Google may have released an update to its local ranking algorithm on January 4 and 9, 2024. BrightLocal’s Local RankFlux tool shows the volatility in local search traffic on both days. Local SEOs also reported massive changes in their client’s rankings on January 4, 2024.
That said, it is unclear whether these updates are linked to Google’s openness update. On December 15, 2023, Google confirmed it now considers a store’s opening hours a strong signal for non-navigational search queries. This confirmation came after SEOs noticed businesses vanished from local search results when they were not open.
What Are People Saying?
On X (formerly Twitter), Barry Schwartz shared analytics data showing the volatility experienced in the local search results of January 4, 2024.
Is there a Google local algo update going on – @brightlocal tool shows stuff https://t.co/ovpilOZA7n local SEOs, what do you see? @JoyanneHawkins @mblumenthal @ColanNielsen etc pic.twitter.com/APC37rm5g4
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) January 4, 2024
In another post, Barry shared more analytics data showing the volatility experienced in local search results on January 9, 2024.
The Google local ranking flux is super heated again according to @brightlocal – story updated at https://t.co/rOEQV0xOgq pic.twitter.com/tenOH11NUn
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) January 9, 2024
What’s Next – Dealing With This Update
As with all unconfirmed updates, it remains unclear what these updates are about and how they affect your site. In the meantime, you should begin monitoring your site with Rank Math Analytics. If you notice changes in your traffic, watch the video below for tips for recovering from a Google algorithm update.
