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Did You Hear About the Hawk Update?

Google’s ever-evolving algorithm has been recently been changed, and the update has to do with how the local filters work. Want in on the details?

Hawk: The Latest Google Algorithm Update

You might be asking yourself: Why “Hawk”? It’s OK. You’re not the first one to ask that question. In September 2016, Google released the Possum update, which impacted the Google Maps results, or the local results. In August 2017, we were introduced to the Hawk update, which basically got rid of some of the changes Possum had brought last year. Just like in real life, the hawk killed the possum, hence, the name of the update.

Hawk: The Latest Google Algorithm Update

So, What’s New?

With last year’s Possum update, Google began to filter out businesses that were physically located close to each other. You can imagine why this wasn’t so great for most people, as their businesses were being excluded from the local search results, and the possibility of competitors bumping their listings increased. It’s possible that Google considered businesses in the same industry and geographic area to be duplicated, and attempted to clean up their search results a bit.

Now, Hawk swooped in to fine-tune that proximity filter – or at least try to. Although many businesses are no longer being left out of the local organic results, some others are still being filtered out, even if they are located in the same building as others that are present in the listings.

Essentially, what Google did was bring down the size of the geographic area that rules over the filter. The goal is to remove those businesses that are trying to dominate the search results by using the same address several times to kick other competitors out of the results and place themselves in the listings. Of course, this update is intended to improve the experience of the searcher to continue to back up the endless efforts Google makes to consistently deliver value.

Set Up a Solid SEO Plan for Your Business

It can be hard to keep up with good SEO practices when the algorithms are constantly changing. Being able to adapt to those changes in a quick and effective manner can get tricky. That’s why at Impressions Agency, we make sure to stay up to date with the latest SEO news and are ready to help you build a solid SEO strategy that will put your business on the map. Curious about how we do that? Request a free quote today.