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Google Just Added Business Hours As A NEW Local Pack Ranking Factor
Recently, on the Local Search Forum, there was a thread from several business owners who were seeing abnormal map pack ranking fluctuations since the November 2023 core algorithm update. They were seeing drastic differences in Business Profile rankings based on the time of day:
“Rankings significantly dropped overnight. The position dropped from 1 to 10, and further. Then, by the end of the day, it recovered most of the rankings. But now it has dropped again! Can anyone tell me what is going on?”
TLDR:
- Since November 2023, Google now factors business hours (openness) into local pack rankings.
- Listings rank higher when a business is open and can drop significantly when closed.
- Tests show fluctuations acress industries like lawyers, psychiatrists, and restaurants.
- 24-hour businesses gain an advantage, especially at night when competitors are closed.
- Businesses should review their listed hours strategically in light of this update.
Through some testing and pouring over ranking reports, we discovered exactly what was going on. As of November 2023, Google appears to be looking at whether a business is currently open as a ranking factor for local pack rankings – an insight confirmed by our local SEO company after analyzing several client cases.
Opening Hours Are A Local Ranking Factor
In this example, this is how a lawyer ranked when they were closed vs two hours later when they were open:
This is a psychiatrist’s ranking on the weekend, when they are not open, compared to that same keyword on a weekday when they are open:
Yan Gilbert also shared a really awesome visual from Local Falcon that shows the variance by hour for all these restaurants based on who is open and who is closed.
Business hours, or “openness”, are quite a strong Google Business Profile ranking factor. And to clarify, yes this is new. This lawyer had no problems ranking at 7am in October, despite the fact that they were closed.
If you are a business that’s open 24-hours a day, this would benefit you in the evenings when your competitors disappear but you still rank:
If you’re wondering whether you should adjust your business hours because of this update, I’d suggest checking out this post for a full breakdown. Our local SEO services, including a comprehensive local SEO audit, can also help you understand how changes like this impact your visibility and rankings on Google.
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Not really a new ranking factor is it?
Yes, it is. It didn’t work like this back in October, at least not in the USA.
Not really a new ranking factor is it?
Yes, it is. It didn’t work like this back in October, at least not in the USA.
What about businesses that don’t have business hours listed? If a business has seasonality and is only open by appointment part of the year so they remove business hours during that time, should they expect to rank lower than businesses with hours even when those businesses are closed you think? Or are those the businesses ranking higher when the others are listed as closed?
What about businesses that don’t have business hours listed? If a business has seasonality and is only open by appointment part of the year so they remove business hours during that time, should they expect to rank lower than businesses with hours even when those businesses are closed you think? Or are those the businesses ranking higher when the others are listed as closed?
This was confirmed in Japan.
Interesting! Do you have a link to the reference for that at all?
This was confirmed in Japan.
Interesting! Do you have a link to the reference for that at all?
So in theory every business should claim to be open 24 hours a day and make sure they have an answering machine or company taking out of hours calls?
That would probably work for businesses types that don’t have drop-ins. I would not do this for all business types by default.
So in theory every business should claim to be open 24 hours a day and make sure they have an answering machine or company taking out of hours calls?
That would probably work for businesses types that don’t have drop-ins. I would not do this for all business types by default.
I can understand Google’s perspective in providing a tailored service for customers, but there is a risk of excluding potential clients seeking assistance during unconventional hours, effectively forcing us to manipulate opening and closing hours to align with the algorithm.
Yep, there are lots of pros and cons to this.
I can understand Google’s perspective in providing a tailored service for customers, but there is a risk of excluding potential clients seeking assistance during unconventional hours, effectively forcing us to manipulate opening and closing hours to align with the algorithm.
Yep, there are lots of pros and cons to this.