Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Are Phone Numbers Returning to the 3 Pack?
Jennifer Slegg of theSEMPost is reporting the return of phone numbers to the Local 3 Pack results. I am not yet seeing them on my Mac with Safari, Chrome or Firefox although some others are reporting seeing them. Update: As of about 5:00 pm eastern they were showing world wide.
Certainly their return would prove a boon to those dependent on calls for their sustenance like emergency plumbers etc and from a user POV I welcome them. It isn’t clear to me if this is the new normal (whatever the f%&k that means) or a broad test. Are you seeing them? If so what browsers?
I only wish I were a fly on the logs of the search results so I could see and know what Google sees and knows about user behaviors.
They were seen by folks searching from/located in in Calif, NV, AZ, Japan and Austria.
They were not seen by those searching in FL, NY, Pa, Seattle, Austin, Chicago, DC area, Toronto or the UK.
The results are dependent on physical searcher location NOT the location setting in search. However given the spread and frequency of visibility my current money is on a rollout not a test. Rollout in the sense of testing for the next 3 months or so as opposed to testing this week.
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Comments
11 Comments
Crossing my fingers!
I’m not seeing them either.
Google knows so much about search behavior. And noone knows a teeny tiny percentage of that. Control of knowledge. Scary.
@Dave
It appears dependent on the searcher’s physical location and not the location setting in the search. Given the broad swath over which it is showing implies that it is rolling out to different data centers at different times.
Small survey results of where 3-pack w # seen or not:
Seen in Calif, NV, Austria, and AZ
Not yet seen in FL, NY, Toronto, Austin, Chicago, UK and now DC
Update in DC. Seeing addresses and phone numbers for recently affected smb’s, but so far only seeing addresses for restaurants, hotels. or B&B’s. (5PM EST)
Wellllll….I guess google doesn’t like it if you call a hotel and book direct. 😉
I wonder why they are still penalizing restaurants….restaurateurs seem to ignore google, best I can tell. 😀
Mike: I’m pretty sure I know what is occurring. Google like many meanies wants toys this Christmas rather than coal.
Expect the phone #’s and addresses to stick till late 12/25….than its back to the old regime. 😉
Mike I’m seeing phone numbers for stationery stores but not restaurants (safari: Boulder, co & Bend, or). But this is a huge step in the right direction! It’s probably because they read your blog and know we all wanted phone numbers back.
@Jeffrey Magner: Seeing the same. But also no phone numbers for hotels, b&b’s besides hotels. It would seem that google doesn’t think people should call hotels direct for reservations and/or shouldn’t call restaurants or b&b’s.
My mobile results for google search still don’t show phone #’s or addresses, just street names. Our smb’s are getting almost 50% traffic on mobile now.
Hey Mike,
I’m seeing phone numbers in Bellevue, WA (about 10 miles outside of Seattle) on both Firefox and Edge.
Hi Mike
Not seeing numbers for any categories in MA or NH. Even two days after rollout?
@Dave
There’s no reason for you to have instant access to a plumber’s number in an emergency.
And if you need to reach out to a mental health facility after seeing these numbers, which do show in D.C. search–32-21 (1-2), forget about it.
: )
Nope, can’t see them either.
They’re definitely here in Calgary, AB. I’m starting to feel anxious about Google. They seem so all over the map, literally, lol, the companies inside the 3-pak shift constantly and my clients either are one of three pak or they’re not, depending on the day and Google’s mood. Now their phone numbers show, and so people no longer have to go to click to call. That makes conversions harder to track.
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