Comments on: Google Places Search: Hiding Address No Longer Buries Listing

By: Is Google’s New Requirement to Hide a Home Business Appropriate? | Understanding Google Places & Local Search

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 12:17:41 +0000

[...] you need to handle this guideline with reason. Some thoughts: Does hiding an address affect rank? Not any more. Hiding an address DID in the past affect ranking. It affected ranking in Google Maps and still [...]

By: Google Places Alert: Another Ugly Bug That Could Nuke Your Listing | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:51:27 +0000

[...] time you go in an edit your record. Thus it is necessary to deselect the check box or you will suffer the outcome associated with hiding your address. YOUR LISTING WILL DROP OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH [...]

By: Yelp Beats Google to Service Area based Rankings | GEO Local SEO

Yelp Beats Google to Service Area based Rankings | GEO Local SEO — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:38:46 +0000

[...] you right out of the rankings all together. That unfortunate side effect of hiding an address has been fixed since the roll out of the new blended oragnic-local results. But there still is no ranking benefits outside of the actual city your address is tied [...]

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:59:07 +0000

This is good to know because I have a service business that does not rely on our physical address, I’d rather not have the office address showing in the google listing, so long as I’m not penalized for withholding it.

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 22:06:07 +0000

Thank you for clarifying that Will, and Mike, too!

What a big change this is. We are getting closer and closer to a solution for go-to-client type businesses.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:22:11 +0000

@Jim It appears, from this and previous conversations, that the rules in Canada as to how Google treated businesses with hidden addresses are different. Not sure why but they were. I think under Place Search they are more likely to be the same. @Miriam I have been seeing "hidden address" results not in frequently. This search for plumber syracuse shows one. It is still early in the Places Search game with lots of details to work about but it appears that if a client wants to hide their address on Google and are willing to work on the organic side of their site then you should b able to to take them on as clients. I do think that the website, always ranking #1 for the search, was the main reason they were able to over come the penalty of the hidden address. I have corrected the body copy to (hopefully) make it more clear. Thanks!

By: Will Scott

Will Scott — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:09:08 +0000

@Miriam,

The guy’s business name is “Greater Baton Rouge Signs”.

Will

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:52:47 +0000

Mike,
I’m trying to discern what this means in the workaday life of a Local SEO. In the past, if clients weren’t willing to show their address, I didn’t bother to list them in Maps, knowing the ‘hide address’ would bury them. Now, this is not so. Now, we can proceed with these clients as we would for others, and sort of hope for the best if their website is well optimized?

What do you think about the competition factor? Do you think it’s mainly the website of the example you’ve given that accounts for this business outranking competitors who are listing addresses? What else could it be? It’s really an amazing example.

Just wanted to point out, when I searched for ‘greater baton rouge signs’ as indicated above, I wasn’t getting any local results at all (i.e. no 7 pack of Place Search results), but when I searched for ‘baton rouge signs’, which I see in the search box in your screen shot, I see what you are seeing. You might want to fix that reference to ‘greater’ in this post.

By: Jim Rudnick

Jim Rudnick — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:46:03 +0000

Hmm….I have to add our own exp here with not listing your city address….and being “out in the boonies” which for us didn’t ever happen!

For quite awhile now, a small co we own that does web hosting (www.flamborocanadasytems.com) located here in our smal town of Waterdown has been very high in the Places index….ie a search for “Waterdown web hosting” in Google.ca brings us up in the top mounted 3-Pack at the B listing — and that’s been the same in this new Google BLEND PlaceSearch as well as in plain old Places now for over a year…

Note, we’ve never listed our city address either, only the Phone # contact info..and still we rank up top in the old Places index and now the Google BLEND too…

Jim

By: Will Scott

Will Scott — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:01:19 +0000

@Mike,

Yes, what I mean is that in at least one instance we’re seeing poinpoint map style listings for “Atlanta” searches with an “Alpharetta” business.

We’re also seeing a directory client take top of page for some local search phrases above the pinpoint loco-organic.

Will