Client has 2 locations across the street from each other, 1 of them doesn't show up in Google Maps anymore unless you type its specific branch name. Help
-
Client has 3 locations in NYC...
1 is on the east side
2 of them are a block apart on the west side (52nd & 51st street).When you search the business name, you only see 2 of the 3 listings - 1 on the East side and 1 of the 2 on the West side. On the West side only the one with more reviews shows up.
The semi-hidden location still exists. You can find it if you type in the exact full name of the branch (it has the brand name + Midtown West vs its neighbor a block away that's brand name + Hell's Kitchen). Otherwise, it's invisible.
The Hell's Kitchen location that appears has 3000+ reviews. The hidden one (Midtown West) has only 250+ reviews. In the past, all 3 would show up.
How do we get all 3 to show up again, at the initial, zoomed out view?
-
Dear Jaime,
What you're seeing may well be the result of a filter like Possum that is causing Google to filter out the weaker of the two locations that are only a block away from one another. Particularly if zooming in causes you to be able to see that 2nd West Side business appear, I suspect a filter. I can't say without seeing the query for myself, of course, but that would be my guess based on your description.
As you've mentioned, the filtered location has a weaker review signal, and it could be that it has other weaker signals, too (maybe fewer links to its landing page, less accurate citations, etc.). So, that may be all the explanation needed as to why Google is showing one West Side location over the other. You can invest the time/money in building up all signals for the filtered location, but what you can't do is guarantee to the client that Google will then unfilter the location. That's up to Google, not you and not your client, so be sure you set correct expectations surrounding this.
Given that your client is multi-location, if they are worried about this scenario, I would ask them to perform an exercise. Ask them to manually search for whatever the keyword is in question from a device located at that filtered location. Given Google's bias towards searcher proximity, it may well be that customers near the filtered location are actually seeing it appear, whereas you - using a tool or a proxy - are getting a view centered in a zip code or at some other point on the map. If nearby customers are seeing the location nearest to them, then there's really no cause for concern.
Hope this helps!
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
-
Experience Getting Google Reviews Restored?
Does anyone have any experience or know anyone with experience getting google reviews restored? We have no technical issues with our Google business pages/locations, but for some reason, they deleted some of our recent reviews. These reviews were not at our location or review station or anything like that. A couple of the profiles were very new accounts, and a couple of the users posted reviews for a few locations, however, they were legitimate reviews that they did on their own. I was hoping someone had an idea of what to do to appeal to Google or if there was a form to fill out to get our reviews restored. Thanks, Ruben
Reviews and Ratings | | KempRugeLawGroup1 -
What is the best online reputation management software for generating legitimate Google (and other online) reviews?
Hello! Does anyone have a good experience with using an online reputation management tool to help generate online reviews for a Google My Business listing, Facebook, etc? The reason I ask about a review software is because of my client's age demographic (50+), so we need to have an automated system to request reviews from their clients and to make it simple for them to leave reviews.
Reviews and Ratings | | eport122 -
What do the symbols in the profile avatars in Google listing reviews mean?
A client of mine noticed that some of their customers that leave GMB listing reviews have special symbols in their profile avatars (please look at the attachment). Is this a sign of a influencer? Has anybody else noticed this? r6mhX
Reviews and Ratings | | BigChad20 -
Google Merchant XML don`t allow price variations, so I have two options
Hi guys I have a question about google merchant set up: Products on my website have a single URL with the material option. Each material has a different price for the same product. Ex: A Winter Coat, if it is leather the price is $100 if it is fabric is $80 if it is on Nylon $60.
Reviews and Ratings | | Tiedemann_Anselm
Google Merchant XML dont allow price variations, so I have two options1) Create only one entry for product and chose one price. When the user arrives on the page he can choose other material and prices. MXL ExProduct: Winter Coat, price 60, Product: www.store.com/winter-coat2) Create a single entry on the XML for each product/material variant. Ex:Product 1: Winter Coat Leather, price 100, www.store.com/winter-coat?q=leatherProduct 2: Winter Coat Fabric, price 80, www.store.com/winter-coat?q=fabric Product 3: Winter Coat Nylon, price 60, www.store.com/winter-coat?q=nylonWhich one its better for SEO? On option 2 Google can punish me for duplicate products?Thanks0 -
Rich snippets not showing up in Google
Would anyone know why after adding schema.org markup to a websites products, reviews and ratings why it still isn't showing up in Google SERPs? Does Google pick and choose who's rich snippets get displayed on a random basis or some other criteria?
Reviews and Ratings | | znotes0 -
What's the best way to keep Google My Business reviews when the business changes names?
I work with an interior designer who is re-branding and changing her business name to focus specifically on windows. Can she keep her GMB reviews and just change the name of her business, then reverify with Google? She doesn't want to lose her current local pack ranking.
Reviews and Ratings | | obkommy1 -
Why Isn't Product Schema Showing Up for my Ecom Site?
Hello, I work with two ecommerce sites and we've implemented product and review schema back in mid-May. Since implemented, I've seen some of the product prices and review stars start to show up in Google, however, now it seems to be long gone. I've tested sample URLs in Google's rich snippet testing tool and no errors come up and it looks like we have all the required components needed for each schema type. I know Google doesn't for sure show schema, but these sites are a decent size and trustworthy enough where I think they would be showing it. Does anyone have an idea on what I'm missing? Have you experienced something like this? Thanks in advance.
Reviews and Ratings | | OfficeFurn0 -
Google Reviews Hassle Reduced - Will It Affect Your Strategy?
Hey Local Pals 🙂 As you may have read this past week, Google has FINALLY stopped requiring users to have a G+ account in order to leave reviews. I find this such a breath of fresh air, given what a hassle it was for many customers who simply didn't ever get into the whole Google+ thing to leave reviews on this major player. I believe this can be seen as one of the last stages of the plus/local separation that has been ongoing for many, many months. Given this change, I thought it would be a good time to discuss reviews. My main question is, now that the only thing your customers need to leave a review is some type of Google account, will you be ramping up your Google-specific review outreach? And, in your own experience, do you feel that Google, Yelp or a different review source has the most impact on your business? Would that be ranking impact, leads, conversions, something else? Best practice is to be diverse, of course, but if you could earn good reviews in just one place, which would it be, and why? And, if you have any unusual tips for review outreach, I know the community would love to benefit from them. Thanks for joining the discussion!
Reviews and Ratings | | MiriamEllis1