Time based search positions, are they a thing?
-
I've been working on a particularly competitive keyword which I have been obsessively checking twice a day for a couple of weeks. I have noticed something odd which I'd like to check if anyone in the community has picked up too.
If I check the SERP position in the morning, before 8am, my rankings are gaining, but not as quickly as I'd like. If I check the positions in the afternoon, before 5pm, I notice a gain of two - three SERP positions.
The site I'm working on is listed as a local business and it's opening hours have been added. Is Google serving SERP positions based on opening hours? That's my best guess, but I'd appreciate any other possible explanations.
Thanks in advance
-
Hi Matthew,
You write:
"... my client operates as a financier. As a result, the company offers online finance applications, which are supported by an effective call centre."
I want to verify:
1. Does this business actually make face-to-face contact with its customers?
2. Are the ranking changes you are noticing in the organic results or in the local pack of results?
-
Hi Dave & Miriam,
Thanks for your responses. They both have me intrigued.
To clarify a couple of points, I'm checking the rankings from my machine in the office. I don't think the results are being affected by my search location or my client's as we're based in the same area and I'm the one picking up the fluctuation. I'd like to know if it's possible that I'm accessing a different database at different times of the day?
Alternatively, is it possible that the rankings are changing over a period of hours on a daily basis? I've never noticed swings this quickly or with such a regular difference on a daily basis. I'm noticing the exact same shift today.
Miriam, to give you a little more information: I'm based in South Africa and my client operates as a financier. As a result, the company offers online finance applications, which are supported by an effective call centre. Applicants can apply for finance at any point during the day, however, the call centre and offices are only open during business hours and their company listings note this. My only competitors on my target keywords are our major local banks, so the space is competitive.
I'm watching the keyword very closely and would appreciate any suggestions on documenting the shifts so that I can get to the bottom of it.
Again, thanks for the input.
-
Hi Matthew,
Well, I'm fascinated! If I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that the business seems to rank better in the local pack during the hours you've stated it is open for business on the Google+ Local page. This is something I've not seen documented anywhere, but I just spoke with Nyagoslav Zhekov of WhiteSpark.ca and he mentioned that he had once come across a discussion in which a business was failing to rank apparently because their stated hours of operation wrongly represented the business as only being open in the middle of the night.
I don't have any documentation or examples, but an anecdote like this does make one have to consider that Google may well take hours of operation into consideration. I am curious about what your client's business model is, if you can share. Like a retail shop, an emergency service? I wonder if it could be more of a factor in certain industries. Google must get it that people looking for certain things might want them right away. For example, if I'm searching for a pizza, I'd probably want to know which restaurants are open right now. If I'm searching for a lawyer ... maybe not so much.
I'd be interested to read any other details you can provide. As I've said, this isn't a well-cited phenomenon, so you may be breaking some ground here with what you've noticed.
-
This is not the full answer, but I'm guessing that the explanation you've already given may have some weight. But also Google doesn't use one database and they can often be out of sync. I've had examples where I say something is #1 anonymously and my boss checks in London and he says it's #2. I then check again and it's moved to #2.
Great to see if there is a more definitive answer on this subject.
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
-
Google My Business: Company listing is showing in search instead of division address - similar names/same city
Hi! I have a client whose company name is very similar to one if their company divisions. This division has multiple locations but its main location is in the same city as the parent company. The problem is that when you search for the division, the parent company shows up. The parent company has a physical address, but most users searching need to be going to the division address which takes customers. They are having problems with customers coming to the parent company address instead. I have made the Google My Business parent company page to show service areas instead of their business address. Yet, their listing still comes up first when searching for the division location. This is because of part of the parent company name is in the division name. My client wants users to be able to find the division more so than the parent company. Anyone had this issue before? Any tips would be great!
Local Listings | | agrier0 -
Website showing #1 in Local search, disappeared from Organic search - previously #1?
We manage a website santamaryflorist.com - a local Ohio florist. She is #1 ranked on Google Local results (and also on Yahoo and Bing). The site's homepage was previously #1 ranked for Organic but has disappeared from Organic ranking over the past few days. It shows occasionally as #1 in organic, like every few hours, but typically does not show. - Sub-pages are still showing on organic but not front page- Last week we had some issues with crawl errors but those seem to be resolved for several days (pages not available)_Why would the site be showing #1 in Local but only occasionally as the #1 result in organic but most of the time not showing in Organic results at all? _
Local Listings | | william20390 -
Search directories, are they worth it??
I pay Yahoo, sorry Aabaco.... a lot of money every year to be listed on all the little search directories. I'm told this helps my SEO efforts, but I don't see where? Is there a page on MOZ that would tell me this, I'm interested to know the truth about this? I'm kind of new to seo so please answer lightly... 🙂
Local Listings | | MissThumann0 -
Multiple locations for business displaying in search
I have two locations for my business but now if I search for the term "car medics" on Google search only one of the locations display now. I'm not exactly sure when this change happened but If you refer to my August screenshot http://puu.sh/lACx7/6329ef916e.png compared to today's screenshot http://puu.sh/lABPS/415fa451c1.png. The search results used to display both locations which is exactly what I wanted. How can I have this corrected? I don't want people to think I only serve at one location. I specifically made two location pages instead of listing both on a single contact page on my website to delineate I have two locations. Yes I understand both locations will come up if I check Google Maps but I want the same thing for on Google search as well.
Local Listings | | FPK0 -
Google Local Listing Ranking/Traffic Metrics in the Google Search Console?
A client of mine asked me if it was possible to see local listing data (ranking/traffic stats) in the Google Search Console for a URL. I figured the Google Search Console only shows organic metrics not 3-pack/local listing performance. However I could be mistaken. Does the Google Search Console report this?
Local Listings | | RosemaryB0 -
My Google business show up on map but does not show up on list and local search on Google.com
Hello all, how are you doing ? When I merged two pages = one page " Sassy Nails" It was lost all ranking and traffic on my google plus My Google business show up on map but does not show up on list and local search on Google.com main keyword: nail salon in Sevierville tn nail salon in Sevierville Tn pedicure in Sevierville Tn nail salon in pigeo forge Tn my website : www.sassy-nails.com http://plus.google.com/+Sassy-nails please help me that search?num=100&safe=active&site=&source=hp&q=nail+salon+in+sevierville+tn&oq=nail+salon+in+sevierville+tn&gs_l=hp.3..0j0i22i30l8j38.1387.8317.0.8645.37.30.4.3.3.0.283.3120.4j18j2.24.0.msedr...0...1c.1.61.hp..8.29.2798.0.V2EADE1ATMU
Local Listings | | sassynailservice0 -
New Local Search Results Appearance/Rankings?
Hi everybody! My team and I are all noticing a new layout for local search results. We just noticed it today. Mobile and desktop results appear to be affected. Specifically, we are looking at searches like "event spaces in Richmond" and "restaurants in Raleigh" as 2 examples. The listings appear differently in the SERPs, and the top results really are not relevant to the search queries. Is anybody noticing anything similar, or does anyone have any insight into whether this is something Google is testing or if it's here to stay? Also, any advice for overcoming rankings drops as a result of these changes? Thanks in advance!
Local Listings | | TriMarkDigital0 -
Do Local PPC Ads Get Ranked Higher Even Though the User Doesn't Specify Search Location
See the attached image.I searched for a drug called "Actos". The first Google Adwords result was a result specific to "Arkansas" which is odd because I didn't specify that I was in Arkansas. I understand that Google makes that recommendation because Google knows I'm in Arkansas. The resulting landing page has NOTHING to do with Arkansas and you can view it here: http://bladdercancerlawsuit.org/actos-bladder-cancer/My question is this: Does the fact that the AD has the name of the user's state (Arkansas) make the "click" less expensive or higher ranking or both? Is this known by Adword specialist community? I'm wondering because this is an expensive keyword and hard to guarantee top position for. If this is a technique we should incorporate, I'd love to do it. U1dfiiE
Local Listings | | iprov0