Following on from my post entitled “Some Local Business Listings Disappear on Google Maps” [http://www.justinmarch.com/blog/some-local-business-listing-disappear-google-maps/] it now seems that what I thought was a blip, wasn’t a blip at all.

In early November 2009 I noticed that the Google Maps listing were no longer appearing under some of the phrases where my business listing previously appeared, I first spotted this under a search for “SEO Cheltenham”. I checked the same searches within google.co.uk and google.com and signed in and out of my Google profile all with the same result.

I noticed that it wasn’t happening for searches such as “SEO Bristol” and that it wasn’t anything to do with the Cheltenham area either as a search for “Carpet Cheltenham” confirmed .

Finally an answer from Web Pro News “Google Ditches Local Listings for SEOs and Designers”. Essentially then if you change the search from “SEO location” to “SEO in location” (obviously replacing the word location with your location) the results will magically reappear, this works for “SEO Bristol”, “SEO Cheltenham” and other “SEO” and “Web Design” related terms.

Not all areas seem to be effected but many web designers and SEO’s are up in arms, will this change back after Google have had a chance to go through and eliminate the huge amount of Spam in Local Business Center, only time will tell…

For some time now I have been targeting certain phrases with local place names in the Search Engines, as such I keep looking at the resulting web pages and am very familiar with the normal results.  This weekend I noticed that the Google Maps listing are no longer appearing under some of these phrases I first spotted this under a search for SEO Cheltenham see image below.

SEO Cheltenham Google Results

Now I have been conducting SEO work since before Google was the next big thing, so I expect to see fluctuations in the results from time to time.  I wouldn’t have been so concerned except for the fact that:

1. I was in the middle of researching an article entitled “How to add your Local Business Listing to Google Maps” and I needed screen shots.
2. I had just read an article about the new Google Local Business Listings Guideline Changes Source: http://searchengineland.com/google-targets-spammers-with-new-local-business-listing-guidelines-29077

The guideline changes in Google Local relate to the business name and the physical location of the business.  In terms of the business name that is used the new guidelines state that this should now be the full and legal business name, this suggests that keyword inclusion in conjunction with or replacing the business name will no longer be tolerated.

Examples of Business names that are now officially not allowed by the new Google Local Business Listings Guidelines:

“Business Name – Keyword1 Keyword2”
“Keyword1 Keyword2”

In terms of the location that is entered when a Google Local Business Listing is applied for this should be the central offices and not a PO Box or virtual location.

For further clarification see Business Listing Quality Guidelines at: http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107528

Was this a penalty handed down by Google to punish all SEO’s?  Having dug about a bit obviously not as the search for SEO Bristol shows:

SEO Bristol Google Results

And it wasn’t anything to do with the area either as a search for Carpet Cheltenham shows:

Google Results Carpets Cheltenham

I also discovered many businesses breaking the new guidelines so it seems unlikely that they are the cause of this sudden change.

I posted a question here: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=132017

The consensus seems to be that this is a blip on the landscape and that the listings will soon reappear thanks to Ali-v-8 for his thoughts.