Google confirms local search results update

Google confirms that an algorithm update was rolled out to local search results in late November and completed on December 8th.

This update included a “realignment” of the ranking factors that Google takes into account when generating local search results.

This update is officially known as the Update for local search from November 2021, although the changes would probably not have been noticeable until the first week of December.

Our November 2021 update for local search is complete. It started on November 30th and lasted through December 8th. It involved realigning various factors that we consider when generating local search results. The general guide for businesses remains the same as here: https://t.co/uyXFfmUEIR

– Google Search Center (@googlesearchc) December 16, 2021

Google’s guidance regarding this update is to continue to follow local SEO best practices linked in the tweet embedded above.

Note that the weighting of the individual ranking factors listed in Google Help has been rebalanced.

The ranking factors for Google’s local search results are:

• relevance: how well a local company profile matches the search query.
• distance: how far each potential search result is from the location term used in a search.
• importance: how well known a business is

Google never gives precise information about the weighting of each ranking factor. Perhaps the best way to respond to this update is to rebalance your efforts.

For example, if you’re more into optimizing for relevance By adding information to your Google business profile, now may be the time to get more into the importance of your company

November was a busy month in SEO with a series of upheavals in Google’s algorithms.

However, it should be relatively easy to determine if you were specifically impacted by the November 2021 Local Search update.

Updating the local search would only affect the ranking of your Google company profile in the local package.

If your company profile’s ranking is unchanged, chances are that this update didn’t affect you.

Featured image: TonelsonProductions / Shutterstock