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
-
Choosing Your Own Photo for Google Business?
When we type in our business name, our google business profile comes up on the right-hand side per usual. However, the photo that is displayed is not the one we want to be displayed. Is there a way to change that? Is there a way to tell google "this is the photo we want to display in search?" Also, the photo that is being displayd is not one that we even have uploaded to the google business page. It is on our website, but not on the photos for google business page. Thanks, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
How to fix my local buisness listing
Ive checked with the Moz Local and put my company name in. theres two listings showing up Ones verified but is in a slightly wrong format - it says Street Name, Unit Number, Town, Post Code The other ones not verified but correct - its unit number, street name town, post code Will I need to edit the verified one to make it the correct format like it is on companies house and with Royal Mail? Or can I use the none verified version?
Local Listings | | paulfoz16091 -
Google Address Listing
I am in the process of getting all of my directory listings updated using MOZ local and I am getting some errors that I am unable to change via the Google My Business configuration. When I place the address information into the Google My Business for our business, it is changing it to read differently than what our official mailing address is with the USPS. The official address for our business is 8900 Highway 65 -- but when typed onto GMB it is showing up as 8900 IN-65. Because of this, it is throwing off MOZ and it is not able to find the other profiles or it is saying there are inconsistencies in the listings. Is there any way for Google to change this listing to the correct address to how it should appear? Thank you!
Local Listings | | cpayne0 -
Creating a Google My Business listing in a used location
Hi! We're expanding our business and opening a new office. The location of that office is a shared office with another company, Will it be possible to verify the listing in Google My Business even tough there's a verified business there?
Local Listings | | OrendaLtd0 -
New google maps listing was showing & now is not
Here is a brief description of what I am doing and what happened. I recently acquired a new client who had an unclaimed google business listing. We claimed the listing and within 2 days it was showing up for its main search term on Google. Almost immediately my client was receiving new calls from the listing. Within a week the listing no longer shows up with the other listings on the home page but does show up when searching on google maps. Does anyone have a lot of experience with Google+ & business listings? If yes, what are some of the most common reasons listings might be removed, shuffled around, increased or decreased in ranking, etc. Sincerely, Garret
Local Listings | | eWebify0 -
Google Places - Bulk Dashboard Issues
Hi guys, We have two clients one for 45 listings and another one with 350 listings all controlled in two separate google places bulk upload accounts. Which can be managed here: https://www.google.com/local/manage/ Recently over the last 3 weeks, every time we make a address change or edit to the listing via thehttps://www.google.com/local/manage/ the edit is not changing the actual listing directly any more. And i have had to use the 'suggest a edit or report a problem' to get the address change. This is getting tedious, especially when you have 10+ stores changing address every week. Does anyone know why this is occurring? It worked perfectly before! I have asked GP support but they haven't given me a response. I'm in Australia and believe we're still on the old dashboard, screenshot below: http://postimg.org/image/he0hx0xox/ Kind Regards,
Local Listings | | MBASydney
RM0 -
How to get listed on Google My Business without any physical location ..?
I want to know the process to get listing on Google my business. I have a website, domain email ID, address all information, but Google is asking for Storefront photo. So, please suggestion me the process to get listing on Google Local Business without any storefront. Thank you.
Local Listings | | 1akal0 -
Local Subdomain vs. Local Subfolder
I know this is an issue that's been discussed here ad nauseum but I have, possibly, an interesting case. A third party company created our local search pages, and they perform very highly in SERPs, but are subdomains (local.website.com). But my problem comes down to two things, one of which isn't necessarily a subdomain vs. subfolder issue. 1.a. With the subdomain local.website.com we rank much higher for local search than we do for regular search on our main domain and it's respective keywords, would changing these subdomains to subfolders keep the link juice that the subdomain currently possesses and actually help our website rankings? b. And what strikes me as the most puzzling is that on local.website.com ALL of the content is identical (I can thank Copyscape for that) to the other local search pages on our own site and various other sites in our industry. I know the duplicate content is hurting our domain, which makes it even more confusing that our subdomain is ranking so highly for things like "diamonds by the yard florida". 2. We're an online only company, and I feel as though gaming the local search function isn't exactly something we should be doing, both from an ethical and an SEO standpoint. Is there any evidence that abusing the local search functions can have a negative affect on a domain's rankings? Hopefully this makes sense, if anyone needs clarification please let me know and I'll endlessly clarify. Thanks,
Local Listings | | allurez0