How Google’s New Pigeon Update Affects Small Business

Recently Google’s released a major algorithm update for the local search function (AKA Pigeon Update) and whilst there isn’t much press around it yet; webmasters all over the US are reporting changes to their local rankings. It’s unknown exactly when the Pigeon update will be rolled out in Australia and other non-US countries. However we have compiled some information about the changes that may eventually affect Aussie small businesses SEO and ranking results.

So what does the Pigeon update aim to achieve? Basically it is used to provide more useful, accurate and relevant search results for Google’s users. In saying this unlike the Panda and Penguin updates, Pigeon is not a penalty based system update.

So in this case what is affected exactly? Firstly local listing packs may disappear for a number of keywords, whilst local rankings will become more dependent on website authority. So it may be a good time to check your site’s backlinks and content quality against your competitors. Thirdly there will be a ranking boost to Yelp and other search directories so try and utilise this by building a solid presence on sites like Yelp, Urbanspoon etc. depending on your industry. Finally Google+ is going to be a massive advantage after this update; so make sure you have a decent Google+ business page.

Good Luck!