Launched Date= 1 September 2016
2016 was a great
year for local Search. Many companies have started using local search
engine optimization techniques to take advantage of Google's 3 pack local
search results. Local search Engine Optimization Technique is one of the most
popular trends in the SEO industry since the mobile revolution.
The update,
which SEO teams have dubbed Possum, has transformed local results. To give you
an idea of the scale, nearly 65% of the local SERPs were affected by the
update, compared to the Google Penguin update, which covered only 3% of
websites.
Unlike Penguin,
Possum is not a punishment for companies trying to pass suspicious practices to
Google's algorithm. Instead, this change is a fundamental shock in the way
local listings are presented. This is the main reason why many businesses are
affected and virtually guarantees that yours will be affected as well.
Four things to know about Possum to determine whether it will have positive or negative
affect on your traffic.
The Focused of
Possum update was included in the local SERP search results ranking, that is,
on the search engine results page.
Possum, unlike
most other updates, only affects the results of local search. This means that
if you try to rank # 1 for a keyword and you do not worry about the location,
Possum will probably not affect anything.
Benefits of Possum Update
It's easier to rank companies that Situated at the
border of city
In the past,
local SEO professionals had regrets for having difficulty ranking clients in a
specific city if their business address was outside the city limits.
For example, if
a dentist is located very close to the Chicago border, but still outside of
Chicago, this poor dentist will have a hard time qualifying in the local 3 pack
for a search term as a "Chicago dentist" ".
This did not
seem right for many small business owners because, after all, businesses near a
city often have customers living there. It is therefore logical that they can
achieve them through the results of local research.
But for a moment,
Google did not move. Businesses simply could not be ranked in the local results
if their address was not within the city limits.
The Google
algorithm uses a proximity test to determine if the company is qualified for
ranking. Thus, if a company is close to a city, it can be classified with the
name of that city.
In other words,
the update really makes business classification easier. This is a change from
many of the algorithm updates we have seen in the past that tend to lower lists
in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The location is important
The new Possum
update makes local search results dependent on the location of the search
engine.
In the past,
search results were more focused on search terms. Google now uses the IP
address of the person doing the search to provide more accurate results in the
local package 3.
It is important
to understand that if you perform some sort of local SEO for another company.
Your quality control team must prove your work as a user in the region of the
company and not just prove it by searching on Google for the name of the
company and its location.
In addition, the
further a user moves away from a specific location, the further the Google map
moves away. When the map zooms out, business listings in the enlarged version
of the map may fall.
Filtration
Based on Address
Google does not
like to show its users the same list again and again in the search results.
This is especially true in local search.
Some companies,
however, have multiple listings for the same site.
For example, a
doctor's office often employs several doctors, each with their own practice.
Some law firms may have multiple departments, each with a unique Google My
Business (GMB) page.
Previously,
Google filtered out duplicate entries based on the phone number or domain name.
From now on, Possum goes even further and filters them according to the
physical address of the list.
Thus, for the
above examples, a local researcher would see only a doctor's name from that
office and a legal department's list of that law practice.
It should be
noted, however, that the other lists are not completely eliminated. They are
simply pushed further down the rankings.
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