It’s the nightmare of every local business owner or SEO specialist—overnight, your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business or GMB) listing drops in rankings. Leads slow to a trickle, calls stop coming in, and suddenly your visibility has vanished. If your GMB listing has been hit by one of Google’s unpredictable algorithm updates, you’re not alone—and thankfully, there are ways to fix it.
TLDR:
If your GMB listing suddenly loses rankings after a Google algorithm update, don’t panic. Stay updated with Google’s latest guidelines, audit your listing for completeness and accuracy, and monitor recent changes to your GMB and website. Focus on improving local SEO signals like reviews, NAP consistency, and quality backlinks to regain search positioning. Recovery can take time, but a proactive, detailed approach often pays off.
Understanding What Changed: Algorithm Update Impacts
Google frequently updates its algorithm to provide users with the most relevant and trustworthy information possible. These updates can rapidly affect local search rankings, especially those tied to GMB listings. When your listing drops, the key is to carefully assess the potential cause tied to the nature of the update.
Common Effects of Algorithm Updates on GMB Listings:
- Ranking drops in the local pack (3-pack)
- Reduced visibility for non-brand keywords
- Fewer clicks, calls, and requests for directions
- Suspended listings due to stricter guidelines
Not every ranking drop is caused by an algorithm change, but if traffic and visibility have worsened right after a confirmed Google update, it’s likely connected. Start by checking Google’s Search Central Blog or platforms like Search Engine Roundtable for insights into the latest changes.
Step-by-Step: Fixing Your GMB Ranking
1. Conduct a Full Audit of Your GMB Listing
The first step is to audit your business listing to ensure every element complies with Google’s updated rules and standard best practices.
- Business Name: Make sure it follows NAP consistency and avoids keyword stuffing.
- Categories: Double-check your primary and secondary categories. You should always choose the most relevant ones available.
- Description: Ensure it’s clear, keyword-optimized, and human-friendly.
- Photos/Videos: Fresh and geo-tagged visuals help boost credibility and placement.
- Business Hours: Ensure consistency across every platform where your business is listed.
Missing or outdated information can lead to ranking suppression, especially after an algorithm update focused on trust and data accuracy.
2. Check for Suspension or Hidden Listings
After some updates, Google becomes more aggressive about policy enforcement. Check if your listing is:
- Suspended: You won’t be visible at all. You’ll receive a notice inside your GMB dashboard.
- “Soft Suspended” or Flagged: You may still appear in search but cannot manage or optimize your profile.
If your listing was suspended, follow Google’s reinstatement request process. Before reapplying, make sure your business complies entirely with the Google Business Profile guidelines.
3. Analyze Competitors Who Gained Rankings
Look at which competitors now rank where you once did. What are they doing differently?
- Do they have more local reviews or better star ratings?
- Is their business info more complete and consistent across different platforms?
- Are they posting more often on their GMB profile?
- Are they benefiting from local backlinks or citations that you’re missing?
Use tools like BrightLocal, Whitespark, or Local Falcon to analyze proximity, signals and citations that could be influencing rank changes.
4. Ensure NAP Consistency Across the Web
One of the easiest yet most overlooked local signals is NAP—Name, Address, Phone number. Inconsistent NAP across the internet confuses Google and can be penalized during updates focusing on data clarity.
Check and clean your NAP citations using tools like:
- Yext
- BrightLocal Citation Tracker
- Whitespark Citation Audit
Ensure that your NAP is the same on your website, directories, review platforms, and social platforms.
5. Optimize Your Website for Local Relevance
Even though the GMB profile is external to your site, Google often pulls from your homepage or location pages to assess business relevance. Post-update ranking shifts may also link to your website’s authority or loading issues.
- Make sure your business’s homepage loads fast and is mobile-friendly.
- Embed Google Maps on contact pages to strengthen local signals.
- Create or update location landing pages with locally relevant content and keywords.
- Add local schema markup to give search engines structured data.
6. Request and Respond to Reviews—Regularly
Reviews count more than ever, especially for updates focused on user experience and trustworthiness. After an update, listings with recent engaged reviews may gain an advantage in rankings.
Encourage customers to leave reviews on your GMB page and make it a habit to respond quickly and thoughtfully. Don’t use fake reviews—Google can detect them and may penalize your visibility.
7. Post Frequently on Your GMB Profile
Google Posts are underutilized by many businesses but can provide fresh activity signals for your profile. Try posting 1–2 times per week. Use these Posts to:
- Promote new services, offers, or events
- Share customer success stories or tips
- Add relevant local keywords and geodata
These small signals of ongoing activity help reinforce that your business is active, local, and customer-centric—especially after algorithm changes.
8. Strengthen Local Link Building Strategies
Algorithm updates increasingly reward businesses with high trust, relevance, and authority—both on and off-page. Local backlinks from community organizations, newspapers, chambers of commerce, and blogs show Google that your business is locally validated.
Focus on:
- Partnering with local bloggers or influencers
- Getting listed in reputable city-specific directories
- Posting guest articles on neighborhood news websites
This effort can significantly tip the scales if your site lost traction after an update reset the local ranking benchmarks.
Final Thoughts
Google algorithm updates can seem to hit without warning—but they usually follow patterns focused on local trust, accurate business data, and user engagement. If your GMB listing drops suddenly, take it as an opportunity to re-evaluate and strengthen all aspects of your local SEO presence.
By being proactive and thorough—checking GMB content, analyzing competition, and boosting your website and local signals—you give yourself the best chance to reclaim your rankings and drive consistent local business leads.
Remember: recovery may not be instant, but consistent updates, engagement, and quality signals will eventually restore and even improve your previous positions over time.
Stay agile, stay visible.
