Questions
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Not displaying the address and its effect on local rankings.
Hey There! Paramaya has given such a great answer (including that very important link to Phil Rozek's work on directories that support hidden addresses) that I have only a couple of things to add here: This is not an uncommon situation, with home-based businesses. Owners' privacy concerns are legitimate. While it is believed that the lack of a street address will have some negative impact on Local Pack rankings, the degree of negativity is speculative and is industry-dependent in some ways. I would like to see a side-by-side study done on this, but am unaware of one. There is likely some negative impact, but the amount is not set in stone. Be sure that the client understands that he can have a Google+ Local page with a hidden address. There is nothing to prevent him from gaining inclusion in Google's local product. In your client's industry, if everyone is abiding by Google's guidelines for SABs (see: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en), the only competitors who will have an edge on him in Google's product will be those who have a staffed, physical office. This is the only type of scenario in which Google states the address of an SAB should be displayed. It's important to be aware of this, because if every other plumber in your client's city is working from home, then their addresses shouldn't be displayed either, leveling the playing field. Where the playing field becomes less level is actually outside of Google's local product. There is some thought that any competitor who displays his address on his website and on his other citations may have an edge on a business that doesn't do this. So, this is where your client may fall behind competitors who do not mind having their home address published on the website and their non-Google citations. This then trickles back toward Google, as Google will find less instances of the address contained in your client's dashboard (and hidden to the public) to match up with references around the web. This decrease in NAP prominence could speculatively lead to a decrease in 'confidence' on Google's part that could, to some degree, decrease rankings. Once you've educated the client about all of the above, he can make an informed choice. He may change his mind and decide to display his address on his website and non-Google citations, in which case, he has every chance of leading the pack with the right marketing efforts. Or, if he remains resolved to keep his address hidden, he should get a Google+ Local page, hide the address, build citations on only those directories that support hidden addresses and then will have to get as far as he can ranking-wise with making the most superior effort he is capable of in terms of building his website authority, content, social presence, earning links, reviews, etc.
Local Website Optimization | | MiriamEllis0