About a month ago, Google rolled out its latest algorithm update, Possum. The Google algorithm is what determines where businesses fall on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Now that Possum has been around for a few weeks, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) experts are weighing in on what changes businesses can expect thanks to the update.
The popular SEO authority, Search Engine Land, says all evidence indicates that Possum only impacted ranking in the local results or Google Maps results. Though there still seems to be significant fluctuation in results, meaning Google imay still be A/B testing various ranking signals, these are the five biggest changes:
- Businesses that fall outside of the physical city limits saw a huge spike in ranking.
- Google is now filtering based on address and affiliation.
- The physical location of the searcher is more important than it was before.
- Search results vary more based on slight variations of the keyword searched.
- The local filter seems to be running more independently from the organic filter.
For more information, read Search Engine Land’s full Possum recap, which details specifics for each of the five biggest changes.
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