What is Google’s ‘Possum’ algorithm update? [Archive]

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09-26-2016, 10:58 AM

Everything you need to know about Google’s ‘Possum’ algorithm update
Wondering what's up with local search rankings lately? Columnist Joy Hawkins has the scoop on a recent local algorithm update that local SEO experts are calling 'Possum.'
Joy Hawkins on September 21, 2016 at 10:58 am

For those of you wondering what “Possum” is, it’s the name we in the local search community decided to give the massive Local algorithm update that happened September 1, 2016.

Phil Rozek suggested the name, pointing out that it is fitting since many business owners think their Google My Business listings are gone, when in fact they are not. They have just been filtered — they’re playing possum.

What was the update?
All the evidence seems to indicate this particular update only impacted ranking in the 3-pack and Local Finder (AKA the local results or Google Maps results). There is talk of another update that happened right after, which impacted organic results.

I believe the main purpose of the update was to diversify the local results and also prevent spam from ranking as well.

Based on the dozens of ranking reports I’ve analyzed, I would say this is the biggest update we have seen in Local since Pigeon in 2014. One of the main things that updated was Google’s filter that applies to the local results.

The specifics
1. Businesses that fall outside of the physical city limits saw a huge spike in ranking.

sarasota-vs-gulf-gate-estates
I wrote earlier this year about a problem we face in Local SEO where, if a business falls right outside the physical city limits for a particular city, they have a seriously hard time ranking for any keywords that include that city name. These businesses often don’t even fall into a city “technically,” according to Google Maps.

After this update, many businesses like this saw massive increases in their local ranking. Here is an example.

Direct Inspections was a business in Sarasota that I did a consultation for recently. They really wanted to rank for keywords like “home inspector sarasota.” They fell outside of the physical borders of Sarasota and were technically in a census-designated place (CDP) called Gulf Gate Estates. Like most of these cases, their mailing address is in Sarasota.

sarasota-screenshot
On August 6, they ranked #31 locally for “Home Inspector Sarasota,” and I came to the conclusion that ranking for keywords like that was a lost cause without an address inside the physical city limits. We have lots of clients in this scenario and have seen that even after years of doing the right things, their local ranking just doesn’t budge for those types of keywords.

After the update, their ranking jumped to position 10 (Yes, an increase of 21 positions). We saw the exact same patterns for all other businesses we tracked that fell into this category.

2. Google is now filtering based on address and affiliation.

Previously, we would often see a local filter applied to the local results that filtered out profiles that shared a similar phone number or domain.

For example, you might have a chiropractor office that has three separate listings for individual practitioners and then one listing for the practice itself. These separate profiles would all link to the same website and use the same phone number. Usually, only one or two of these would show up in the local results, and the others would be filtered.

This makes sense, as Google regularly filters duplicate content organically, and showing their users tons of results from the same company isn’t necessarily what’s best for users. When you are searching for a new dentist, do you really want to see the same office listed several times?

Since this update, we are seeing a lot of businesses filtered out due to the address of the business being the same as another listing in their same category (same type of business). Here is an example.