Hacking Engagement, Review Deletions, Maps' Economic Power, Real Estate Ads

Hacking Local Engagement

Since the release of the Google antitrust "default search" trial exhibits and the subsequent search API leak, we've known that Google historically has used engagement signals for ranking (e.g., CTR, bounce rate). That also apparently applies to local. And many local ranking signals may in fact be proxies for engagement – perhaps the ultimate relevance signal. Not long ago, Andrew Shotland did some engagement hacking to see how it would impact local rankings: "I got 20 teenagers to search for a PI attorney in Pleasanton, click on their GBP, then use GMaps to drive to their office every day for a week. Within a week they were #1 for PI attorney queries in Pleasanton." More recently, Darren Shaw reported on a similar test that Holly Starks did with Google Maps and driving directions: "She put 100 phones in her car and set up driving directions to a business on Google Maps, drove there, and the result was crazy: That business’s rankings went from the 20s right to number 1!" These two tests suggest that Google is watching driving directions as well as local business visitation and factoring those signals into ranking. Shotland's advice was to ask employees to initiate driving directions before they drive to work – or get teenagers to do it.

Our take:

• This is probably not a hack that will become a widespread problem.
• But it appears to conclusively illustrate that engagement – here directions and foot traffic – do impact local rankings (as proxies for popularity).
• What are the other engagement signals that Google might be using in local?