Local Business Page Ranking Issue

[Christy-Correll]

Hi  jeenu_svs,

I'm not sure what your question is, to be honest. Are you asking why site #2 does not appear in search results at all when site #1 ranks high for the first set of keywords (and vice versa)? Is your concern limited to non-personalized local search results?

Thanks in advance for clarifying your question!

Christy

[jeenu_svs]

Greetings Christy
Thanks for your reply.

#. Yes, I'm talking about Local Search Results.

If I search first set of keywords in Google.com then First Business Law Office of Paul M. Marriett (Business Name) showing in local search result and Second BusinessLaw Office Of Brendan Caver, Ltd. (Business Name) is not appear anywhere in search result.

Same way, If I search second set of keywords then Second business is showing in local search result and first business is not appear anywhere in local search.

Please find the image on given URL.

Bs6EI

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Jeenu,

Your scenario has all the earmarks of Google's Possum filter. Possum filters out business that share the same category and are in the same building or even the same couple of city blocks. The way to verify if this is Possum typically goes like this:

1. Search for your keyword and note which business is appearing on the map for it at the automatic zoom setting of the map.

2. Then, begin clicking on the zoom button, one click at a time. If the second business then appears once you've zoomed in a few times (it could be 5 clicks, 10, clicks etc.), then it's reasonable to assume that it's the Possum filter you're dealing with.

You can read more about Possum here: http://searchengineland.com/everything-need-know-googles-possum-algorithm-update-258900

Anecdotally, when I'm searching from my location in California, both Marriett and Caver are in the local pack, but I'm very far from Illinois. If you're seeing this behavior from a more local location, and the zooming tip does surface the second business for the desired keyword, it's likely Possum at play.

[jeenu_svs]

Greetings Miriam!
Hope you are doing great.

I have tried the Zoom trick and found both business page is showing. Can you please suggest me the way to improve ranking of Second Business Page for First set of keywords.

Great Thanks.

[jeenu_svs]

This post is deleted!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Jeenu,

So that does, indeed, sound like Possum. I have a couple of follow-up questions for you:

1. What is the relationship of the 2 businesses? Are they actually just one business, trying to appear as though they were two businesses, or are they 2 totally separate legal entities?

2. Are both of these businesses your clients, or just one of them?

[jeenu_svs]

What is the relationship of the 2 businesses? Are they actually just one business, trying to appear as though they were two businesses, or are they 2 totally separate legal entities?

#. they are totally separate legal entities in same street.

Are both of these businesses your clients, or just one of them?
Only one.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Jeenu,

Thanks for the reply. Okay, so your best bet at this point is to do a complete competitive audit of the company that is outranking your client, doing a side-by-side comparison of their metrics vs. your client's. This will enable you to form a hypothesis about what factors the competitor has that are stronger than your client's and that may be leading Google to favor that competitor over your client. You need to look at every possible factor so that you can form a picture in your mind of why the competitor gets to show at the automatic zoom level while your client is being filtered out. Is it domain authority, age of domain, citation consistency, reviews, links, etc? You'll have to be extremely thorough to start to get to the root of the matter.

Once you've formed your hypothesis, the second step will be to create a plan for your client to begin beating the competitor's metrics. Maybe your client will need more authoritative links, better GMB landing page URL content, etc. Every case will be different, so there's no shortcut for getting down into the trenches on this one and doing the research and analysis to form a clear plan.

Your goal: find what improvements your client needs to make in order to convince Google that his business is the one that deserves to be shown at the automatic zoom level, instead of being filtered out.

Hope this helps!

[jeenu_svs]

Great Thanks Miriam.

I will do same.

Have a great time ahead!
Thanks.

[MiriamEllis]

You're welcome, Jeenu, and good luck with the audit. It can be really fun wading into these kinds of details. You never know what you'll discover!