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.
Local Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries Disappearing from Google Maps when Plurals used.
-
This is the second time I have posted this question and never got a satisfactory result.
I have an SEO client in Tacoma Wa and when you type (Dispensaries Near Tacoma they are in the Top 3 snack pack and the Google maps shows 20 other similar businesses. However, when you search (Dispensary Near Tacoma) only 3 or 5 recreational marijuana shops show up and my client disappears. Someone earlier suggested it could be because of the categories selection, but that can't affect ALL the other shops and like I said it happens in other cities. for example Dispensary Near Olympia vs Dispensaries Near Olympia. I have the full write up and pictures and diagrams on my blog. Please HELP! This could affect your future clients also.
https://isenselogic.com/local-business-disappearing-on-google-maps-when-plurals-used/
-
The issue might be with how Google's algorithm treats singular versus plural keywords differently, which is a bit of a curveball. Maybe tweaking the SEO strategy or getting an expert to look into it could shed some light on this weirdness.
-
Yes, I was able to contact Google Support via Google My Business. They somehow fixed it on their end. However, I still see the same problem with similar searches. For example Google (Pot Stores Tacoma Wa), and then Google (Pot Store Tacoma WA). On the first search, only three businesses show, on the second search ALL the businesses show. I am googling from out of state so distance and centroid shouldn't affect the SERPS>
-
Well Well What do you know, 2 days after blasting this issue all over the internet it MIRACULOUS fixed itself
Actually, I contacted Google Support through Google My Business Login they have an email and a live chat feature where you can voice your concerns. Now what was that about not being able to change Google SERPS you were saying????
Now google Dispensary Near Tacoma and Dispensaries Near Tacoma all the businesses show. how about that.
-
Thank you for your response. The category cannot be the factor because other dispensaries in Tacoma with the same category are disappearing on the same query. For example, Mary Mart, and clear choice cannabis both disappear from maps and they have the same category as the ones showing up when you search dispensary near Tacoma. I have tested this in multiple cities and it happens in each one. The reason this is such a big issue is according to MOZ keyword research Dispensary Near Me is the number one searched term. I am in contact with Google My Business Support and I will let you know their response soon.
Another point that I would like to make Dispensary Near Me is the number search term BECAUSE GOOGLE MADE it the number one autocomplete word when people are driving and searching on their mobile phone. To erase 90 percent of similar businesses is unfair and anti-competitive.
-
Good Morning, Isenselogic,
I totally understand the frustration here, but it sounds to me like you need to have an important conversation with this client regarding the fact that no SEO has the ability to control Google's presentation of its data. For whatever reason, Google considers your client more relevant to the plural form of this search than to the singular form, and they also feel that the user is best served by the more limited results for the latter. Google has always treated singular and plural keywords differently, and in local, they do all kinds of zoom variations based on perceived intent and user location. If the client is expecting you to change Google's mind about this, then this is an unreasonable expectation and one you need to sit down and talk them out of, if you can. SEOs can implement best practices but do not control SERPs.
That being said, one thing I do notice looking at those two sets of SERPs is that the 3 showing up for the singular keyword phrase have selected a different primary category than your client. Your client is listed as an "herb shop" and they are all listed as "cannabis stores". So, one experiment you could do would be to see if changing your client's primary category would vary the way they are being displayed. But, of course, before you dive into doing that, you need to let the client know that changing primary categories can seriously alter rankings. So, you'd need to present this as an experiment and then track results and see how it went. If, however, Google is tied to the idea that they only want to show 3 results for that particular phrase, then you cannot guarantee that the client will be one of the 3 and you can't "convince" Google to show more than 3 results if they want to show 3 of them.
Theoretically, if your client is stronger (in all of the various ranking factors) than any of the results in that set, changing their primary category could cause them to displace one of the 3 competitors, but be sure you're setting the client's expectations properly by telling them you can't guarantee anything. If the client won't be reasonable about this, it may be time to end the contract.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
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
-
Local Landing Page Optimization and Multiple GMB Listings
Hello, We’re building out a site for our business that has close to 100 office locations in different cities. Many of these are ‘partner brands’ that we have acquired under our brand. Similar to a franchise model. We want to be able to help users find offices near their location. Each office will have it’s own landing page with a physical address and contact information. We know we’ll have to build out unique copy and markup customized to the office/location. We’ve already read through https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/blog/overcoming-your-fear-of-local-landing-pages as well. We’re also considering ‘silos’ to build out pages for each location. To preserve authority and avoid cannibalization; our thought was having each location as sub-folders off of our domain (i.e. domain.com/locations/Partner#1/). The other option would be using a sub-domain (i.e. Partner.Domain.com/) which we noticed competitors doing and treating each sub-domain as their own independent site. Is all of the above the correct strategy? Any further suggestions? Should we fill out a separate GMB for each office and should they all use the same brand name? (in other words “BrandA” vs. “BrandA” - Brooklyn Office). In addition to GMB; would each location need local listings created (also all under the same name)? Any help or insight would be very much appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from all of you! Thank you in advance. Best,
Local Listings | | Ben-R0 -
Radius Size around GMB location for google local search
We are a digital marketing agency Our clients are (virtually all) retail automotive dealerships. We compete in various market places coast to coast (USA). Since Google puts retail automotive dealerships under Local SEO umbrella, is it known ( published ) how large is the radius around my client's Google My Business rooftop's address? How wide is their search 'reach' according to Google? Asked another way, in a triangular, three SEO geo area, with one city being at the epicenter of the population dispersion, and my client, versus my client's competitors being different distances from where the majority of the population emanates from, all other SERP factors being equal (assumption) between the two competitors, how far is each clients REACH from a Local Search standpoint. Is this known? Published by Google. ONE example: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/BMW+of+South+Albany,+U.S.+9W,+Glenmont,+NY/42.7662693,-73.8138088/@42.6727121,-73.7993527,12z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x89dde0fe8829c405:0xd915fb9b3b60bf33!2m2!1d-73.7973301!2d42.589211!1m0!3e0
Local Listings | | GaryT_SEO1 -
How do I treat multiple buildings on the same college campus on Google for local SEO?
Should I delete them? Simply give them a different address like "City, State, Zip"? I see the benefit of having key buildings on campus in Google Maps, but I don't want those to affect my accuracy score and, thus, my local rankings for SEO.
Local Listings | | GabeGibitz1 -
Another Business is Using My Client's Address
This morning my client contacted me that another business is using their address as their own! They received a Google verification postcard with pin number on it, but luckily had the foresight to not give it to the person when they called. After some research, we also found out that they are using our address on Facebook and LinkedIn as well. The kicker is: this business is another SEO firm! You would think they would know that using our address would cause NAP issues for their own business. Has anyone dealt with another business trying to hijack their address for local rankings? Any advice on steps to take to report this abuse would be appreciated. Since this person is obviously unscrupulous, we don't want to provoke them into taking any other negative action online that could affect our business.
Local Listings | | IlluminousGwen0 -
Do You Know What's Triggering Your Local Packs?
Hey To All My Local Pals, Here 🙂 Recently, I watched a totally fascinating LocalU video in which Mike Blumenthal introduced a hypothesis that there may be a way to analyze what, specifically, is triggering a specific local pack. Now, Mike is stating that correlation is not causation in explaining this, but basically what he starts talking about at around 4:40 in the video is that what you are seeing rank well in the local packs may be demonstrably caused by what you see ranking organically beneath the pack, or may be caused by totally different signals. Mike says, _"If you're seeing the top 10 results are all IYP industry sites, and there's a pack showing, and the highest local site is 24 or something in organic, it's unlikely that that's what's triggering the pack. And so then you want to look at third-party triggers and see if that's what's actually triggering the pack." _ Obviously, all of us who do Local are familiar with the idea that a tremendous variety of elements contribute to pack rankings, but I am particularly intrigued by the idea of looking at the organic result beneath a pack and determining that there is little or no correlation between them, and this then driving one to look elsewhere for contributing factors. In a recent response to another thread here on Q&A, I discussed some common local pack ranking failure causes when organic rank is high. What I'd love to see is whether, if you look at some of your clients' desired packs, can you tell if organic signals are driving them, or can you see that it's not organic signals driving the pack, as Mike suggests. What, in those cases, does appear to be driving the packs? I'd be so interested in a discussion on this. What do you see? What do you think of Mike's suggestions?
Local Listings | | MiriamEllis9 -
Should I change my local listing Service type from Brick and Mortar to Service Area in Google? And will it affect my ranking in a negative manner?
Currently my company Big Boy Bail Bonds, Inc is ranking very well for the city it is located and, currently service type is brick and mortar. But my Company does not only service people at our location but we service the entire county of Los Angeles. And I wanted to know if you would advise me on weather I should change the service type from brick and morter to service area. and if doing that would effect me in a negative manner when it came to my ranking? Plz advice Thank you in advance.
Local Listings | | LittleDog1 -
Why I'm I ranking so low on Google Maps
About 3 months I started a website (www.guyetteroofing.com) for my roofing business in Montgomery, Alabama. The site is still a work in progress, however, because the competition doesn't really market via internet it was fairly easy to rank on Google Maps. Within 1 month the business was letter "A" in Google Maps. About 3 three weeks ago my ranking was dropped considerably, not showing up at all in letters A through G. The business is still indexed in Google Maps, but only represented by a small red dot. My website is still ranking pretty high for "roofers in Montgomery", but my position on Google Maps has all but disappeared. I have no idea what I've done to be rank so low on Google Maps but still have a solid position on regular Google Search. I've checked my citations and my NAPs, there are a few inconsistencies but nothing major. How can I rank so far below my competition if I have twice as many citations, an actual website, and a Google Plus page?
Local Listings | | billyguyette0 -
How can I manually build local citations for a client?
Note: I am not interested in paying for services to build citations for me. I am managing building a client's citations. On many sites I am asked to create an account and verify my information. I have tried to create accounts using my client's email address and specified password so that they can manage their citations down the road should their NAP change. However, many sites require further verification such as security questions or a phone code. It isn't practical or effective to ask a client to confirm and verify all of these accounts. What is the most effective way to manually build local citations for a client? How can I get around the issue of email and phone verification?
Local Listings | | BlairKuhnen0
