The Effects of the Openness Ranking Signal

Google recently made a big change that could affect your Google My Business listing showing up in search results. It's called the Openness ranking signal. This change will be discussed in this article, including what it means, how it might affect you, and what you can do about it.

What's Google My Business

Google My Business is super important for businesses to get noticed online. It looks at lots of stuff to decide how high up a business shows in searches. This includes things like using good keywords in the business name, having nice pictures on the website, where users are, and what people say in reviews. But one big thing that really matters is how long it takes for people to get to the business when it's really busy.

A Google Business Profile is like a page on Google Maps that tells people about a place and how long it takes to get there. So, the time it takes to arrive is super important for how high up a place shows in searches. Google hasn't added any new important stuff for a while, but they just talked about this new thing called Openness that's now a big deal for rankings.

The Openness Ranking Signal

The Openness ranking signal checks if a business is open when someone searches for it. If you look for something and a business is open, Google will likely show it first. But if it's closed when you search, it might not show up at the top and could be lower down instead.

Imagine someone wants to find a restaurant at night. If the top-rated restaurants are closed, they won't show up in the search results. Instead, the user will only see the ones that are open right then. This might not be great because the best restaurants might be closed, and they won't show up at the top.

Effect of the Openness Ranking Signal

The Openness ranking signal affects a few different groups: people searching, folks who own businesses, and companies that help with SEO.

Effects on Users

For regular people searching on Google, the Openness ranking signal might mean they won't find the best businesses if they're closed when they search. This could make it harder for them to pick the right place, as they might end up choosing from places that are open at that moment, but not necessarily the best ones.

Effects On Business Owner

For people who own businesses, the Openness ranking signal could be a problem. If their listing doesn't show up because they're closed when someone searches, they might miss out on potential customers. This could be especially bad when people are still deciding where to go. If a business keeps being closed when people search, it could hurt how many people know about it and how many customers it gets.

Effects on SEO Agency

SEO agencies have a tough job when they need to explain to their clients why their business isn't ranking as high as they expect. This is especially tricky when clients check outside of their opening hours and see their listing lower down. It can make clients wonder what's going on and if the agency is doing their job right. So, it's important for agencies to double-check when their clients' listings are open or closed to make sure they're giving accurate reports.

Understanding the Openness Ranking Signal

Some businesses might think about staying open all day and night to keep their ranking high, but that's not a good idea. Google has rules about being honest with your business hours. Google Maps shows when a place is busiest and has info about when places are open. If a business lies about when it's open, Google might take down their listing.

Apart From It agencies and businesses should concentrate on sharing the right opening hours and report any tricks by other businesses using the Business Redressal Form. This way, businesses can keep their rankings fair and make sure everyone plays by the rules.

Wrapping Up

In Google's ranking system for Google My Business listings, the Openness ranking signal is now more important. It puts businesses that are open when someone searches at the top, which can make it harder for other listings to be seen. Sometimes, even the best businesses won't show up if they're closed when someone looks. Business owners and SEO agencies should know about this signal and plan ahead to stay visible and get more customers.

I Know I Posted About This Update Late But Still If You Got any questions about the Openness ranking signal or other ways businesses get ranked? Drop them in the comments below, and we'll do our best to help you out! Thanks for reading this article, and we hope it gave you some useful tips for dealing with Google My Business.