The local SEO community has been tracking a Google local update since April 23rd and the truth is, even over the past couple of days, the Google local update seems as active as ever. So much so that Danny Sullivan of Google said he will look into it for a possible official Google comment.
Danny said on Twitter "I'll check. The usual we're always doing updates all the time applies, though." This is when Joy Hawkins asked him if there was also a local update going on:
I'll check. The usual we're always doing updates all the time applies, though.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) May 5, 2020
There is this ongoing thread at the Local Search Forums that I have been tracking for a while with discussion from the local SEO community on an update. Here are some quotes:
As mysteriously as the client was removed from the 3 pack, this morning the client is back in the "A" position.
Google must have been messing things up with their local algo last week as we've also seen some of our clients get back on the 3-pack just today.. I guess things are going back to normal in the local pack.
There's a very real possibility that this up-and-down fluctuation is just a normal part of the algorithm these days. Not every scenario will fall into that explanation but it definitely seems to be covering quite a few of these scenarios these days.
Same here. Actually improved for certain keywords. It's really nice that they waited until the weekend to run their test.
There was another algorithmic update yesterday and I am hearing for rankings bouncing back. I am also seeing cases of massive drops too. It appears that Google wants to keep us on our toes.
I've seen several cases where rankings are fluctuating like crazy. Started seeing it Friday morning but it's still going on.
And much more.
Here is a chart from Darren Shaw of WhiteSpark showing the volatility in the local search results starting on April 23rd:
The BrightLocal tool shows it as well:
Again, no official word from Google on the local changes yet. And this is probably are unrelated to the May 2020 core update from yesterday - since that has been going on from an earlier date - but who knows....
Forum discussion at Twitter and Local Search Forums.
Update: May 8th and the rest of this week are pretty insane:
