Is your Google My Business listing not visible in search results? Google has recently made a big change that can hide your Google My Business listing. What is this change and what can you do about it and what should you do? We will talk about this in today’s special article.
In today’s article, we are talking about a new ranking signal of Google My Business which can immediately affect your listing rank. Immediately. So, Google Business Profile or Google My Business, whatever name you like, it has many ranking signals like keyword in title, picture in landing page, user in location, reviews in listing, and so on. In fact, the rank of your listing also depends on how much time a searcher can take to reach your location in peak hour.
Google Business Profile is a part of Google Maps and it tells the whole world the path and arrival time. So, obviously, this arrival time factor can be counted in the ranking signal. But for a long time, Google has not launched or revealed any new ranking signal. But recently, on 16th December, Google revealed a new ranking signal named Openness on Twitter.
I am using the word reveal because according to Google, this Openness ranking signal is not new. Google has been using it for a long time. But its effect has been increased. Now, it has become a stronger ranking signal.
So, what is this Openness ranking signal?
example. Let’s search. And there you can see the time of this listing. You can see the opening time and the closing time. Every Google My Business listing or Google Business Profile gets this option. You also get the option to open and close your listing. Every listing has this option.
Now, what does this Openness ranking signal do?
If your listing closes after the opening and closing time, let’s say this listing closes at 7 o’clock, this business will close at 7 o’clock. So, if a user searches this listing keyword at 7.30, Google will not show this listing in the search results, it will not show it in the top rank. Instead, it will show it to another business that is open at that time. Do you understand?
It is possible that your listing is a top-ranking listing for your keyword. Right? But when the user is searching, your listing is actually closed at that time. So, your listing will not be shown in the top rank in the search results. Instead, it will be lying somewhere below. At that time, only the business that is open will be visible.
So, this is the Openness ranking signal in which the rank of your listing will depend on whether your listing is open or closed while the user is searching. Now, what is the impact of this ranking signal?
The impact of this ranking signal will be on three people. Number one, on the user who is searching. Number two, on the business owner. And number three, on the local SEO or SEO agency.
First of all, let’s see what effect it will have on the user who is searching. Let’s say there is a user who wants to visit the dentist the next day. And he wants to see. Not everyone has time in the day. He wants to decide at night.
Which dentist do I have to visit tomorrow? He has to consult for his problem. Now, if he searches at night, he will not see the top-ranking business. Instead, he will see that business, that dentist, which is open at that time. The rest of the listings will be lying somewhere down. Now, this can be a risky thing in itself. Because it is not necessary that the business that is open 24×7 should be the best. People trust the results of Google My Business Profile because only good businesses get the top rank. So, in this scenario, the user will not get the best business. Instead, he will get that business, which is open at that time.
Now, if it is seen from the point of view of the business owner, then this is a risky thing in itself. Because if the user is not able to see your listing for 24 hours, then it is possible that in the research phase, as I have just explained from the point of view of the user, your business is not visible in the research phase. And you lose a little bit of lead.
Now, the third impact of this new ranking signal is on SEOs or on the agency.
Let’s say that you have made your report and you have very happily proved your client’s rank that we are ranking at number 1. But the client, after closing his business, obviously, no client will want to check in between his work. After closing his business, he goes home and checks the rank comfortably. And this rank is not visible anywhere. This can create confusion.
So, as an agency or as an SEO, if you are facing this problem, where you are proving your clients in the report that their listing rank is one of the top 3, but you are not able to convince them. And the client is complaining again and again that his listing is not visible in the top 3 rank. So, check once, if the client is checking the listing outside the closing or opening time of his listing. Check those keywords because of which his business rank is not visible.
Now, to circumvent this problem, to get out of this problem, many agencies and maybe clients should also think that they should make their business time, the time of opening and closing, 24×7. Because if they make their listing timing 24×7, then actually their listing can always rank. But this thought will be wrong. Because then you are not following the quality guidelines of Google by Business.
As I just said, Google Business Profile is a part of Google Maps. And because it is a part of Google Maps, Google knows very well when your business opens, when it closes. And in fact, they also know at what time most people are at your business location. That’s how with any listing, they can show the details of busy hours. So, you should not add such fake information with your listing. Otherwise, Google can suspend your listing. And after suspension, to get out of such suspensions, you will not be able to solve your problem by filling the restatement form. Because you have provided wrong information.
Now, as an SEO, if your business listing or the competitor of your client’s business listing is doing such things where they are promoting their listing by giving 24×7 wrong timing and damaging your listing, then you can also use the business redressal form of such businesses to complain so that Google adjusts their listing time and corrects it. And your client does not have to suffer a loss. Otherwise, if the client suffers a loss, first of all, it will harm the marketing agency. So, save your client’s listing, promote them and use this openness ranking signal correctly.
So, this was the new ranking signal of Google My Business. So, openness. I hope that you will be able to use this openness ranking signal better.
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