then try to verify the account by postcard (this is the only way). I wait 14+ days but still no postcard arrives for obvious reasons - no postal address! So - my question is, how do we get round this problem? I know it can be done as there are plenty of businesses out there in Dubai that are verified on Google maps and GMB. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Local Listings | | SeoSheikh0 -
How do you do Local SEO in a small town?
Good afternoon everyone! I wanted to start a discourse on a subject that I think might benefit a few select readers. What would be your best plan-of-action to successfully propose and execute a Local-SEO campaign for a small, local business in a rural town? The type of town that has next to zero local directories, the type of business that has hardly any (if any at all) "fresh mentions" on the internet, etc. I'm interested to see how other SEOs would handle tackling this kind of campaign. Can't wait to hear what people have to say!
Local Listings | | TaylorRHawkins
Thanks!
Taylor1 -
Google My Business - two locations but same name and phone
Hello, I manage SEO for an orthopaedic practice and I'm wondering what to do about their GMB listings. They have two locations, but I'm starting to think we shouldn't have separate GMB pages for the two locations because of the advice about other GMB questions I've been reading on this forum. I read a helpful response that said you must ensure the following if you want to create separate GMB listings: Unique name Unique address (even if only a suite / office number) Unique phone number Clearly different categories on Google My Business I can only ensure one of those - unique address. The business has the same name, phone number, and categories at both addresses. What should I do about this? I would think it's important to list both addresses so that patients can be guided to the appropriate location, but is there a way to do that with just one GMB listing? Thank you, Susannah
Local Listings | | SusannahK.Noel0 -
SEO - Should individual doctors at facility claim a Google My Business profile?
My client is a physician facility with several doctors practicing at the facility. When doing a Google search for some of their practices such as "family practice" one of the doctor's profiles will display in the Google Local pack - however it is not linked to the facility website where their profile exists. As of right now, we are using YEXT and other tools to claim Google Business Profiles for each practice, not the individual doctors. If there are unclaimed accounts for individual doctors, they are alerting Google that it’s a duplicate and should be taken down. Is this the right process to follow for SEO best practices or should we be claiming both the business and individual doctor profiles? The reason they are not claiming individual doctor profiles is to cut down on duplicate reviews as part of the Reputation Management Program. Advice much appreciated!
Local Listings | | chrisvogel0 -
My Evernote Notes showing up on Google Search page ?
I may just be living under a rock here in Reno, but tonight while doing a search (on desktop) for a phone number of a restaurant in Tahoe, Google served me a bunch of my Evernote notes along with my SERPS After the initial "WTFriday" moment, I realized that there was an "Evernote" bar above a series of images of what Google must think are related notes --- for example in a few weeks I am planning to take friends to Bliss & Rubicon - and I had saved the map in Evernote. Next to the map image were two notes related to daughters upcoming swim meet in South Tahoe. I did a similar search and this time a listing for hours at a local pool (near Tahoe) and two other documents came up. Since I live in Reno I thought it was odd to get all those Tahoe activities - but the fact that my Evernote on "Tahoe" things was there caught me off guard. The results were locate on the right hand where local business maps usually are -- the map and business info about the restaurant I was looking for appeared below that. ... while the left hand column features traditionals SERPs. . I am just trying to find out if I am late to the party on this ... or if serving data saved in my Evernote files is new... If anyone else has seen this, let me know. I could just be late to this. ...
Local Listings | | AJFanter0