There are reports of big changes in local search rankings on Local Search results and Google Maps. These changes started getting noticed over the weekend. Some people saying their local listings moved drastically from where they were before.
There aren’t many tools that publicly track local Google rankings, but the local SEO community is buzzing with conversations about this. Some think it might be a bug in Google’s system rather than an intentional update, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Jason Brown shared a thread on the Local Search Forum that links to three Reddit posts (and there are more) where people are complaining about the changes.
Here are a few of those complaints:
“”I have experienced the same thing, so it does not seem like you are alone in this matter.””
“”Exactly same has happened to me, now ranked 18+ and businesses that I know the owners and are no longer trading in the local map pack. Absolutely madness.””
“”Tony this has literally just happened to me today. I’ve went from ranking 1-3 on local map pack for all my top keywords to now sitting 18+ for all of them.
I have made 0 changes to GBP I have made 0 changes to my website, I’m unsure if this is things settling after the update.
I to now have businesses with 1 or 2 reviews ranking in the local pack and me with 500+ 5 star reviews now 18+ madness.””
“There seems to be a local ranking disturbance, loss of ranking starting yesterday, if you are also seeing this comment with your category please.
This is not an alarm bell post, more a fact finding mission.— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) January 5, 2025””
“”yup, this happened to me yesterday. I was ranking in 1-3 for most keywords and now i dont rank in top 3 at all for most keywords. Lots tons of rankings.””
“”Here is one client’s @brightlocal report. https://t.co/GUhK5Hujp3 pic.twitter.com/k73tUNtrhz
— Stop Project 2025 Jason Brown 🇺🇦 (@keyserholiday) January 6, 2025””
“”The same client’s PlacesScout report. pic.twitter.com/McyAmw01uN
— Stop Project 2025 Jason Brown 🇺🇦 (@keyserholiday) January 6, 2025””
Something unusual is happening in Google’s local search results.
It’s unclear whether this is a bug or part of a ranking update. While core updates have been known to affect local search, the last core update wrapped up weeks ago, so this seems unrelated.
Forum Discussion: Check out the ongoing conversation at the Local Search Forum.
Update: There’s talk that this might have been a Google bug, and it seems to be resolving itself.
“”Can confirm that our findings are it is resolved or a bug too! Great stuff to @keyserholiday !
— Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) January 6, 2025””
“”Things are looking a bit more normal today. https://t.co/waabvEvCbV pic.twitter.com/UtbY7oJwEV
— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) January 7, 2025””
Google Search Ranking Volatility Spikes at the Start of 2025
The December 2024 core update and the December 2024 spam update are officially done, but Google search rankings are still very unpredictable. It feels like one or both of these updates didn’t fully settle, as the ranking volatility has stayed intense even a week after the updates ended.
2024 has been a wild year for Google algorithm updates, especially with so many unconfirmed changes. Interestingly, there were fewer officially announced updates this year compared to the past four years, but the unpredictability hasn’t slowed down. This week is no exception.
Google Search Volatility Tracking Tools
Looking at the tracking tools, it’s clear that Google Search hasn’t calmed down since the updates ended. In fact, it’s just as chaotic as it was during the updates themselves. The big question is: Why?
SEO Chatter
The SEO discussions have been a bit quieter, likely because many people took time off last week. However, there’s still some conversation happening. Here’s a look at the recent chatter from WebmasterWorld over the past couple of days:
“”Our Google traffic has been up significantly in the last few days (as has our non-Google traffic). But I think this has more to do with seasonal demand than with Google updates, since we always see the curve head upwards in late December.””
“”Traffic over here is good. It tends to increase during holiday periods. However, revenue and RPM is terrible. I have had better RPM with less traffic.””
“”Since Christmas, there has been an extremely high amount of discover traffic every day. The last few days have been the best days for my news page all year, but unfortunately the ranking is still completely mixed up. If the news traffic decreases, it will look very bad.””
