In Part 1 of this series I reviewed which directories Google is using in creating their Local Listing for Restaurants. In Part 2 I looked at their sources for reviews and ratings and its impact on ranking. In this third installment I will review the aggregate results of all data Google uses in providing information for the Local Listing in the restaurant industry and some of the implications for optimization.
Google Map’s ranking algorithm is complicated. This summary reviews Map’s sources and from that one can glean some ideas about what influences ranking. Clearly though the underlying rules rely on different weighting and factors that have yet to be determined (although we can make some good guesses).
In fact it is clear that Google Maps and the Google Organic Local Onebox results weight the same local listings differently. My simplified analysis does not (and can not) establish definitively what these relative weights are. It can however point us to the data sources that Google is using and perhaps allow us to develop models for improving rankings.
Here is a summary all the details that Google Maps captured for the search Restaurant Buffalo, NY on each listing that I analyzed:
Restaurant Ranking |
Details (# of Directories) |
Referring Web Pages |
Number of Reviews |
Stars Rating |
Business Type |
A |
8 |
176 |
57 |
4 |
Hotel |
B |
8 |
385 |
76 |
3 |
Hotel |
C |
8 |
451 |
15 |
4 |
Hotel |
D |
5 |
156 |
37 |
5 |
Restaurant |
E |
7 |
260 |
18 |
4 |
Hotel |
F |
7 |
383 |
5 |
0 |
Hotel |
G |
4 |
73 |
29 |
3.5 |
Restaurant |
H |
7 |
81 |
26 |
3.5 |
Restaurant |
I |
5 |
57 |
25 |
5 |
Restaurant |
J |
6 |
78 |
4 |
0 |
Restaurant |
K |
2 |
12 |
2 |
0 |
Restaurant |
L |
3 |
48 |
0 |
0 |
Restaurant |
M |
1 |
55 |
3 |
0 |
Restaurant |
N |
7 |
190 |
8 |
0 |
Restaurant |
O |
3 |
28 |
10 |
0 |
Restaurant |
P |
7 |
89 |
6 |
0 |
Restaurant |
There is a lot of information in this chart so here are some different ways to look at the info…. Continue reading Sources for Google Map’s Restaurant Local Listing data →