Dec 28 2016
A few months ago we spoke about the Google Possum update and discussed basically what it involved. While there wasn’t a lot of data on the update at the time, it was evident what kind of sites it affected and what sort of characteristics Google would penalise for in terms of search engine rankings.
Just to refresh your memory, Possum was the update that primarily affected local search results. It largely diversified the results from similar keywords and Google started filtering its results based on addresses and associations between businesses. The location of the searcher was also much more important with this update in terms of what kind of sites popped up.
New information has arisen however and we can now tell you how to recover from the Possum update if you were affected.
Targeting more keywords is very important as the results are highly fluctuating for similar keywords. You need to be careful not to overdo it however and make sure that the content reads naturally.
When checking your ranking, to ensure you aren’t being falsely misled, make sure you’re searching from your target location. You can also change your location to see how your site ranks in other areas.
While it is difficult to combat the issue of filtered results based on addresses and associations, there are some measures that can be taken. As Google is generally only showing one or two of the affiliated businesses at an address, improving your overall SEO and making sure there are minimal faults will ensure that’s its your business Google shows.
It’s very important you adequately assess your website and, if your competitors sites are ranking higher than yours, compare your sites and see what sort of SEO tactics are allowing them to rank so highly.
At the end of the day it basically comes down to how strong and relevant the content is on your site. Understanding correct SEO techniques is vital in maintaining a high ranking and creating busy website traffic.
