GMB listing not showing for local searches

[Bee159]

Hi all, I've optimised an existing GMB listing that has been in place for over a year. The client is a yacht/boat broker and marine repair outfit based in Mallorca.

When I search for terms that they 'should' be ranking for on Google and on a Maps search, they are nowhere to be found, yet their listing does show when you type in their company name.

I've read lots of Local SEO guides and followed their advice but I'm not sure what I'm meant to do next?

[mdowling]

I've seen fluctuations when updating accounts, where it will disappear or perform lower for a few days but it usually bounces back. How long has it been not showing up under terms you believe it should? Also have you tried a proxy service to mimic your location in order to check clean results. I use https://www.brightlocal.com/local-search-results-checker/

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Bee!

Without looking at the actual listing, the community will only be able to offer some guesses. If you can share the website of the business, I'll gladly look more closely at it for you, but if that's not possible, it's okay.

The first thing I'd try to rule out here is the Possum filter. Find out if your client shares a dock, marina or building of any kind with a business in the same industry as itself. Even if the business is down the street, if there's another yacht-related company located in the same general area as your client, Google's Possum filter could be causing your client to be filtered out at the automatic zoom level of Google Maps.

If your client confirms that there are other yacht-related businesses at or near their address, here's how to see if Possum is impacting the business. Go to Google Maps and type in the core search term for which the business is trying to rank. Then, begin clicking on the zoom level to get more and more zoomed in. If your client appears on the Map at a zoomed in level, but does not appear at the normal zoom setting, then it's likely Possum.

If this experiment helps you determine that Possum is at play, and even if this experiment isn't conclusive that it's Possum, the task for you as the Local SEO on the job will be to do both an internal and a competitive audit. This will look like:

1. Ruling out for your own client anything problematic like guideline violations, spam, malware on the website, robots.txt issues, limiting business location, etc., while also documenting your finding about your client's complete online health (age of domain, on-page SEO, link profile, DA, PA, citation health, age of GMB listing, etc.). Do a full audit.

2. Then, take your client's numbers and statistics from your internal audit and set them side-by-side with the top-ranking competitor in the local pack for the search term. See what this top competitor's strengths are and compare them to your client's weaknesses to determine why Google is favoring their listing over your client's.

3. Finally, create a strategy to bring your client's numbers/stats up to the level of the top competitor, as best you can.

Again, if you can share the client's website, our community will gladly take a look, but if that's not feasible, what I've outlined here is the basic process that lies before you. Hope this helps!

[Bee159]

Hey thanks for your replies, excellent advice which I am following. The company is: Marlin Marine Services S.L. - any insight you can offer is appreciated.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Bee,

So, yes, this definitely looks like Possum. When I search Google Maps for "Yacht Broker Port Adriano Spain" I see that there are numerous similar business in this location and that when I zoom in on the map, Marlin Marine Services does appear. So, a listing does exist for this business, but it simply isn't being judged by Google to be deserved of showing at a non-zoomed-in level. So, this brings us right back to my earlier comment regarding the need to do competitive research to discover the top competitor's strengths and your client's weaknesses so that you can create a plan for improvement. Hope this helps!