Google Pigeon algorithm update resulted in one of the greatest shakeups in Google’s local and local organic results. The update’s moniker was given by Search Engine Land that had direct intelligence from Google about the planned update. Google Pigeon sought to improve SERP ranking factors on the basis of distance and location to give better user experience who might be searching for locally available product or service.

Local Listings Slashed

According to Google Pigeon Algorithm To improve accuracy and give user the nearest data, Pigeon updates led to slashing of older 7-pack local results to just 3 listings. Pigeon SEO update’s main purpose was to connect local algorithm to traditional web algorithm so that a host of ranking signals can be leverage to go into the web algorithm. By adding the update to web algorithm local businesses were awarded a strong organic web presence and better local rankings. That way Google Pigeon algorithm update improved Google’s ability to calculate local businesses based on right proximity and location. By narrowing down search radius promotion of businesses that are closest to the physical location of the searcher was ensured. That means. if a person is searching for “pizza San Francisco,” will see a shop address at North Beach area of San Francisco as results narrowed down to the immediate neighborhood than showing some a vendor who is 30 miles away in the same city. But negative fallout of Google Pigeon update was many businesses went out of the local packs where they were staying happily. The pack got sliced to a measly 3 listings. That made many businesses left out of the local results lost the crucial local visibility.

Who Is In Shock?

Some analysts note that Google Pigeon as the biggest Google update since the Venice update in 2012 impacted many business sectors. The Pigeon latest update impacted queries in many sectors. Many businesses experienced loss from Pigeon update. Market research firm BrightEdge’s Data Cube revealed the business sectors that had a positive or negative effect. At the same time, Pigeon local algorithm update gave a boost to local directories and certain queries. There was an uptick in the results for queries in the following sectors: Hospitality (Up 28% in Google Places results) Food (Up 19% in the Google Places results) Education (Up 13% in the Google Places results) Less than 5 percent of growth came to the following segments. Spa (+4.64%) Shop (+4.32 %) Law (+3.55 %) Medical (+1.83 %) Transportation (+1.31 %) Fitness (+1.12 %) Those faced a negative effect from Pigeon were Jobs (- 68 % in Google Places results) Real estate (-63 % in Google Places results) Movies (-36 % in Google Places results) Insurance (--11 % in Google Places results) Real estate sector had the maximum negative effect. The following business segments had minimum losses from falling queries triggered by Pigeon latest update. Finance -6.21 percent Furniture -3.34 percent Government -0.07 percent

Remedy For Ranking Drops From Google Pigeon Impact

In case ranking drop has happened, just pay attention to on-page optimization, back links, and local optimization to recover. Review the referral and lead traffic to find signs of changes. Check broken links, contact numbers, and spellings in the Google Local listing. Try to add contact information in the footer of the web site to enable Google bots to find it while crawling. To offset impact from Google Pigeon algorithm update, do check the site for NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) and ensure that the same information is updated on the directory listings and social media accounts. This will avoid negative results as multiple addresses and phone numbers mislead search engines. However, Google Pigeon update is certainly pro-business and a great incentive to create a mobile responsive website for boosting local business growth. ...................    

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