Google listing only appears when I move / zoom in or out of the map

[nhhernandez]

Hi everyone,

We are having an issue with this local business. The Google listing isn't immediately appearing on the map. You have to move the map or zoom in and out for the listing to appear. I find this really odd as our competitors - with no reviews and way further in proximity - are appearing with no issues.

The listing is only about 4km where I'm doing the search, while competitors with no reviews are about 20km away. We are ranking in the top 5 organically for the search term I used (pool renovations brisbane), but nowhere in local unless the map is moved. When the listing appears, sometimes the pin also looks grey instead of red, while others are red (if that makes sense).

On top of this, their organic rankings have also been on a downward trend since June. I'm currently doing a backlink audit to see if it's contributing to the issue. If anyone also has other ideas, could you please let me know? Thanks.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Nikki!

I'm so sorry you haven't received a response yet to your good question. Often, that zooming behavior you're reporting is a sign that Google is filtering out the listing. First question from me. Are there any other businesses in the same category of business located in your building or within the surrounding couple of streets? Please, let me know the answer to that.

Also, is the search term you're asking about specifically "pool renovations brisbane"? I see your business as being listed in Camp Hill Queensland. What is the relationship of Camp Hill to Brisbane, please?

Thanks!

[nhhernandez]

Hi Miriam,

Thank you for your response and sorry for the delay in responding!

1 - No, there are no other businesses in the same category located at this address. I have seen instances where Google filtered out same category businesses in the same building - one of our clients is actually experiencing this! They are lawyers that share the same office as 3 other lawyers and our advice was to try and have the best ranking power out of the listings they're competing against.

2 - Camp Hill is a suburb in the city of Brisbane. Customers usually use the term "pool builders brisbane" or "pool renovations brisbane" when looking for local pool service providers. We want to rank highly for these terms and also appear in the local maps for these terms, but we are getting filtered out for some reason. I understand that results vary also on proximity of the searcher, however, where I'm searching from (Brisbane's central business district), the business doesn't appear readily on maps. The business is only about 4km away from where I'm searching from, but competitors that are as far as 19km away appear on maps with no issues.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Miriam!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Nikki,

Searching for "pool renovations brisbane" from the US, I am seeing your business come up 12th in the local finder view. I see that Google is marking the city center of Brisbane roughly at the corner of Albert and Queen Streets and that the majority of the businesses in the local finder are clustered right around that nexus. However, I do also see some other businesses (including yours) are on the other side of the Brisbane River from this, including one that is farther away than yours (MPR) and is outranking you. From my location, I'm unable to reproduce the filtering activity you are experiencing, but clearly, you're seeing it happen.

Scenarios like this generally require doing a full competitive audit. I would actually recommend that you do two of them, in this case. I would look at the top ranking business, and I would also pay special attention to Wahoo Pool, which is also far from the other businesses, but has earned many more reviews and is managing to rank #3, at least in my results. This article contains a spreadsheet for doing this type of audit, though you may want to look at even more signals than it covers: https://moz.com/blog/basic-local-competitive-audit

I'd stack up my client's numbers against both the top ranked business and this other competitor to see if you can find where they are pulling superior numbers. Like your client in the legal business, it may well just be a case where you'll have to out-do competitors to convince Google that this business is the one that deserves to rank. And, of course, you'll be wanting to resolve any issues the audit turns up for the business.Typically, audits yield insight, but if your audit turns up no clear narrative that could explain why the client isn't showing up at the automatic zoom level, you are left with:

1. Something you are overlooking

2. A bug or weird behavior on Google's part that could resolve

Hope these thoughts are helpful.

[nhhernandez]

Hi Miriam,

Yes, these are very helpful! Thanks for the advice on doing a competitive audit. I will certainly do this for both clients!