Why does Google Claimed Local Listing Ranking Drop?

[VivaArturo]

I have two local google places listinggs unlaimed. Both listings were ranking in the blended search in 7 pack.

Once I claimed the local listings for the business both listings rankings have dropped. And one has totally vanished from the search rankings.

Is this normal as it appears local places that are not claimed are ranking higher than local places claimed?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Arthur,

While claiming the listing is an unlikely candidate for causing a drop in rankings, is there a chance that your activity has drawn Google's attention to a situation involving 2 duplicate listings, and, potentially, other problems with your Places record? Why do you have 2 listings? Are they for separate businesses, same business but unique physical location? Could there also be other unclaimed listings out there dragging down your rank (do a search for your business name and phone number in Maps)? Can you provide some more details? Thanks!

[VivaArturo]

Hi Miriam,

Thanks for your reply

The following are the details, if you go the http://www.google.com.au/maps and search for "flawless flowers"

The listing flawless flowers in Melbourne is the listing that has vanished from the places rankings

There is a duplicate listing for this company at 22 market street (these details are wrong) but this is in a different location. Will merge this listing once verified with the address at 22/163 commercial road

I just noticed that my full address does not show for the melbourne listing but the complete address is completed in the local listings page. The complete address for the shop location is Flinders street station, shop 5 melbourne victoria 3000

This could be the issue?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Arthur,

I am seeing 3 listings when I perform your suggested search:

Flawless Flowers  22 Market St, South Yarra VIC 3141(03) 9827 7656 ‎1 review "Best florist in Melbourne, thanks again for your help." -  Flawless Flowers  Melbourne VIC 30000409 518 822 ‎ · flawlessflowers.com.auFlawless Flowers  22/163 Commercial Road, South Yarra VIC 31411300 606 000 ‎ · flawlessflowers.comIt sounds as if you are trying to rectify the South Yarra dupes, but you are right, the Melbourne address is incomplete. If you've got all of the details correct in the dashboard, it might be a good idea to go through the troubleshooter process to signal to Google that your information isn't being fully displayed:http://support.google.com/places/?hl=en-US&rd=1However, before you do that, if you've just claimed this listing, you might want to wait a couple of weeks to see if the situation rectifies itself. It's definitely important to clear up the dupe, as Google's total trust in your whole record takes all things into account. You want them to trust that your Melbourne and South Yarra locations are both real.

[VivaArturo]

Thanks Miriam,

You have been a great help.

the places with the address 22 Market St, South Yarra VIC 3141 only offers to be be verified by postcard, the issue is that is the incorrect address so how do I then get the listing verified and then merged if I cannot receive the verification postcard? Are you aware of another way to obtain verification if you can only use the address?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Arthur,

Unfortunately, no, if you can't receive mail at the old address and are being offered a postcard only option, that won't work for you. Because of this, instead of claiming the incorrect listing, I would recommend that you use the report a problem link at the bottom of the Place Page  (if it still exists and is available to you). Since this morning, though, everything is upside down in the whole Google Localsphere. I'm not totally sure what has happened in Australia, but I believe the migration from Places to Plus is global. In case you haven't read about it, here's a good overview from Search Engine Land:

http://searchengineland.com/google-places-is-over-company-makes-google-the-center-of-gravity-for-local-search-122770

At this point, Google is saying that you can still managed existent listings from the Places Dashboard, so if you do have the ability to report a problem, do so. Let Google know you have a correct listing and point to it and that this other listing is old and the business doesn't exist there.

Today has been the craziest day in Local in recent memory. Lots of changes in the works.